Almond's Introduction to: Gliders

June 14, 2024

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Written by Dave Allee

June 14, 2024

·

Written by Dave Allee

Co-Written by Dave Allee & Austin Cooper

Trim is a term used to describe the art of gliding perfectly down the line—matching the speed of the wave—with minimal effort.

The beauty of perfect trim is that your positioning, your board, and the wave are in perfect sync. When you hear people describing the feeling of surfing that keeps them coming back again and again, they are describing what it feels like to be in trim.

You're not working hard, you're certainly not fighting the wave, you're simply putting yourself in the right position to allow the wave to do the work.

Now, if that elusive feeling of trim is what you seek, nothing will get you there faster than a big, long glider.

People will quibble over what length constitutes a glider, but it's semantics really. Here at Almond, we build a glider called the Cash-Yew II. The most common lengths we shape are 10'2", 10'6, and for the fully committed: the occasional 11'0".

Gliders feature a low entry rocker, and because of their superior glide are incredibly fast. The nose and tail look nearly identical in their pin-like shape.

Ideal for lined up, rolling waves, a glider will make seemingly any section you put in front of it, with amazing planing ability—and no paddle-powered surfboard will catch waves earlier in their formation.

Imagine the incredible joy of sitting way on the outside, waiting for that perfect set wave, and then two-stroking your way into a 200 yard long freight train ride down the beach—locked perfectly in the pocket the whole way. That is the kind of surfing you are after when you reach for your glider.

Striking because of their speed-hungry outlines and impressive scale, a good Glider makes an impressive piece both in and out of the water.

A Note on Fin Placement:

There's something interesting that occurs with a board this long. Because the board is so long, and the fin is so far back behind the rider (when you're standing in the middle of the board) you actually don't need quite as much fin as you might think. Personally, I have had the best success with our sweeping 9" flex fin template in the 10'2 or 10'6 Cash-Yew II. That long pin tail acts in the same way as a fin would, providing stability and "hold" in the face of the wave.

The Biggest Board in Your Quiver?

Now, you can hardly talk about boards in the 10 to 11 foot range (or longer) without acknowledging the giraffe in the room... these boards take up a lot of space out of the water. Storing them and getting them safely to and from the beach becomes a slightly different challenge (compared to the 5'4" Secret Menu, for example).

Too tall for most ceilings, Gliders are probably best stored on the wall of your garage and then transported to the beach on the roof racks of your car.

But any inconvenience they present in getting to the beach will be swiftly washed away when you set that rail and point your trusty glider down the line.

Andy Nieblas 10'2 Cash-Yew II from Almond Surfboards on Vimeo.

Although not intended to be a "noserider", Andy Neiblas demonstrates the cross-stepping potential of a 10'2 Cash-Yew II in the clip above.

Where Can You Try One?
Interested to try surfing a glider? We have good news for you... we are bolstering up our Early & Often Surf Club quiver and adding a 10'6 Glider to the mix. Which means we will be hauling one down to the beach for our monthly surf club gatherings.

So all you have you do to try one is join us for one of our upcoming EOSC Meet-Ups.