Stab in the Dark’s (2019) winning design: the Fever

This edit is a high action compilation of CI Teamriders on the Fever—the same Channel Islands Surfboards’ design that Mick Fanning gave the nod to for the recent 2019 Stab in the Dark film project. We chose our popular Fever design built with Spine-Tek for Mick to test ride, and after trying 11 different EPS constructions from 11 shapers, Mick chose it as this year’s Stab in the Dark winner.

The story behind the Fever starts in the design legacy and philosophies of Al Merrick, as passed on to the Channel Islands Surfboards team of shapers today that includes Lead Designer (and son) Britt Merrick, Mike Andrews and Mike Walter, among others. Pat Gudauskas was looking for a really good all-around board for the tour to slim down his travel bag and minimize having a different sled for every wave type and stop. He worked closely with Andrews on that model, and using a rocker and bottom (aka the “engine room”) Al had used for years on some earlier models Pat liked, but made some tweaks in entry rocker, curve, volume and rails to came up with the all-around shred stick they dubbed the Fever. Both the CI Team and our customers alike have raved about the Fever being one of the easiest and most accessible performance shortboard designs they’ve ever ridden.

Surfers featured in this film short include: Pat Gudauskas, Conner Coffin, Tanner Gudauskas, Parker Coffin, Michael Dunphy, Dane Gudauskas, Eithan Osborne and Sebastian Zietz and Kiron Jabour.

You can read more about the Stab in the Dark project and history of Channel Islands in an interview with Britt on stabmag.com here: https://stabmag.com/style/an-interview-with-the-stab-in-the-dark-winning-shaper/

Learn more about the Fever here: https://www.cisurfboards.com/board/fever/

Says Pat Gudauskas of the Fever: “It was born from a desire for an all-around performance board based on elements I love, Speed, Drive, and Flair. My Goal in designing this board with Mike Andrews and Channel Islands was to create a surfboard that I could surf in almost any conditions and have a hell of a good time on it. I wanted a more accessible Tour Performance board that anyone who jumped onto it would instantly feel the speed and zest for creativity.”