Timmy Curran Board Demo: Riding a Cheese Stick
Details
My height: 5’9
My weight: 155
Cheese Stick Dimensions: 5’9″ x 18 3/8″ x 2 3/16″
Fins: AM2 by Futures
Location: Head high, fast, powerful and hollow
Ride
For this little short, I decided to grab a model off the rack at the Channel Islands Surfboard factory. One of my favorite boards of all time was one that I grabbed off the rack. I was headed on a trip to Barbados with Taylor Steele, Kelly, Ozzy & Benji for Sipping Jetstreams. It was a K model that I used in quite a few events for almost a year, and loved. I am a strong believer that you can find magic boards off the rack.
While I was at the factory, I felt a few different stock models & decided to go with the Cheese Stick. It felt very similar to the short board dimensions that I usually ride, and it was one of those boards that just felt good under my arm. Sometimes stock boards off the rack can be a little bit heavier than if you order a custom board, but with my magic K model it didn’t matter that it was heavier, it was full of awesomeness! I’d say that stock boards are a little stronger, due to thicker glass jobs and curing time. Stronger boards are obviously better if you are trying to get longest ride possible from your purchase. If you want a lighter board, I would always recommend ordering a custom board with the glassing strength exactly to your liking. This board felt a tad bit heavier, but by the smallest of margins.
So, with all that being said, I surfed a few sessions on this board down at Zuma. The waves were very fast, powerful and hollow even though it was head high. I was telling some friends that it’s always nice when you get beat downs in head high surf… Zuma will do that to me sometimes. Not to mention it was like surfing in an aquarium, there was some serious marine life action going on in the water all around me. The Cheese Stick road well in small little tubes & fit great in the tight transitions. It had a lot of rocker from the middle of the board to the nose, which is very similar to what I usually ride and like. Boards with a lot of rocker work great for me in these types of conditions because they fit well in the pocket. When the wind picked up and the waves got blown out, the board still felt really good and carried a lot of speed through the chop. I used a few different sets of fins and ended up liking the AM2 by Futures the best. I went with the biggest set of fins I had in this board to give it extra drive and hold, due to it having a lot of rocker. Sometimes boards with a lot of rocker can get a little loose, so I always like bigger fins. Fin options are endless, so go with whatever floats your boat. The Cheese Stick released very well, which is good for coming out of reverses or spinning out of airs. Yadin, who designed this board is a mad man in the air, and this board looks great under his feet. You can also YouTube Yadin to see what he does on this model.
*If you are extremely interested in riding this board, I will be giving it away at the Ventura Theater Sept 4th Labor Day Weekend! For tickets visit: http://www.event/55719/
Great review! It is good to able to see the surfer weight/height to dimension comparison and the amount of details from Timmy’s session. I look forward to see more of these reviews. Great jobs guys.
I saw Dane riding a rack board in HB too, nice to know we can get magic straight off the rack. Guys at HSS were saying Jordy buys his CIs from them off the rack?
Timmy will be adding more reviews to the site.
A long list of non-CI team pros have bought boards off the rack and done well in contests.
I’m surprised he’s using the FAM2s — aren’t those designed for heavier surfers?
They are designed for guys over 160, being 4.75 in depth, but some like the extra drive.
Would this board be best for east coast Florida surf or the neck beard? Cant decide on the 2. Im 5’7 150lbs intermediate. What size do you recommend? Which one is more versatile in all kinds of surf and allow me to do the most on it? (carve, airs and just catch as many waves as I can)
EJ, NeckBeard all the way for FL. For your size and ability look at a 5’4 x 19 X 2 1/8 (24.0L)
The Cheesestick would be good for when you get some hurricane juice at 5’10 x 18 3/8 x 2 3/16 (24.2L)
Thanks. My local shop, suncoast surf shop on Treasure island beach has a 5’7, would that be a huge difference than the 5’4?
EJ a 5’7″ is rated for a 190lb expert, you would catch a TON of waves and have fun so that’s what matters.
The 5’4″ is rated for a 160LB expert.
The best test is how it feels under you arm, if it feels right then you will know.
Hi CI,
Not sure you’re still doing advice here, but its hard finding dimensions for me and it doesn’t really indicate on the board selector. I’m 173cm (5’8) but 47 kilos (103 pounds) and 17yo though still growing. I surf daily (3 years) in Sydney Australia on mainly clean beachbreaks which is why the cheese stick looks great. Just tricky finding dimensions with my unusual height/weight combo. Been riding a 5’10 x 18 x 2 but I feel its too much. What do you suggest? Thanks alot