RNF RETRO – “Revamp’23”
Launched in 2018, The RNF_RETRO was our spin towards a more classic, almost 1970’s inspired, fish.
Generous dims, low rocker, flat deck, steep rails and wide tail, made catching waves and speeding along, easier than any fish we’d ever designed. What set the RNF_RETRO apart from the endless schools of fish, was the use of a snowboard inspired design element, reverse radius side-cut, in the outline.
We first used side-cut, in our “Pelagic” model, a decade or so earlier. Side-cut outlines are nothing new in surfboards, San Diego pioneers like Mirandon and Caster had used them for ages. We feel the sidecut enables a flat rocker’d and generally parallel outlined board, to turn sharper and retain speed in tight radius turns. They “lock in” to the wave face and carve, off the rail, without sliding out or digging.
The RNF_RETRO uses not one, but two side cut radius’.
One between the feet, starting just behind the wide point and another, shorter/tighter one, right under the rear foot, in place of a hip, or wing. We believe this outline lends the RNF_RETRO a truly unique ride in a sea of relentlessly similar “fish”. After five years unchanged, it is still one of our most popular models, especially in areas plagued with small and soft surf.
Heres what we did for the RNF_RETRO-Revamp’23:
- Moved the wide point slightly forward, for front foot drive, but gently narrowed/pulled in, the forward 12”of the nose, to get it outta the way, in tighter turning situations.
- Deepened the rear side cut, for bite and control, right under the back foot and also added a hint of width to the tail block, for horizontal trim.
- Without changing the tip or tail, we adjusted the rocker curves, both fore and aft. The tail rocker hangs lower in the rear third of the board, but then swoops up quickly, though the fins, creating more curve under the rear foot without actually adding rocker. Up front, we did the opposite and took a more direct route to the nose, cutting out some of the curve in the forward 1/3rd of the board. At the same time, we eliminated the slight forward vee.
These rocker adjustments allow for a more modern, dare say, vertical, approach, with a forgiving feel under the back foot, for more precise pocket turns, without catching the nose.
- We carried the thickness foil further forward, adding more paddle power, ease of entry into waves and front foot drive, to balance the now more curvaceous tail rocker.
- Finally, we deepened the double concave that runs through the back half of the board and the vee thats already in the tail.
These advancements on a proven design have slowly evolved though 5 yrs of production and custom orders, but have never been implemented into our public program….But now they have.
Since most these refinements are subtle and often times even barley seen to the untrained eye, we decided to design a new logo, tints and sprays, to give the RNF_RETRO a fabulously fresh, full re-vamp and makeover.
The stock dims and volumes are still very close to the original. If you loved a certain size in the past, the new version in the same size will certainly be on a par, dims and volume wise.