So if you haven’t asked, e-mailed, thought about or just complained about Stretch not making a convertible 5-fin set up then alas your time has come! The latest model known as the “THING” is the newest addition to the Stretch line up and is a tough little guy to categorize. Is it a quad? Is it a fishy little tri? Is it a novelty for surfers who can’t decide what to get for their next board? Well, I’d say neither of the above.

Having suffered a season ending injury with a broken femur, Nathan Fletcher never got a chance to test out his new 5′4″ THING last year. After spending time out of the water and contemplating designs and ways to progress his surfing antics even more, he eventually bounced back and pursued to push the limits on something many of us would consider inconceivable. A 5′4″ shortboard?!?! It’s not a fish. It’s not a grovel board. It’s not something we’ve come to conventionally accept but it does amazing things under your feet! A smaller and wider outline with a narrower tail than normally seen on anything of this length allows the ability to run a reconfigured fin cluster so that either a tri or a quad configuration can be accepted. That’s right, 5 fin boxes! Whether it’s 2 fins on rail or a trailer fin anchoring your centerline reference under the back foot, the choice for your next session can be handled with one board and a fin key.

Meant to be surfed hard and fast, the “THING” isn’t just a small wave wonder board. It’s a tightly packaged performance shortboard that just happens to be small. Designed to be ridden about 1/4″ to 3/4″ wider, 1/8″ thicker and 4-6″ shorter, the “THING” allows surfers to turn quicker and tighter with speed. It fits into bowly pockets with ease and stays glued to your feet through quick directional changes, skateboard-like rotations and snappy turns. No “flat as a board” deck profile, fat rails or pancake rocker. You’re not going to stand and go straight on a “THING”, you’re going to destroy on it!

So, are you a surfer who’s been riding thrusters only since the first time out? Dedicated to quads for the last 4 or so years? Not to worry. The “THING” can be custom ordered as either/or. The 5-fin set up works so darn well with the new tail outline that it just makes sense to offer it to those who want it. It’s one extra fin and multiple options. Aren’t you smiling already! Questions? Of course you have them! Look for Nathan, Rat, Charlie Ramirez and a handful of east coast, west coast and Hawaiian surfers flying around on “THING” models this year. In the meantime, feel free to call us at the factory and we’ll help you out with anything you need.

Now your next custom Stretch can be made using tri-band basswood stringers available from appelcore! (Not a typo). Why is this any different you ask? Now, performance shortboard shapes can utilize an all unidirectional, tri-band wood stringer construction in place of a heavier weight or thicker paraband stringer. Basswood is preferred for it’s strength-to-weight ratio, ease of shaping and appearance. Some other multi-ply wood stringers will have a perpendicular grain respective to the length of the board. With a triple laminate construction, your centerline stringer can be narrower while retaining excellent flex properties without compromising strength. This makes for a lighter, “poppier” board without the stress of buckling that you would normally get from a single ply 1/8″ stringer. Combined with Stretch Boards EPS TECH construction: deck channels, bias weave direct size S-cloth and Marko Foam, the result is a durable board you can feel has a pulse! To make your custom board even more unique, Appelcore stringers are available in a variety of color combinations. Be sure to specify Appelcore in your next board in lieu of the paraband 3/16″. Available in shortboards or doubled up into 6-ply 1/4″ stringers for boards over 7′.

For more info on Appelcore stringers visit:

www.appelcore.com

The last 4 months have had some discussion revolving around the newest addition to the Stretch board line. Among all the chit chat the comes with designing a board, the biggest issue we had was whether or not we should call it the “Sphere” or the “One-Two!”. The team feedback was unreal. “This is the best tri-fin I’ve ever had!”, “He’s surfing better than I’ve ever seen!”. “It’s almost not worth surfing today if I can’t have this board with me.”, are among the ringing dialogues that have tweetered into our ears. The real dillema with the board ended up figuring out what to call it.

Stretch’s idea of calling it the “Sphere” is to iterate the elaborate simplicity of the design. Centered around progressive new school maneuvers, the conceptual basis for this model is the extremely round and symmetrical curves featured in the board. It really is like taking a compass and drawing an arc. In a nutshell, you get a narrower tail, fuller mid-section rails and a ton of continuous rocker. The result is an unbelievably quick turning, “in the pocket”, tweaked rotational madness, lip-bashing, ramp-out machine. Which leads to the other half of the argument, calling it the “One-Two!”.

Creating a model name based off connotations of how it performs is the complimentary dispute. Seeing the board perform is explosive, calculated and awe-inspiring. It’s like being ringside at a boxing match and watching it all go down. It’s the combo you pull out when you’re pumping with adrenalin. When you’re poised and ready to strike, all you gotta do is let it all out. Quickness, agility and supercharged surfing antics never had a better vessel for destruction. When you see a fat lip, give it the ole “one-two!”

