Customer Satisfaction

Here is a recent email I received from a new client having just surfed his newly aquired Long Fish Simmons Quad:

Part 1-
"Josh,
I got the board (6'8 quad fish simmons) in the water today. Right outside my house in Montara, waist to chest high offshore A frames. The board went insane! So much fun. Came flying out onto the flat part of the wave with so much speed that I just started laying into super hard roundhouse cutbacks. You know how sometimes you cutback and kind of touch the wave with your forehand? Well, one wave I actually buried my whole arm into the wave all the way up to my shoulder and the board just came around and smacked the foamball. Don't know if it was the kookiest looking thing ever or totally radical. Either way it felt really good. I'm soo stoked! One thing though, the fins were whooting at me every time I made a turn. Kind of high pitched hooooo noise. What is that? Cavitation? I had board do that once in the 80's with glass on thruster fins. Warped fins? I can't see antyhing wrong when looking at them. Is there a cure? I can live with if not, doesn't seem to effect the performance.
Stoked, Justin"

(fin hum, happens a lot with the marine ply glass ons, so what I recommend to so is take like 100-120 grit, roll it around a pencil and file down the back edge of the fin, or filet, area to make it into a nicely foiled point. Ever notice how some glass shops fin layups can add up to an inch of extra base to the fin? The trouble area is where the back of the fin meets the bottom of the board. Play around with the for a little while to get some of the excess glass and rope out of there and it shold cure the hum!)

Part2-
"Yeah, I'll sand it down a little in that corner. Maybe wetsand fins all together. Isn't that supposed to add a little speed also? Helps water roll around the fins a little better? Laminar flow? Most people I surf with would be too close minded to rock a big fish. Unless they ride it. Maybe too concerned that they might get heckled walking down the beach." "For some reason alot of people I know try to ride equipment that is too small for them or to small for the conditions. I,ve come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what you are riding as long as your having fun and ripping others will follow.
Not allot of shapers around here going the route you guys take in San Diego. Mannny was one of the few guys shaping proper SD style fish and he moved down there. Even he was pushing the 5'9 s until recently. He's been influenced by mark andreini who shapes diplacement hulls and lives by us in San Mateo. Mark is super cool guy, just on a different trip. He says skip is one of his major influences. All my favorite shapers have been influenced by Skip. I've never even owned one of skip's boards and he's still my favorite shaper.
Thanks Josh.
now lifelong customer,
Justin"