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The Harbour San O Bisect
The Harbour San O in a cross stance nose ride
Notice fan of spray due to bevel
After a ride like that, you can kick back
Basic shape idea: Nose rider, wave catcher.
Length: 9' 8''
Width: 22 and 1/2''
Width at tail: 15 and 1/2''
Width at nose: 18 and 1/4''
Thickness: 3 and 1/4''
Single fin.
The Harbour San O with Harbour 10'' fin
The Harbour has a fairly flat profile, with rocker in the tail and a little rocker in the nose. The tail is quite wide. The nose has a channel in it for extra lift. The nose is bevelled in a half circle, with a slight point.
I traded in my Yater and got the Harbour San O Bisect because I felt like the direction my surfing was taking didn't benefit from the Yater. I was leaving the tail a lot, cross stepping, experimenting with parallel and cross stance in the middle and at the nose. I was not concentrating on carving from the tail. On the Yater I tended to slow down at the tip. The waves I ride on the east coast tend to break pretty fast, and this was a big disadvantage.
Wave catching and paddling
The board is a little lighter than the Yater, and has a little less volume. It's not as easy to knee paddle as the Yater, being narrower and thinner.
It's very fast on the paddle and takeoff. The wide tail and tail rocker seems to lend a helping push from the peak. it can also mean a pearl if you're not careful. There's not much nose rocker to counter this. This board might be tough in steep surf.
Turning
It's actually very easy to throw a big bottom turn or cutback, as long as you're right on the tail rocker surface. It turns fine, but you have to position yourself properly. Turning from the middle is pretty hard. It will dig rails.
To be more specific about the turning; in the sense of catching waves, it's a good board for a beginner, but in the sense of turning, it's really not. You need to be able to turn off the tail, then shift (preferably by stepping) forward to not stall. These are not beginning techniques. Still, I suppose you could grow into this board.
Trimming and walking
The board has a "trim rocker," meaning it's fairly flat and will accelerate smoothly when you move up toward the front. There is no danger of stalling until the nose is reached.
Trimming the San O at Long Beach, NY
Photo by Thane Pope
Moving along the board is very smooth. Bisects are nice because the added weight in the middle makes them very easy to walk on. A retreat onto the heavy middle section is always very positive and stable. There is some "feeling" I have on the Bisect when nose riding that there is weight right behind the nose. It may unbalance me a little when attacking the nose, but it certainly helps when retreating.
Nose riding
The Harbour has a great nose shape. In a trimming stance or stretch five, great control can be had at the nose. The bevels spray water up and allow a controlled stall with a little foot pressure. When a higher line on a wall is taken, this spraying occurs in a solid five position.
Dropping in on the nose is nice and fast, probably due to the channels under the nose.
