McTavish Fireball
9’2 X 22 ½ X 3”
I had been looking for a general purpose longboard for quite a while, something that could nose ride a bit and still surf off the tail. Among my friends the fireball was a really popular board. Between them I know that the fireball had been ridden comfortably at over double overhead however I was aware that they could noseride really well. I had tried a friends 9”6” with a greenough 9” single fin in small waves and it rode really really well off the nose.
I picked up a 9’2” model in “well used” condition and it came with a greenough stage 4 fin. I was really surprised at the amount of foam packed into the board. The nose, rail and tail are quite thick and not overly foiled out like pure performance longboards. Saying that The Australian longboard championships were won on a fireball some years ago.
The blurb on the McTavish website describes the board as follows:
“Big waves, small waves, beach breaks and point breaks – performance is guaranteed in all conditions. The Fireball has a loaded double concave tail for quick turns, a deep nose concave for stable noserides, and bevels up front for a stable walking platform. Whatever your skill level, weather you’re a beginner or an experienced surfer, we can customise a Fireball to suit your specific needs”
I have known beginners buy this board and subsequently didn’t like it. I’m not too sure why. Initially I rode this board with the single fin and I didn’t really like it too much, even though I did like the 9’6” with the same fin, however I had been riding thrusters a lot.
So looking at the options I decided to go quite thruster like with the fin configuration. I went with a rusty 6.5” TK flex fin with small FCS H-2 as side bites. Wow this made the board come alive. I know some people don’t like to see longboards ridden performance style but there is something satisfying about slamming 8ft of board out the back of the wave as you bring it around. The board really surfs insane allowing you to do the big off the lips and reo’s with ease even in small waves. At the same time it still nose rides pretty good.
In summary it really is the ultimate all round longboard for mixed surfing. Note this was an Australian made board in standard construction and performance may not be comparable on the SLX or thai made boards.
6 comments:
Hi
Where did you get your Fireball from?
I used to ride one years ago (2004) and absolutely loved it. I think it was a 9'3" in light blue with flames painted up the sides.
Really wish I hadn't sold it but injury got the better of me. Ive been trying to find another since but had no luck.
Loose-fit in Braunton used to do them but I think www.downthelinesurf.co.uk are now the distributors. Tell Trevor Burnsie sent you.
There is also one in the community/for sale section on magicseaweed at the moment
Hi Burnsie,
Not sure if you are still blogging, but here it goes anyway. I read this review and found the fin changes interesting. I've got a 7' minimal and it's a nice ride but very hard to turn as it is super stable...it is my learners board...so pretty boring really. I was thinking in changing the fin configuration as you did with this fireball. The board has three same size fins now. Do you reckon it'll work?
Thank you,
Carlos
Yes Carlos that will work great....But...... in a multi fin setup the fin position is critical with 1/8" making a significant difference.
Start with the leading edge of the middle fin 2" back from the trailing edge of the side fins, and adjust in small increments from there until you find the sweet spot.
Hope this helps.
Kieran
Recently picked this board up second hand for $400 in Australia and absolutely love it. Great blog, where are you based. Cheers
Thanks, I'm based in Cork Ireland
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