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BUSTIN DOWN THE “MYTH”
Once upon a time there were only single fin surfboard and life was very soulful for those lucky few that indulged in the escape called SURFING.
After many years of blissful existence surfing changed quite dramatically with the introduction of professional surfing bringing with it all the necessary ingredients, commercialism, money, power and most of all EGO and GREED, perfect for the capitalistic environment to survive in and even thrive in, so let the corruption begin, the stage is set for the manipulation of all that is necessary for these new breed of parasites to wallow in take control of the media and spread their brain washing propaganda.
The sad thing about this situation is the detrimental effect, it has had on surfing in general, the spreading of untruths certainly has not helped surfboard design at any level.
Once upon a time there were two pro surfers, one rode a futuristic single fin design and the other a twin fin design, both these designs were inspired by me whom at that time was the design leader of world surfing, so powerful was the McCoy name, the power brokers of the day decided to eliminate me and my powerful empire of the world’s best surfing. The excuse used was the single fin Lazor Zap to oppose the twin fin design, even though McCoy had moved on from the twin fin design believing the design to be limited in its performance capabilities as history has gone on to prove. In actual fact the situation had nothing to do with surfboard design and performance, it was the controlers of surfing’s way of discrediting, the Lazor Zaps futuristic surfing capabilities and eliminating the single fin design from the arena for all but those that understand true design and function. The desired out come for the greedy few has destroyed pure design through their complete ignorance. …….30+ years later……
I never stoped researching all facets of design and function accumulating volumes of practical knowledge and understanding, the wave, the technique for surfing, the function of an object to ride on !
My latest design is a single fin and its capabilities are almost beyond belief, I claim it will out perform any other fin combination in all conditions at any size, wow that is a huge statement for anyone to make. I also claim these ASTRON ZOT single fin designs to be my most complete work of all, so far and by far the best I also believe I have discovered the missing link in true surfboard design. These designs are vastly different from all other surfboards, they are the first of a whole new awareness of what this new age single fin can do.
Simply have to be ridden to be believed. I also add I believe these designs will bring the single fin designs back into a very valid prominence ending the DESIGN MYTH about multi fined designs being superior. Already surfers are more than interested in the design many have already very happily found out what great all round performers the Geoff McCoy designed single fins are.
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TECHNIQUE
Technique in surfing is very important, it is what separates the different levels of surfing ability. It is the missing awareness in surfing even though it is the most necessary of all to advance your surfing skills, without a good technique, it is impossible to surf in tune with the oceans rhythm, it is impossible to advance to a high level of surfing without technique. So what is meant by technique?
is the way you stand on a board, paddle into a wave, set up your anticipated
, crouch into a bottom turn, open the body up on top turns and cut back etc, your actual body positioning throughout the ride to assist in the flow of the maneuvers, feet, arms and head, technique is all of these things, it is the understanding of how to surf a range of waves competently. How do you learn about technique and practice ? There are several ways to collect knowledge, you can select a surfer who you admire for their surfing, buy a video of the surfer and watch the surfing in slow motion and stop frames to study how the surfer is doing the maneuver frame by frame and practice what you see in front of a mirror in the lounge room or somewhere on land. This gives you the basic feel for the move and by practicing on land when you go surfing, you have the basics of the move in your mind and it becomes easier to reproduce technique on the wave.
Once you get the move into practice, it is a good idea to have someone video you and you watch the video very closely to see what you are doing right and wrong compared to your chosen surfer’s surfing, we suggest you select one move at a time and practice it until you feel comfortable doing it yourself then move on to the next move and develop it then link them all together, Another way is to select a reputable surf coach for individual tuition, if you use this method then only use a coach who has a proven back ground in coaching surfers as they will have a better understanding of your surfing and be able to help you improve your surfing skills.
No matter what method you use, for sure it will need to be practiced many many times to become proficient at it. You must preserver to achieve the desired result, as it does not come easily.
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TRAVEL FOR GLASSED ON FINS
There is no denying removable fins are convenient for travel, but that is all. As far as design and strength, go the removable plastic fins are just not up to the task, constantly breaking and too weak to with stand the extra pressure the wide thick tail produces. This is the reason all my multi fin designs have hand made fibreglass fins glassed on to the board for strength and performance as opposed to a fashion statement that is inadequate for the job. When travelling with glassed on fins, it is necessary to take precaution for protection. Suggest:
Get a piece of sponge foam rubber 1” thicker than the fins depth, cut it out slightly larger than the fin area and board. Hold it over the fins and mark these positions then dig out the holes for the fins to fit into. Push foam over fins, put board in travel bag and zip it up. By doing this, you will minimise breakage by rough luggage handlers.
