Wooden Surfboard Focus: The 7’2 Coaster

Background:

The Coaster came about back in 2015 when James, Mat, Chris and our friend Gideon asked themselves the question over a cup of tea in the workshop, “If we could only travel and surf with one board, what would it be?”

It’s a departure from the other mid-length boards that we produce in that it’s less rounded and definitely aimed more towards high performance in as wide a range of waves as possible, rather than erring towards stability or ease of use.

The wide point is slightly forwards of centre to aid paddling and planing speed and works well with a pulled in rounded pin tail that retains great control when the waves get a bit bigger and naturally finds smooth, classic lines on the wave.

Specs:

A 7’2” midlength tracker with a refined, pulled in, template and a rounded pintail. The Coaster is designed to shine in anything from waist-high peelers to overhead points and reefs. At 21½” wide and 2¾” thick it’s fast to paddle, handling “meatier” waves with ease, and the drawn out tail smooths turns and holds in well on steeper waves or small hollow runners. This board is fast, tight, and a joy to ride whether you’re cruising in true summer style or rolling into some thicker autumn swells.

7’2” x 21½” x 2¾” – 46.4 l

Designed to be ridden as a single fin in small surf, but comes alive as a quad, thruster or 1+2 in bigger surf.

Review:

Given the boards versatility and performance in a range of conditions, the Coaster is a popular with folks who join us to make their own wooden surfboards. One such workshopper is Andy, who joined us back in 2017 for a week of making, he surfs regularly at his home spot in St Ives and recently caught up with us to let us know his thoughts on surfing it over the past 7 years…

“I made mine before Mid-Lengths were sooooo fashionable and ‘the thing’……. It made sense talking to Chris and James when I visited the workshop before deciding which model to make during my Otter workshop – I explained how I wanted to make a board I would never not need – no matter how old, whatever the conditions and yet still had some performance to progress into.

And it turned out to be the perfect board for fat Sennen waves – especially when wind chops up the surface as so often it does on exposed westerly beach breaks that I surf.

I have had my board for some years now and I still play around with fins – as the coaster has so many options…single fin, quad or 2 + 1 – so this really makes the board so much more versatile. I hate when people describe boards as a ‘one board quiver’ because it is bullshit and just used to sell you another board, but the coaster is versatile, it’s not a groveller – which is often a mistake people make with mid lengths, extra length and volume don’t always mean they perform well in small surf. However, waist high and above, average days or even with a little onshore, this board works well and when it gets a little bigger it inspires confidence to take drops I would normally bale. It’s a solid platform you can trust and won’t through up any surprises, you can set it and go. I normally hate taking off amongst white water with the crest of wave breaking around me but the coaster holds strong and is unperturbed by the turbulence and emerges from the froth with no fuss. I love it. Having surfed along side so many different models from the Otter range I am convinced I made the right choice for me, of course I have my eye on logs which catch everything, and the flatter and fatter fish which might offer me a tighter turning circle and looseness – but in the end the coaster sorts me out for most of my surfing needs.”

Andy, May 2024

If you would like to order your own custom 7’2 Coaster wooden surfboard, click here

If you would like to join us like Andy did to make your own wooden surfboard, click here

If you would like any more information about Otter Surfboards or which surfboard might be best for you, just give us a shout!