Channel Islands Bobby Quad Spine-Tek (FCS II Quad)

If you’re after a speedy, playful, short-railed board that stays loose yet crisp in the pocket on smaller, weaker days then look no further than the Bobby Quad. Bobby Martinez challenged us to build him as short of a board as possible with the goal of maximizing his fun in Santa Barbara’s tiny summer surf. He also added that it had to be a quad, and it still had to live up to his high-performance standards. Bobby’s shortboards are 5’8” but for this customized four-finner he was thinking we ought to take it down to 5’2”.
By shortening the rail line and distributing the volume into the width throughout the plan shape he’d be able to skate over the flats and carry enough speed to still fit in his signature gauges. The Bobby Quad has a low entry rocker that goes into a flat planing surface under the gas pedal portion of the board that provides the speed to get into waves and over those flat sections. The exit rocker and bottom contours are designed to be all business - with performance oriented flip and generous double concave for added lift to help Bobby boogie down the line in gutless waves. Its tail rocker profile, combined with some width in the tail and modified swallow, provide speed and hold during quick directional changes.
The model is designed to be ridden 3” to 6” shorter and 1⁄4” to 1/2” wider than your shortboard. For reference, Bobby’s dimensions are 5’2 × 19 × 2 5/16. From other team riders we’ve since learned that the Bobby Quad is versatile enough to be scaled up for those wanting to increase their wave count. The rail stays nicely foiled (not chunky) at fuller dimensions, so to maintain the integrity of the design we recommend adding thickness over width to hit your volume. As for fins, we recommend you run your favorite quad templates. Available with Futures or FCS 2, and can be made in PU, Epoxy or Spine-Tek constructions. The Bobby Quad can be custom ordered through your local surf shop.

Engineered by the crew at Shapers Australia, our exclusive SPINE-TEK partnership allows Channel Islands to build boards that are livelier and more responsive. Like a spring, they load up on energy, provide pop, accelerate out of turns whilst holding speed down the line, and the “spine” keeps its flex pattern unlike timber which looses it over time.
SPINE-TEK is based on the principles of elastic energy, to flex under pressure and then return the surfboard back to its natural rocker, providing surfboards with a more lively and responsive feel.
Performance through innovation, SPINE-TEK® is a world’s first with its unique fiber-based composition, delivers optimal flex based performance through the principles of elastic & kinetic energy. Through this process the surfboard loads up on energy and then releases, generating additional drive, speed, power & flow.
Weighing a mere ¼ of a pound and installed in the surfboard deck, SPINE-TEK replaces the traditional heavier timber stringers and is virtually break free.
The SPINE-TEK concept focuses the importance of flex to provide increased efficiency to turn (the ability to redirect body mass faster and at more acute angles). The result is increased efficiency (the way the board moves through water), the Spine helps a surfer achieve greater output from less input; a lighter amount of force required through the bottom turn to create more acceleration for the top turn.
Some surfers will simply push/try harder (use more force) to achieve a more powerful response (bigger turns, more pop for punts etc). Maximizing this efficiency is also a way minimize surfer fatigue and maintain energy.
A critical component is the ability of a product to be able to change shape (distort) and then return back to its optimal form (shape) with force. The SPINE flexing is loading up on energy (this load process is ‘storing energy’ = Elastic Potential Energy). When the board responds back to its natural shape (the boards rocker curve), this stored energy is converted to Kinetic Energy (the energy of motion). In simple terms, the surfboard loads up on energy (potential) and then the boards springs back with energy (kinetic). In surfing terms.. Speed, Power, Drive, Flow.