nice how is that forward fin thing , what does this do ? smaller sizes ?

I have used the board with the forward center fin & It dose seem to help the board track. I feel as a heavy rider most boards like to snake around under the weight & its not until the board is up planing that I achieve similar paddling strokes on either side as lighter paddlers, with the use of the forward fin the board dose hold its line much better.
The board is supper stable I mean supper & punching out through the waves was easy catching waves was fun. If you were quick you don't even have to paddle. By standing at the tip of the deck grip the board would just pick up & take off the trick was getting to the back with out nose diving or loosing the wave, the more & more I ran up & down the board the more I felt how agile the board was & will be quite a fun performance board. when paddling on, the runners or waves no nose diving or balance issues, it would stay on a runner, no stalling & with some skill do some cut backs on the sucky section I would recommend this board to people looking for a board that would make down winding easy & fun. Not as fast as some other boards, but if it got rough or the swell picked up. You would be on a winner. For the lighter paddler also a great flat water board to race. Very impressed with the build quality, some ever so slight blemishes in the paint work is noticed as the board is so glossy & big.
Lots of fun to be had here

I'm a BIG fan of this board, I've had mine for a few months now and it's a ton of fun...super well-mannered in chop, goes great DW and while it's not going to compete with ACES and LEs in flat water it's no slouch in that environment either (we almost never get proper flat water where I am anyway). If I was restricted to only one bay board it would be this one.

And I endorse the use of the ventral fin, it does what's intended, especially for the larger and/or balance-challenged paddler. Also IMO you have to take care using ventrals to make sure that the ventral is paired with the right rear fin...too much ventral with a too-small area/base tail fin and the ventral starts to overwhelm the tail fin & the ventral starts to work like a pivot point...not what you want in chop, slop or on a runner. I've had a larger L.A. ventral fin in mine for a few runs and I think it's a maybe little big for this board (the big L.A. ventral works very well in my 17 paired with a big L.A. keel fin). Note also...you want that little ventral placed somewhere about where the power phase of your stroke is - for talls it'll be up the front of the box.

The only problem I find with my WOW 14' GSR is that I get home late after hours of getting lost on the water with it, lucky that the misses likes it too so no dramas (she paddled it with the dog this arvo before my session on it). Had mine for nearly 6 months now and clocked up enough varied sessions to be head over heals for it.

What I like most about this board (although it is my first board) is that it is no problem to paddle it 8-10kms in an ocean session and anywhere you see a wave and feel like surfing you can as it will handle the swell size reflected on most typical days (1 to 4 feet), and this is why I'm home later than expected because surfing it is too fun.

So far the only limitations have been me and my light 68kg frame that requires getting well back on the board the bigger the wave is, and yes naturally you don't always get it right and stab the nose and get launched. Have had my best week to date on it with Botany Bay downwinder with Monday's epic wind conditions, Tuesday my first session at Baysurf (Port Hacking, Cronulla) and then paddled around the front for 3-4 foot Shark Island backdoor lefts, and I just had the best session 3 hours ago riding a 3+ foot reef break around Bare Island (La Perouse, Syd) which I ride semi-regularly. It seems no one really bothers riding these waves but the GSR loves too. I have been caught out twice (last sunday arvo was 2nd time) paddling north from Long Bay (Malabar) around the headland to Maroubra when a southerly has blown up but the GSR has got me back home safely every time despite big hairy swells and backwash making the headland like a washing machine going back into the southerly.

Point is that if you have the confidence to put this board anywhere, the big orange girl will pay you back and responds well to paddler input.

Am thinking of taking my board on an overnight ocean trip/tour with a mate this summer from Cronulla to Stanwell Park (nearly 30kms with overnight camp after 13kms at Curracurang) which passes the Royal National park coastline with fairly unspoilt beaches. This part of the coastline lines up perfectly with the summer North-east winds and would be a magic DW run and trip on this board, we'll see.

Potty