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CONTINUAL FLOW
What is meant by CONTINUAL FLOW? It basically means the board will keep running through all the manoeuvres on all parts of the wave face. No stop, start, arcs or slowing and stopping on flatter sections. How is this achieved by the board?
It is simply by designing a surfboard that can carry the surfer’s weight better and actually has a planing area combined with softer rails where the surfer stands, this allows the board to run higher in the water and stay on the planing surface, hence more flow through out the wave range. The nugget design has most of the boards volume in the back half both in plan shape and thickness. In plan shape the board is widest in the middle then holding the width only tapering slightly going into the tail area which has a full round curve for ease of turning gives the board the ability to hold the energy of the wave, allowing for continual flow.
The thickest point of the board is also the middle area which holds the thickness as it runs forward into the nose rocker, and through to the tail area. This even distribution of thickness through the length of the board is one of the contributing features that allow the nugget design to be the free running flowing easy to control surfboard that it is. The nugget design is at its best when the waves are powerful and hollow with a wide spread reputation for ease of tube riding. This is because the softer blend of rail and bottom curves combined with the wider tail area allow the board to stay high on the wall where maximum speed is obtained from the wave, therefore giving the surfer every chance to ride deep and make the waves. Surfboard design determines its performance capabilities.
Remember if the board cannot carry you comfortably, and has prominent design features in plan shape rail shape or bottom shape, it will react to those prominent features and will struggle to surf with continual flow. The features of design that provide the board with the ability to flow smoothly are a subtle blending of soft flowing curves as in the Nugget designs. Design through development.
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McCoy Design Through Development
All Geoff McCoy designed boards are constantly subject to on going subtle interesting changes. The latest designs have been re balanced in plan shape and also in thickness foil and rocker.
These small exciting subtle changes are a continuing refinement of already proven designs making them even more user friendly and more predictable than ever before. The already proven Nugget design range 5’ 0”~ 8’ 2” has had an extra model added to the range. These latest design have had the tail shape changed slightly, it is now more elongated.
This subtle change will increase drive off the bottom, once again providing the surfer with more overall controlled performance through out a vast range of waves. The nose area has been increased very slightly by using a fuller curve that blends the nose to tail balance more evenly throughout the range, they are now so sweet in outline you can almost taste it. The thickness foil has been adjusted ever so slightly by adding a little more volume through the planing area, this is also the main support area of the board, by adding too and changing the balance it reduces the surfers need to change position while turning and trimming the board through out a extremely wide range of wave sizes and conditions. These subtle but performance enhancing changes are part of our everyday ongoing research for the state of perfection in the McCoy designs.
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McCOY GULL WING FINS
After years of research and development McCoy is now proud to be releasing our new range of superior fin designs. Tested in all wave sizes and conditions with out standing results, It is now possible to obtain 3 different style of surfing.
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SINGLE AND MULTI FINS
The first obvious difference is the single fin runs through the water easier than a multi fin board. Since there is only one fin set at 90°to the bottom shape and sitting parallel with the stringer, these two factors minimize the drag aspect of the fins function allowing the board to pass through the water with minimum drags opposed to all the multi fin set ups where all side fins are set at an angle to the stringer both fins towed in to wards the nose and also splayed out to the rail.
This in turn causes the fins to plough through the water creating more drag than the single fin set up. This can only be relived when the board is turned constantly. Example of a hull shape (surfboard bottom) repeated five times exactly the same, leave one with no fin and then a single, a twin, tri fin and four fins put them in flat water and line them up then give them all the same thrust from behind. The board with no fin will run the furthest followed by 1 then 2 fin then the 3 and finally the 4 fin set up. Why ? Simple, drag added to the hull, no fin no drag, as each fin is added to the hull so does the drag factor increase. It really is simple logic when though about. How does this effect performance? Quite dramatically in terms of performance, regardless of hull shape the fin set up determines the style of performance obtainable and there is a correct way to surf the various set ups as each one needs to be surfed differently to obtain maximum performance.
