Barracuda
The Barracuda is one of the longest-running designs I have. It has gone by a lot of different names over the years, but the feedback on them is always the same: fast and fun.
Most of my boards lean retro, but the Barracuda is a true modern shortboard design with a little extra flow built in:
Rocker: A nice balance between a high-performance shortboard and hybrid/fishy type board
Foil: Balanced nose to tail, with a nicely rolled deck
Contours: Flat in the nose, single concave under your front foot, double concave between your feet, and vee in the tail
Rails: Soft and neutral in the nose, medium down through the rest of the board
This setup nets a board that fits nicely in the pocket, but still carries speed and flows like a fish.
I originally developed this board for the beach break by my house when I was living in San Diego. So if you’re used to surfing shortboards at your local beachie, you’ll feel right at home on the Barracuda.
Except you’ll be making sections you might have otherwise been stuck behind ;)
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Ideal Wave Size: 2-5ft
Ideal Wave Shape: The stock shape is best for waves that look like your average beach break at mid-tide. But this design can easily be tuned for mellower or hollower waves.
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Ride it around your height and about the same width/thickness as your daily driver.
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The Barracuda is an all-purpose platform for any fin configuration. Thruster, straight twin, twin plus trailer, quad — it all works, and it’s all fun.