Until we get the product stand up onto the website, here’s a sneak peak at the specs for the new board. Whether we call it the “Sphere” or the “One-Two!”, it doesn’t matter, just ask for the latest and greatest. We’ll know what you mean.
“Sphere”

Recommended sizes: 5’8” – 7’6”

The newest addition to the Stretch board line is an elaborately simple assassin. It’s the kind of board that feeds off progression and supports you in positions above and beyond all those surf fantasies you’ve conjured up in your head. In the right hands, it’s an unmistakable instrument playing a crisp note. If the Fletcher Four-fin is a trumpet and the S-10 is a flute, then the S12 is surely a violin.

The Sphere is recommended for intermediate to advanced surfers. It is designed for fast beach breaks and reefs and also serves as an excellent step-up board for racey walls and quick, ledgy slabs. Order this board 1/16” thinner than your normal EPS/Epoxy Stretch tri-fin.

Tail options:

The Sphere’s tail is nearly identical to its opposing nose template offering a uniquely predictable and narrow platform. Any tail configuration is solid.

Swallow: looks really cool.

Thumb: probably looks weirder on this model than anything else.

Round pin: is narrow and best suited for front footed rippers.

Fin options:

The Sphere comes standard as a tri. We recommend this board with smaller yet fuller, high aspect ratio fins from 4 ¼”-4 1/2”.

Tech specs:

Outline: The Sphere has the wide point exact center. The template is an even curve, akin to an arc drawn with a compass. The Sphere’s extremely consistent outline blends nose characteristics similar to the S2 towards a much narrower tail. The result is an extremely predictable board allowing you to maneuver top to bottom with lightning speed.

Rocker: A key element to the Sphere is the extremely consistent and continuous rocker from nose to tail. Unique to every other model in the Stretch board line, the Sphere’s amplified rocker provides stability in extremely critical positions. A predictable feel and a broad “sweet spot”, increases turning ability and quick snaps under the lip.

Bottom: Slight vee in the nose feeds into the deepest single concave Stretch has ever offered. A relatively straighter center-line rocker combined with the increased rail rocker maximizes planing efficiency and maneuverability while providing the quickest turning board possible. The Sphere’s bottom is accentuated with a light vee out the tail.

Rails: The Sphere features a proportionately fuller rail in the mid section and supports a thinner tail. Combining Stretch’s round, spherical rails in a fuller mid section and nose allows for more forgiveness and “follow through”. A stable landing pad under your front foot, the repositioned volume combined with the thinner tail means you’ll be digging your rails less often and coming away clean.

When a surfboard shaper who has decades of experience in various watercrafts can come along and provide all that experience into a specific fin design, it’s pretty unique.

stretch fins

Creating a fin design is a careful recipe much like designing a surfboard. It requires an understanding of hydrodynamics, geometry, construction and the forces acting upon it at all times. Furthermore, it delves into details such as lift to drag ratios, aspect ratios, chord length, draft, camber, tow, laminar and turbulent flow, angle of attack among other things. Choosing fins, much like ordering a custom surfboard is all about purpose and ultimate performance. We have different boards for different waves and conditions just as there are different styles of boards for different styles of surfers. Fins are no different. It should only be appropriate that you try the proper fins designed by the same person who designed your board.

Stretch has over the years produced sailboards, kiteboards, surfboards, boats, towboards, and among other things, has developed a signature fin based off his understanding of getting the most out of your complete surfing experience. His research and collaboration with NACA airfoil data and designers such as George Greenough and Curtis Hesslegrave have been more than revealing. It even goes as far as observing fish swimming in a stream to analyze their body type and natural efficiency in utilizing dynamic flow. Not merely a template design, Stretch’s fin incorporates years of research and development to determine the sizes, camber (inside foil), aspect ratio, rake and foil. A Stretch fin has been tested to be as efficient as possible in order to reduce drag, provide speed, drive, grip and release in the most effective way possible.

stretch-fins-thruster-centre

The leading edge has been designed to induce fluid cohesion and not shear water at high speeds causing fin stall. It is relatively wide and rounded to provide multiple angles of attack. Stretch also designed his fin with a full, arcing tip with a sharp point to allow water to exit the trailing edge reducing turbulent flow and tip effect. The thickness flow from base to tip is designed to increase flow and low pressure as the fin passes through the water allowing for more speed and lift. The tip of the fin is flat to remain neutral while being thin so that as pressure is applied, the excess force will allow the flow to twist off much like a birds wing in flight.

Stretch’s fin design is offered in a variety of sizes and constructions. Whether, it’s glass, composite, RTM, G-10 glass, or even bamboo, there’s a Stretch fin that’s waiting for you. Available in Future, FCS or Lokbox fin systems. Contact Stretch Boards to locate a dealer near you or to upgrade your fin set on any custom order.