In terms of performance keeping it simple. Hulls with side fins will rotate from rail to rail and with side and centre fins a quick short burst of speed is the effect, more a stop start performance. The single fin gives smooth longer arcs with more overall flow and if the rails are designed correctly through the tail area much greater control in the hollow parts of the wave, tubes and steep walls. When contemplating a surfboard design keep in mind that each fin combination will surf differently from the other and each combination requires an individual approach to how best to surf the board. It is not a matter of which design is best, it is a matter of how you wish to surf.
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DESIGN ILLUSION
The illusion is if it does not look like what the top 5 pro’s in the world are riding then it is retro. The McCoy nugget designs have been classified as retro when in fact it is futuristic.
Modern designs are created by Jnr. Journalist and over enthusiastic clothing executives with no knowledge of surfboard design and function. It has been done through the media with promotion of products and ignorant designers of surfboards just following the rubbish written by some poor ignorant journalist who is almost in puberty, with absolutely no knowledge of surfboard design and function at any level.
The McCoy nugget design has proven to be very practical way to go surfing if you want to have “FUN” in a wide range of surfing conditions. The nugget design is being created by evolution as this is were I am at now after almost 40 years of continuous design research and development. The nugget design is by far the most advanced all round functional surfboard on the market today, no other design can offer such a wide range of wave size and conditions. The nugget design incorporates the best features of all its predecessors, the Double Ender, the Twin Fin and the Lazor Zap, this is why I am confident about the nugget as an all round performer in such a wide range wave conditions, it is earlier designs that make the nugget design so practical and functional. The nugget design has been tested in wave’s size from 1’ ~ 80’; it has ridden conditions from glassy to extreme chop proving its function in all conditions to be far superior.
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WHY GEOFF McCOY’S DESIGNS HAVE LESS HARD EDGE
I am often asked why my designs do not have a lot of hard edges. There was a time when all my designs had hard edges, it was a long time ago, before awareness came into my designing life, putting an edge under a rail makes it not only difficult to surf, it limits many performance aspects of surfing as the board itself becomes disfunctional, not capable of performing on many parts of the wave.
A surfboard rail needs to be a combination of soft and hard to obtain balance and control through the range of manoeuvres and wave shapes and sizes. I have proven over the years that this formula is by far the best. There are many myths or lack of knowledge experts that will disagree with this, they are simply wrong and need to study function a while longer. The realty of function is that soft holds water and hard releases it. So how does it work in practice.
I found by softening the entry and planing area, it allowed the board to run high on the wall of the wave, it also reduces catch and bogging of the forward rail area, all this because the rail is more open on the bottom allowing it to have greater holding abilities on the more critical parts of the wave (steeper, hollower) giving easier control to the surfer. Where I do use a hard edge on my designs, which is around the fin areas, it is to release the water flow quickly in an area of the surfboard which requires the water flow to be released quickly. This “release” occurs quickly simply because hard edge cannot hold water as they have no area that will hold water flow. It’s a hard edge. On my designs I vary the positioning of the hard edge depending on how many fins the board has.
All my multi fin designs, the hard edge starts level with the front edge of the side fins, because multi fin boards have more hold, it is necessary to release the water flow as quickly and efficiently as possible. The single fin design has a much softer rail with a hard edge release starting at the back of the base of the fin. By keeping the bottom rail more open it assists the single fin hold the board in the most critical parts of the wave and that is what my design are about giving the surfer greater control of their surfboard. These are some of the reasons why my designs are the way they are and function so well in the water.
