Widowmaker 2+1

photos are deceptive on this too. Looks quite sleek and refined but it's actually really chunky and solid. Flat deck, plenty of meat in the rail. Glassed to last!

rode it at a local point this morning......3-4ft....slopey.
Paddled like a barracuda.......that seabird glide along the tp third of the wave and a pretty free feeling in the tail.

trims like a motherfucker from a mid stance point.

glassed on fins eh....havent seen one for ages.....large back fin ?

Niiice!
Looks like the type of board that will trim waist high peelers, battle crowds on the 3-4ft days and get you in early on the solid days.

FR and others can I ask what the motivation is for the 2+1?
I’m a bit ignorant to their purpose/function. Is it a bit of a cruiser or do you want to surf it in good or solid waves.
I’m assuming you’re looking for a different kind of feel.
Do you prefer to ride twins, thrusters or quads with you more ‘conventional’ boards?

solitude, I'm a bit different, grew up on single fins well within the thruster era. The singles projected more distance off a turn in the bottom 1/3 of the wave (the thruster did the other 2/3 of it better but I never really clicked with them early on) and with it I just mowed down sections and made speed. It lent itself to high line drives as well. And flow. Where does the 2+1 come into it? It makes it superior in going through the upper turns, holds some speed, you don't lose speed in the top of the wave as you pivot off the fin at the back, can do much tighter full cutbacks, without losing that 'single fin feel' off the bottom or the ability to mow down sections based of a solid bottom turn. 2+1 will go excellently in solid waves
Most of the others would have grown up on 3 fins and will come at it with a different perspective perhaps

Thanks for the response, fantastic description. Would they work with smaller boards or would you be compromising that drive off the bottom?

They add a bit extra to any single fin......those smaller wider tailed singles that were so beautifully refined just before thrusters.

You do lose some of that pure single fin drag free feeling but not much.

FR...did you have a little feel of that little reddish thruster that Bryan shaped off Daves template?

yeah I did. Looked like a really fun board to ride.

That board is beautiful FR

solitude, yes you can do it on small boards, I have a double flyer swallow 2+1 at 6'0" with single to double concave running through a vee - rail length is shorter so find it requires a bit more push (eg a certain beachy/reef section that throws barrels near here that may or may not be in Craig's big swell wrap up on SN last year) - but then it is very skatey, feels like a modern board, very sharp & responsive. Modern dome decks, modern rails & modern deck rocker line improve the designs immensely. Like FR said, those last singles just before the thruster were both short and refined, we have a '79 G&S that is an absolute beauty.

So I'll step up the 2+1 for rail length as I deem I need more paddle, or on the big facey rights around here. In WA it was 6'5" pin version, top to bottom as critical as I could get it. I find I like the 70's style nose outlines, a bit wider, a bit more stable. And I'm 1/2" wider on the planshape compared to when I was 20 (prob at the waist too haha)