Rode the James Walker Pro Model by TWP...

So my buddy got his board in yesterday so we had to break out the dry suits to give it a try. It's a beautiful board with excellent construction. This board has the Twinzer set up for fins so it was very fast when you would pump but for some weird reason none of us could just lean forward to speed up or chill for a minute to rest. It was a little tougher to slide on the wave but it may loosen up without the small fins. It was definitely a lot tougher to ride than my Comp 5.0 which is a 5' where as this is a 4'11" but a little more narrow maybe about an inch. It seemed to want to release of the wave more than mine but had less grab on the rails on landing. All in all it should be a very fun board but will take some getting use to.

What fins were you using? Have any pics of the board/riding?

I have that same problem with shredd stixx thresher. It's the new non foam model. I can't gain speed without pumping. My old board is a yellow loogey and all I have to do with it is just lean forward and you speed up. It's my idea that this is just how pro's ride.

Duffy

My son RJ rode the new JW model also. He loved it, great board, but did make the same comment to me that it wasn't designed for cruising. You had to keep it pumping.

Hey Hate N pain,
Glad to hear your buddy got his board. Most high performance boards have the fins toed-in toward the nose. They don't perform best in a straight line. They are made to drive on rail and when carving. That being said my daughter has the same board and she just moves her back foot forward to catch back up to the boat. As far as the looseness you don't need to remove the small fins. I am not sure which fins you got with your board but if they are the Scimitars then you might want to take the fins from your CompX and that will help while learning the board.

Yeah, I have a set of black stix too that we could try on it as well they are my fastest fins and they bite like crazy. The board turned out great thanks for your help Dennis. He had Mike airbrush the lake we live on for his graphic which turned out nice. It's pretty cool to get a one off board.

Sounds cool, post a pic.

Here is a pic of it:

TW-1's as the canards? Did it ship that way, or did you buy the twinzer set from futures?

Very nice, I like the graphic.

Yes their the TW-1's and it shipped that way, why? Yeah the graphics are clean and simple which he was a little disappointed with at first but I reminded him most surf boards are just white.

Yes their the TW-1's and it shipped that way, why?

I don't know. We tested those and it's a LOT of fin. That fin pod isn't truly a twinzer (the canards would need to be further forward). My 2 cents is that the canards are actually fighting the rail fins. See if your buddy can get the smaller C-5 cupped fins from Mike or Dennis.

We tested those and it's a LOT of fin

What did you find with them? If he pulled them how would it change the boards ride IYO/experience?

We've never been on a 4'11", so I don't know if that plan shape impacts the fin pod or not. The Scim's by themselves are pretty drivey, but the smaller C-5's as the canards aid with drive. The TW-1's have no rake and their crazy deep, what I remember from that, was the drive decreased - the TW-1's tried to take over, so it was like having just the canards as your rail fin. Also, the board was exceptionally grabby on bottom turns. I can remember that the tail felt sluggish, like a really poor quad.

Removing the TW-1's no doubt would give better drive, just not as effective as with the C-5's.

All of my opinion is based on the 4'5" board. We had a 4'7" that felt like it was a bit sluggish, so I'm wondering if exploding the plan shape has an impact on performance with that fin pod.

Thanks for the reply Jeff PM sent.

Killer customer service a little birdy told TWP about this thread and their sending out some different fins (C-5's)!

We aim to please.

Very cool.