Esplanade

Most riders land between 40 and 50 liters on the Esplanade, which puts you in the 6'8"–7'5" range. The right liter count depends on what you ride day-to-day and the wave you're sizing for. Push taller (7'10"+) for more paddle, more glide, easier early entry on smaller days, and a slower turn arc. Pull shorter (6'2"–6'8") for more responsiveness, tighter pivots, and a lighter feel under the back foot. If you're sizing up for paddle, size up in volume (width + thickness), not just length. Message me with your weight, your daily-driver board, and the wave you're sizing for, and I'll help you dial it in.

2+1 is the box layout — a center single-fin box plus two Futures side plugs. The same physical boxes support two run modes: ride the center fin alone for classic glide and trim, or add the side bites when a steeper face wants extra hold and drive. Choose one mode per session. A thruster, quad, or twin is not the right setup for a mid-length of this character — the Esplanade ships 2+1 for a reason. Per-template recommendations across Futures, FCS II, True Ames, and NVS are coming after we finish a broader rake-vs- pivot deep-dive. Until then, message me with your weight and the waves you're riding and I'll recommend what to run.

This is the board for clean, lined-up surf — the kind of day when the wave gives you a face to draw on. Salt Creek glassing off at the end of a south swell, San Onofre running waist-to-shoulder with real shape, soft-shoulder Trestles, an off-season Indo cruise, a mainland Mexico point that peels long enough to feel every foot of rail engaged. Waist-to-shoulder is the sweet spot; it'll handle overhead when the shape holds. Not a hollow-reef weapon, not a knee-high grovel board. For double-overhead reef, a dedicated step- up handles it better; for knee-to-waist mush, a wider, flatter shape paddles and planes better.

Built for intermediate-to-advanced surfers. The 60/40 rails and the medium entry rocker make it forgiving in trim, but the Esplanade asks the rider to commit to a turn rather than ride it as pure cruise. If you're still building paddle confidence on smaller days, a wider, flatter shape will treat you better in the meantime. Comfortable in the lineup is the floor; the Esplanade is a board you grow into when you want one shape that paddles like a longboard, planes through fat sections, and still rewards a committed bottom turn.

Standard lead time is 4–6 weeks for a clear, resin-sanded build ($850), 8–10 weeks for resin tint both sides sanded ($1,000), and 6–8 weeks for resin tint with a gloss-and-polish finish ($1,200). Timelines reflect the current queue and are confirmed at order intake. Every board is built to your specs in San Clemente: I design in Shape3D and CNC-cut the blank; Jack Sykes glasses and finishes. Pricing is based on the `mid-length-minigun-stepup` tier, which covers all sizes from 6'8" through 8'6". The Esplanade's 6'2"–8'0" range sits inside the bracket, so no special-case pricing fires at any standard stock size.

Both are mid-length cruisers aimed at the same wave window — clean, lined-up surf where you want paddle, glide, and a draw-out turn. The Esplanade lives in that same conversation: a refined- cruiser positioning, a 2+1 box layout that supports a single-fin run mode for classic glide, and a contour designed for the walking- pace wave. The differences come down to specific design choices: my contour pairs a vee panel through the tail with a flat panel through the middle and nose, runs 60/40 rails with a hard edge through the last 12" of the tail, and sits on a centered wide point with medium entry and exit rocker. Specs and template recommendations come together with a conversation — message me with what you're currently riding and I'll talk you through whether this is the right next board.

Default glass schedule is a 6oz S-cloth + 4oz warp deck (`6S+4W`) with a 4oz S-cloth + 4oz warp bottom (`4S+4W`) — heavier than shortboard spec to support mid-length flex on longer rails. Heavier riders ordering 7'10"+ may want a 6S+6W deck for extra durability under the front foot; flag it at order time. The standard PU blank carries a 1/4" basswood center stringer; T-band, off-center, basswood swap, and EPS swaps are available as paid add-ons. Resin tints, color airspray, deck patches, Volan tail patches, and gloss-and-polish finishes all surface in the customizer's accordion at the bottom of the page.

The contour diagram for the Esplanade shows a vee panel through the tail that hands off into a flat panel through the middle and nose — and the side profile shows a medium entry rocker, a centered wide point, and a medium exit rocker. The pairing isn't arbitrary. The vee tail releases water cleanly out of turns and rolls the board rail-to-rail at mid-length speeds — it's the hydrodynamic move that keeps the back foot active when you commit to a turn rather than just trim. The flat panel through the middle and nose gives genuine paddle and a soft, early take-off; it also hands off cleanly when a section flattens, so you don't catch a rail on a soft wave. Together they read as a refined cruiser — not a single-concave performance-oriented mid-length, not a belly-hull log-leaning cruiser, but a board designed for the walking-pace wave where the rider wants paddle, glide, and a real turn.