The Christenson Chris Craft is Chris Christenson’s glider design, typically seen in lengths 10’0 up to 12’0.

Quite possibly one of the most misunderstood designs in surfing, this board is not a longboard, not a log, not a noserider and definitely not a SUP. It’s a “glider”. What exactly does that mean? This board is designed to go through the water with maximum speed and efficiency, both paddling and surfing. This lends it to high wave count, noticeable speed starting at takeoff, incredible trimming and surprising turn capability. The Chris Craft also has an uncanny ability to connect waves from way outside, all the way to the beach, even when the transitions aren’t even breaking. Most people are confused by this board, but ask anyone that has one, and they’ll tell you it’s one of the favorite boards in their quiver.

•Long, streamlined shape
•Relatively narrow and thin for its size
•Pulled in nose with a foiled thin square tail
•Bellied mid section with single concave running through it, running to vee out the tail
•Knee paddle patch
•Single fin set up (don’t oversize the fin)

This board makes surfing small, gutless waves super fun. It’s also surprisingly nimble in waves up to head high, as long as they’re slopey and breaking relatively slow. The Chris Craft’s long waterline and relatively narrow width slides through the water effortlessly, both paddling and surfing. This gets you into a TON of waves and shoots you into the wave with a noticeable extra burst of speed. The CC is quite a bit faster than HP and old school longboards. You notice this right out of the gate as you take off on your first wave.

Chris Craft on the beach in Cape Hatteras.

The Chris Craft likes to be ridden on the back 2/3rds of the board. It’s a trimmer and a turner, not necessarily a noserider, although you can cheat those in. The long, straight rail line adds tons of linear drive and speed down the line. Just like a long set of skis or a big old school powder board, you can cover a lot of ground quick on this board. The foiled out tail sinks in deep through turns. As long as you step to the tail, the maneuverability of this board will surprise you and far exceed your expectations.

Another highlight of the Chris Craft is its ability to connect waves that break, unbreak and break again. This can literally increase the length of every ride by 3X compared to other boards in the lineup. Start out going left, then pivot right on the reform, then left again on the reform to the beach. The flat rocker and momentum this board carries, combined with its friction free glide through the water, make connecting waves like this really easy. It’s surfing’s closest brother to foiling. In fact, we joked around calling the Chris Craft the “world’s longest foilboard with the world’s shortest mast”. It’s that good.

This being our smallest wave summer in recent memory, we had plenty of time to surf two sizes of the Chris Craft; a 10’0 and an 11’2. This helped us learn about sizing them and what you gain/lose by going bigger or smaller.

The first CC we rode was Trip’s 11’2. This board was the favorite on the smallest, slopiest days and the best for connecting the barely connectable waves. We rode the 11’2 from ankle high dribblers up to shoulder high soft points. The 10’ was easier/lighter to maneuver in the lineup, and had litt up performance once the waves got thigh high or above. Mind you, this was all with surfers 175lbs or above, so if you’re lighter weight the 10’0 or 10’6 would be fine in the micro stuff. (But then again, don’t be afraid of going long because you already have a garage full of shorter boards.) We rode the 10’0 starting at the same ankle high, then topped it out in high tide, soft hurricane swell about a foot overhead. Even in the bigger stuff it handled, as long as the wave was slopey, or even with a small almond barrel. Once it went square, even at a smaller size, the long flat rocker didn’t come close to fitting in the wave.

This leads us into the waves this boards excels in. It has a wide wave height range, but it likes slopey waves with a large canvas for gliding and turns. It isn’t the best choice for dumpy, closeout beach breaks. But if you have a spot with longer lines, reforms and room to play, this board is insane. Think Waikiki, San Onofre, or our summer bars here on the southside of Hatteras Island or up north in Nags Head. When we say long lines, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a perfect point, as many of these long lines close out here on our bars. But you can also glide across the front of the whitewater and pick up the next section or reform on this board where others can’t.

The longer lengths and flatter rockers take a few sessions to get used to, even if you’re used to riding 9’ longboards. You’ll still have fun the first session, but give it two or three sessions and you’ll start dialing it in. Again, slopey waves will make this transition easier. The Christenson C-Bucket and Chris Craft are closely related, and where the C-Bucket has virtually no limit at its top end, the Chris Craft eventually runs into a wall in bigger, more square waves, since the long/flat board simply won’t fit into the curve of the wave. That’s not a negative thing, it’s just comparing the two, and the additional performance (glide and speed) you get out of the Chris Craft in the smaller stuff makes it an awesome addition to the quiver.

Fin sizing is important. We liked the Captain Fin 9” Christenson Tracker fin for the 11’2 and the same fin in 8” and 8.5” for the 10’0. Don’t go any bigger than these or you will lose performance.

You have long, soft lines coming into the beach and are looking for the perfect weapon. The Chris Craft makes surfing these waves crazy fun, and allows you to draw new (fast) lines all over them.