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THE HISTORY OF AREA BACK
The introduction of the Twin Fin design bought with it area in the back half of the object, this in turn bought with it a new speed and looseness like never before. From the beginning of the Twin Fin concept, it has been the increase in tail area that has been the common denominator in the re finement of the Twin Fin and my wide tailed Lazor Zap designs all had wider more area tails than the earlier single fin designs. It was my wide tailed Lazor Zap that Simon Anderson tested his first thruster with and by his own admission the board was a cracker ! As design has gone on there have been 4 and even 5 fin combinations all have a valid function and all the designs have wider more area tails, the common denominator right through. My wide single fin concept is the only design that gives a single fin the same and even more tail area than the multi fin designs for the first time since the Lazor Zap was cryed down out of pure ignorance. I have proved on all levels of design and performance, the single fin with wide thick tails design is very valid through out the whole range of wave conditions shapes and size. It is the wider tail area that has been the one constant through out the multi fin eras success, it is the wider area in the back half of the object that has given the extra speed, looseness and control, it gets back to plain logic that making the single fin object wider would also work and I have proven this point beyond question. The wide tail narrow nose plan shape balance allow the board to trim tail high on the wave which puts the object in the main energy sauce consistently naturally, this is because the widest point on the object will be elevated naturally by the waves energy no matter where it is located front, middle or tail, By using an object that harmonises with the energy it allows the object to harvest the rewards the energy offers. The actual surfing becomes easier as you flow with the free running object which offers much more control to the surfer/ These objects are designed to give constant speed and flow through the use of the wave’s energy, also the use of only one fin (stabilizer) , it minimises drag and enhances the hulls ability to function uninhibited by side fins in the major performance area of the object.
By using tail area in the object and only one fin it allows the object to run freer with less effort required to manoeuvre and control, it as there is much less reaction (drag) under the water with only one fin, it also offers a shorter less effort turning arc, more control on deep tubes because the fin has only one point of resistance against the natural drawing up and over motion of a tubing wave. Increasing the tail area of the single fin design, “THEMISSSING LINK” has given the object equal say with the multi fin design, the design change has not only given the single fin equal footing with multi fins. It is now a superior performing object to surf on. This design is capable of real carving surfing, on rails with power and drive, short or long arcs with constant flow and speed, the modern short board is basically not designed to turn and flow, because of its anorexic design, it is not capable of power carving surfing with constant flow the lack of proper dynamics and lack of volume create the stop start repeditive surfing that the pro’s throw at us, you look at 1 guy for 5 minutes and the rest of video is the same moves by different surfers, how boring !! Or should I say, how restricted in performance those “old fashioned” short boards are.
The fake moves just do not cut it, square corners, small fins, concaves sliding through turns with no power, loosing drive and flow, I agree it all looks quite spectacular, but that does not mean it is “real” surfing, it only means that is the best they can so on the restricted old fashioned equipment they ride. The wave dictates good surfing the natural flow of the energy and harmonizing with it on the object deturmans the manouvour and timing required to harvest the best ride by each individual on various levels of surfing ability. It is critical the object is capable of carrying the surfer’s weight to obtain maximum performance at all times, regardless of the surfer’s ability. By combining area back with thickness, it is able to provide more resistance which in turn gives quicker reaction a superior positioning of the object on the wave, more overall speed, drive, flow and overall control. My designs are all about the object being able to build and sustain constant pressure through out the whole ride. As the pressure moves constantly I found it better to allow the transfer from bottom to rail be done as smoothly as possible. This in turn allows the object to sustain the pressure more evenly, this allows the object to have more flow and drive instantly allowing a smooth flowing style of surfing. The old fashioned anorexic designs do not have enough resistance to support the surfer resulting in a stop start low energy very physical approach to surfing, to compensate for the objects lack of design features. These old fashioned maximum release and resistant designs cannot build or hold pressure as they constantly shed the waves natural energy this results in the bee bop ugly bouncing of the object by the surfer struggling to build and retain the necessary energy from the wave Why would you want to ride an object with all these design faults, when he Astron Zot design offers so much more to the surfer. Designs to free your mind.
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McCOY AREA BACK DESIGNS
Many years ago 30 plus, I was very involved in trying to understand how objects functioned and reacted when they were used to ride waves.
This personal pursuit of knowledge was stimulated by the fact that I had the best team of surfers ever assembled under the one logo and the requirements for each surfer were very different, due to their individual styles and approaches to surfing.
Supplying them with the same basic equipment was not an option, they needed specialised designs.
At this time I felt inadequate to do the job properly, I just did not have enough experience or knowledge, even though at this time I was considered the leader in surfboard design worldwide.
Within me there was a burning desire to know more and I was working on many aspects of design that obviously had never before been explored, such as the way each individual stands on an object, where his body is positioned for each manoeuvre and what he or she is trying to achieve.
I was thinking about the waves that we ride and what causes them to begin with and how they do have a mechanical action that is caused by natural energy and how that action reacts on an object in motion; where the energy points are on each individual wave.
