INTRO
The Little Orca was one out of the box that maybe was a step too far but I was surprised how customers took to it. I guess with more and more people chasing smaller waves these days they only had to get a taste of the speed and the line this model takes to get somewhat hooked on it. I think it may even be more palatable if I reduced some of its extremes as in the width of the tail and the depth of the Grand Canyon i.e. the single concave through two thirds of the bottom which really does dominate the landscape...!
PLANSHAPE
The original Orca was designed as a fast little fish through and through sporting a very wide moon tail designed to reduce a lot of pod pressure with the cut out which helped the two fins go about their business without too much cavitation and sliding. Still, it is a super wide tail close to ten inches tip to tip if not more which would always pose limitations at speed. The idea of the MK2 was to reduce this tail area and narrow the moon so it can drive at speed. Applying a flyer to the plan shape and pulling in the 12” mark has gone a long way to let this little baby sit down under pressure in bigger waves.
BOTTOM SHAPE
The DNA of the MK2 to the original Orca is still exactly the same. The big change on the bottom is the width and depth of the single concave in particular. The MK2 sports a much shallower concave than its predecessor in order to allow it to be controlled a lot easier in slightly bigger waves knowing full well it is still a Twin Fin.
Also, in the last foot and a half of the bottom shape the bottom slides into a vee that in which the concave sits in. This again gives this board more control as the vee back there counters the excess lift of the concave with a tilting mechanism so in effect you get the best of both.
RAILS + FINS
Being a Twin Fin, a thicker boxy rail is needed for drive so that’s a given. The fin positions on the original Orca were set right back in order to manage the sheer width of the pod and for the guys who loved to soul arch a laid-back keel was suggested, however with the MK2 being a more performance design I have moved the fins slightly more forward and am suggesting more upright standard MR’s or the like to be used.
DIMS
5.8 X 21 X 2 3/8 = 32.24 LTS
5.10 X 21 ¼ x 2 7/16 = 34.33 LTS
6.0 X 21 ½ X 2 ½ = 36 LTS
6.2 X 21 ¾ X 2 9/16 = 39 LTS
6.4 X 22 X 2 5/8 = 41 LTS
6.6 X 22 ¼ X 2 11/16 = 43.40 LTS
6.8 X 22 ½ X 2 11/16 = 44.89 LTS