The gato roach - not to be confused with their space roach model, is a classic old school single fin shortboard from the era of the short board evolution -1967-70. S deck, full rails, and belly, all ensure a smooth ride - no such thing as pumping or chop hops here. There are plenty of sweet spots on the board. You can ride hard from the tail, from the middle or even at the nose - it trims perfectly through flat sections and with the right fin, you can still jam a hard turn.

I have tried a few fins, but love the True Ames Yater 7.5 fin. It's a perfect blend of speed and performance. I did try an 8 inch Greenough 4a, but it felt like i was logging. I also tried a 7 inch Greenough 4a and that was better, but still very sticky on the turns. The more upright and stiffer yater fin gives the board more release and even though there aren't really any hard edges (even on the tail), you can still push hard through turns.

This is a pleasure to ride so far. I've only had it up to chest high so i'm super keen to see how big this will ride, but it works in open beachies and rippy little shore breaks - it's much more versatile than other single fins i have ridden. And nothing quite feels as good as barrel on a single fin. The roach makes it pretty easy with its full rail bottom turns that push you out to where the wave is folding over.

If you want to feel something different on a wave - definitely try one of these. Beautifully shaped by Andy at Wild Things and glassed to last. Sanbah/Ripcurl shipped this to my door pretty much the next day after purchase. Amazing customer service!