I had all this random information on these various aspects and questions on what it was really all about it, I was getting to a point where it was becoming an obsession.
Then, one day I was driving by myself from Avoca Beach to my friend Thor’s house at Palm Beach in Sydney, for a team meeting of the “McCoy Boys”.
Various concepts and thoughts were flashing through my mind.
I remember the moment very clearly. I was driving on the old Pacific High Way, information started streaming into my head, things started to make sense to me.
So strong was this rush of knowledge that I had to pull my car over ( right beside the Kuringi Railway Station).
I got out of the car and sat on the front just being blown away by the flood of knowledge that was coming in, fitting everything into place perfectly, all my bits and pieces finally coming together.
Within 30 minutes, I had moved into a whole new awareness of how it all worked.
I was overwhelmed by it all, I took a bit of time to ponder and I then realised that I had discovered a new direction for the objects we called surfboards.
The designs would be vastly different to what was then considered normal; most everything I knew was wrong in terms of design; it was completely opposite to what I had previously believed.
I proceeded to the meeting enthused and excited by this new realisation.
Later, back at my Factory and Design workshop at Avoca Beach I shared my thoughts and concepts with my workers and team riders, there was much discussion.
Finally I decided that I needed to at least shape one of these revolutionary new designs to test it, even though I was barely brave enough to embark on this new concept.
I drew the plan shape on a blank and we all stood around going “its radical, it looks strange, but it’s worth doing,” (I was not even game to make one, all my old concepts were telling me it would not work even though I had received the information and I believed that it would).
These are the thoughts that were buzzing through my head when I was looking at the plan shape with its wide tail and a narrow nose.
I thought “ I do not even know what to do with this”, my new message was all about curves, natural curves for rocker, plan shape, rails.
My previous experiences and knowledge was all about straights and flats vee’s, bottoms and hard edges.
It was at this point that I realised I was embarking on a whole new learning experience.
I knew nothing of this new unexplored design world, it was a whole new adventure.
I built the first board, we all rode it and it blew us all away with how much better it worked than the conventional boards we had been riding. This boards was superior, more efficient in all aspects of wave riding.
I called this new design the “LAZOR ZAP”
It was completely different to all other designs, it was all curves and rounds, soft and fluid; it challenged the status quo at the time because it looked so different, but it worked so well.
So functional was this design and so different in appearance to what people were accustomed to, that they banded together in their fear and ignorance and wrote the concept off saying at the time the design was dysfunctional.
They compared the new design to the twin fin design which I had pioneered in Australia, being labelled “THE TWIN FIN KING”.
I knew that the twin fin had design limitations that the single fin did not have.
It is now a well documented fact that the twin fin design is to a very large extent limited to wave size under 6’, where the single fin has no limitations, which it has gone on to prove in waves up to 80’+, in extreme conditions.
So here we are some 30 plus years later and the so called design experts are now copying my wide tail designs, slowly starting to realise the amazing qualities of the wide tailed single fin and the benefits the wide tail design offers to any fin configuration.
I have been designing, shaping, building and riding these designs since 1978 because I had the revelation that it was the future in surfboard design.
Since those early days when my knowledge of this new design approach was limited I have been on an amazing learning and understanding journey which has led me to a situation where I now have a vast understanding of an object to surf on and how it will function when riding a wave.
I have proven beyond question that the function of a wider tail is superior to all other designs.
Once you start to understand these design advantages you realise how superior they are and why they function so well in practical use.
The wider tail allows the object to tap into the energy of the wave in a more practical way.
This in turn gives the surfer better control in critical situations allowing for a much more relaxed surfing experience that enhances the ride.
It has taken a very long time for surfboard designers in general to wake up to this obvious fact and they are now starting to look at the wide tail designs with a new enthusiasm, discovering finally, the great advantages which they offer.
From the early days of the unrefined LAZOR ZAP designs through 30 plus years of learning, understanding and refining the concept to this day, where I have a wide range of my wide tail Nugget designs which I continue to refine and improve the performance of with encouraging results across the whole range.
These designs are futuristic and very exciting to ride in a wide range of wave sizes and conditions, once you dial into one of my designs you will be so stoked that all other designs become uninteresting and tired by comparison.
It is fair to say that these futuristic designs have to be ridden to be believed !
DESIGN THROUGH DEVELOPMENT
Geoff McCoy
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