I read through the thread on MOTE Surfboards and thought it’d be nice to do one for Larmo. Very fortunate to have grown up with a direct connection to him (shoutout to my neighbor Gary) and have gotten to ride a a lot of his boards. I wanted to share my experiences on his boards below. Would love to hear all of your thoughts and experiences on Larry Mabile boards as well
5’6 Keel Fin Fish:
Super fun and very fast. Feels like you’re riding a skateboard on water. Traditional SD fish rails. Projects very well down the line and goes on rail very smoothly. Only issues I’ve ever had with it is spinning out by pushing too hard and trying to stall out to barrel ride. Love the board and have ridden it in everything from stomach high to OH
5’7 Twinzer Fish:
One of my favorite boards. Knifier rails than my other keel fin fish from him. I run it as my good wave board. Loves a very pitchy, round face - I only really ride it in clean conditions. The board sticks in the wave and cuts through the water like nothing else I’ve experienced. Holds so well that it feels like I’m standing on a sidewalk and is very responsive. Love this board and will never sell it. We are bonded at the soul haha
5’9 Keel Fin Fish:
Much like my 5’6 fish except a little bit boxier and with more float. I generally ride this when I want to ride a fish but am too lazy to paddle something smaller.
6’10 Twinzer Fish:
Really fun midlength to ride when waves start to pick up. Goes better at points than it does at the beaches. Shaped like a speed fish, with wings and a more pulled in tail. Definitely can turn but prefers to trim down the line in the pocket
7’ 1+2 Honey Badger:
Another one of my favorites. Needs a little more punch to get going but once it’s going you never want to get off it. I generally ride this at the reefs when it starts to get chest high and above. Makes big drop ins feel like nothing, turns extremely well, and glides like butter. My favorite board during the winter
8’6 Quad Diamond Tail:
This board has 70/30 glider rails with a pretty good vee running through the last 2 feet of the board. It is best surfed directly over the fins using the rest of the board in front of you to glide and trim with. Glides extremely well and turns surprisingly easy due to bottom contours. I’ve ridden this board in everything from knee to head high both beach breaks and points. Another Magic board I won’t ever get rid of
9’ Single Fin Egg:
Picked it up off CL about 6 months ago. It was shaped before Larmo started shaping for G&S so it’s pretty old. Has some concave in the nose and you can get 5 off if everything lines up right. Carries speed very well through turns. I need to ride it more in order to get a better feel for it. Haven’t really gotten to take it out at the beaches yet
9’2 Fish:
This is the one I have up for sale right now. I’ve ridden it as a twinzer, twin and thruster (preferred as thruster). I like the board but prefer single fins and the aforementioned egg has sort of taken its place. I used this as board sort of my ‘catch all’ for beach breaks when I wanted to ride something longer. Really fast and connects sections that you would not think you could normally make.
9’4 Keel Fin Fish Glider:
Gets into waves very early and glides through water very easily. Has twinzer options but I’ve always preferred it as a twin. Despite going best at point breaks it goes surprisingly well at beaches too. Mostly is surfed off the back 1/3 but when the wave lines up and you can step up to the middle to trim the board takes off.
I love Larry Mabiles boards and think his rail work is especially exceptional. Definitely my favorite shaper. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to ride one of his white pony, twinzer speed eggs, or his double eagle gliders and would still love to try all of those.
I highly recommend his fish and his honey badger - if you’re going to try one of his shapes for the first time I would recommend you start there. I would love to hear your guys experiences on his boards (especially if you’ve ridden any of the 3 in the paragraph above). If you’ve gotten this far thanks for reading my brain dump. Excited to see what you all have to share
5’6 Keel Fin Fish:
Super fun and very fast. Feels like you’re riding a skateboard on water. Traditional SD fish rails. Projects very well down the line and goes on rail very smoothly. Only issues I’ve ever had with it is spinning out by pushing too hard and trying to stall out to barrel ride. Love the board and have ridden it in everything from stomach high to OH
5’7 Twinzer Fish:
One of my favorite boards. Knifier rails than my other keel fin fish from him. I run it as my good wave board. Loves a very pitchy, round face - I only really ride it in clean conditions. The board sticks in the wave and cuts through the water like nothing else I’ve experienced. Holds so well that it feels like I’m standing on a sidewalk and is very responsive. Love this board and will never sell it. We are bonded at the soul haha
5’9 Keel Fin Fish:
Much like my 5’6 fish except a little bit boxier and with more float. I generally ride this when I want to ride a fish but am too lazy to paddle something smaller.
6’10 Twinzer Fish:
Really fun midlength to ride when waves start to pick up. Goes better at points than it does at the beaches. Shaped like a speed fish, with wings and a more pulled in tail. Definitely can turn but prefers to trim down the line in the pocket
7’ 1+2 Honey Badger:
Another one of my favorites. Needs a little more punch to get going but once it’s going you never want to get off it. I generally ride this at the reefs when it starts to get chest high and above. Makes big drop ins feel like nothing, turns extremely well, and glides like butter. My favorite board during the winter
8’6 Quad Diamond Tail:
This board has 70/30 glider rails with a pretty good vee running through the last 2 feet of the board. It is best surfed directly over the fins using the rest of the board in front of you to glide and trim with. Glides extremely well and turns surprisingly easy due to bottom contours. I’ve ridden this board in everything from knee to head high both beach breaks and points. Another Magic board I won’t ever get rid of
9’ Single Fin Egg:
Picked it up off CL about 6 months ago. It was shaped before Larmo started shaping for G&S so it’s pretty old. Has some concave in the nose and you can get 5 off if everything lines up right. Carries speed very well through turns. I need to ride it more in order to get a better feel for it. Haven’t really gotten to take it out at the beaches yet
9’2 Fish:
This is the one I have up for sale right now. I’ve ridden it as a twinzer, twin and thruster (preferred as thruster). I like the board but prefer single fins and the aforementioned egg has sort of taken its place. I used this as board sort of my ‘catch all’ for beach breaks when I wanted to ride something longer. Really fast and connects sections that you would not think you could normally make.
9’4 Keel Fin Fish Glider:
Gets into waves very early and glides through water very easily. Has twinzer options but I’ve always preferred it as a twin. Despite going best at point breaks it goes surprisingly well at beaches too. Mostly is surfed off the back 1/3 but when the wave lines up and you can step up to the middle to trim the board takes off.
I love Larry Mabiles boards and think his rail work is especially exceptional. Definitely my favorite shaper. I haven’t gotten the opportunity to ride one of his white pony, twinzer speed eggs, or his double eagle gliders and would still love to try all of those.
I highly recommend his fish and his honey badger - if you’re going to try one of his shapes for the first time I would recommend you start there. I would love to hear your guys experiences on his boards (especially if you’ve ridden any of the 3 in the paragraph above). If you’ve gotten this far thanks for reading my brain dump. Excited to see what you all have to share
