Just tried the P170 with medium fuse and a 15”
KD Marlin tail. I shimmed the Marlin so the angle was the same as a 14” Shiv with the zero shim. I’m 185 lbs and mostly prone small south shore Oahu. It seemed to work well for me, very easy from the first wave, turns fine for me.
I suck at pumping and tend to get stuck nose high a lot and eventually slow down and drop out. Today was no exception. However, what I felt was something I’ve never felt before. It seemed like the setup was kind of stiff in pitch, meaning it was harder for me to get set up into a nose high attitude while pumping. This seems like a good thing but it did feel harder to correct nose up/down. Not sure if it’s because of the tail or just how the P170 is. Any thoughts regarding this?
But my main question is what tail should I get? The reason I am using the Marlin is because the new carbon Progression tails weren’t in stock. Should I get the 13.5 or 14.5?
I really want to help you out Scot as you’re a great bloke.
I have a p170, p125, 3 pack of 13" g10 tails and the 14.5 progression tail
Unfortunately I don’t know if I’m a good enough rider yet to really give any meaningful feedback especially as I changed so much at once.
It doesn’t totally answer your question but what I can note is:
My p170 was fine with my 13" shiv in smaller conditions but as soon as it got bigger/more powerful I was having a pretty bad forward pitch moment at speed. This was improved by switching to the 13" shunt tail it was more predictable at speed with less pitchiness.
I got my p125 and 14.5 tail at the same time so as a result when it’s bigger I’m on the p125 so I haven’t had a chance to test the p170 in those conditions as much but can say the p125 and 14.5" tail have been much better in bigger surf but I still think they’ll max out once decently overhead (east coast australia)
The p170 has been used with the 14.5" but on smaller days it’s nice and stable pumps well and definitely feels like a more solid/stable platform whether this is due to the increased size of the stab or the carbon I’m unsure. It still seems to turn well for me but I would like a 13.5 to compare next to it before I could give a better conclusion.
Only other things to note is I’ve managed to chip both sets of tails. The g10 is very fragile it chips if you look at it the wrong way. The 14.5" is better but I still managed to knick the trailing edge within a week.
As for your pump have you experimented with different length fuses?
My guess is the 14.5 will be very close to your 15 in feel. At your weight id go for the 13.5. Shimming down to negative, short fuse, moving stance back or mast forward will also loosen the pitch and can improve pumping at lower speed.
14 shiv with negative .5 shim works for me at 210lbs on the 170. Will try short fuse next for tighter pitch turns and also smaller chopped tails.
Thanks, guys…appreciate the input. Still not sure which way to go. I don’t want to buy another fuselage so will stick with the medium. I guess I should go conservative and get the 14.5? I don’t want the tail to be too small and end up being pitch sensitive. I also have a 14" Marlin…maybe I should try it and see. That might help me decide.
That would be the true conservative option. 15,14, 13.5 sounds like a luxury tail quiver and probably better than 15, 14.5, 14. Apart from shimming down, there’s always the chop option. 15 > 13 for example.
Tried the 14” Marlin today. I shimmed it with 0.5 degrees more lift compared the the 15” Marlin. Waves were bigger today than previous days but the 14” was noticeably faster and borderline unstable in pitch and roll for my taste. I’d imagine most would love it and I’d probably get used to it after a while. Anyway, I think I’m going to go for the 14.5 Progression tail.
I have the progression 13.5 normally. I was on the takuma 178 for the first time today. Felt excellent! Need more sessions to figure out because it was unusual conditions. I did a light wind micro-runner sort of thing (linked waves for 1400ft, twice)