Swamp Darter
The Swamp Darter is our groveler shortboard, made to keep things interesting in small, weak waves. When we just want to get in the water on a hot summer evening, or we are meeting up with longboarder friends at a softer wave, this is the board we take.
The Swamp Darter is our groveler shortboard, made to keep things interesting in small, weak waves. When we just want to get in the water on a hot summer evening, or we are meeting up with longboarder friends at a softer wave, this is the board we take.
The Swamp Darter is our groveler shortboard, made to keep things interesting in small, weak waves. When we just want to get in the water on a hot summer evening, or we are meeting up with longboarder friends at a softer wave, this is the board we take.
What’s lurking in that murky puddle? Etheostoma fusiforme, the Swamp Darter, survives in the grungiest bodies of water you can think of. It’s about 2 inches long, and not that much is known about it because it isn’t as cool as other fish. And who really wants to study a fish that likes gross conditions? It does have a bad-ass name, though, and it thrives where other fish can’t.
Performance
We designed the Swamp Darter to catch lots of waves and go fast, even when conditions are small and mushy. Over time, it turned into a bit of a secret weapon. The rails have gotten thinner and more responsive, and the outline has gotten leaner. It feels much more nimble than early versions, with accessible performance that helps you maximize fun on days without a lot of swell. We came up with a funky tail shape that provides enough area to plane across flat sections, but still breaks up the flow enough to keep the board feeling loose.
The Swamp Darter performs best in small waves up to chest high. Our standard design offers 5 fin boxes, and so you can configure the fins to match your style. Because it packs a ton of volume and paddle power into a short package, the Swamp Darter is also very usable for larger surfers, without feeling unnaturally thick or stubby.
Technology
Each Blueprint Surf board features our Secret Composite Skin, and a custom designed, 3D printed core. They combine to make a board that is light weight and durable, that also sequesters about 50 soda bottles worth of recycled plastics. We fiberglass all of our boards ourselves, and we offer several different weights of layup. Each core structure is 3D printed to order and customized based on the surfer who ordered it. Since each board is printed to order, we also get to drop in design tweaks and improvements as soon they pass our testing. There’s no obsolete inventory, and no waiting for the next shipping container to clear customs. For more information on the benefits of our technology, check out our technology page:
Board Specifics
Outline: Round nose, wide under the chest with a gradual uninterrupted curve into a pin tail
Rocker: Moderate endry rocker, staged through the middle, with low exit rocker
Bottom Contour: Vee nose, flat through the middle and Vee in the tail.
Fins: Placed slightly forward compared to most twin pins. We usually run it with twin 5.5” keels.