Mccoy Surfboards Nugget

I've been riding an 8 ft Nugget for about 3 or 4 years.

The board belongs to a very generous friend.

As i kid we started on early short boards maybe 8 ft.

Later rode 5'7 twin fin. Etc.

Since I'm 6 ft and 230 lbs at 55 years the McCoy is my go to board. In the last couple of years I've learned to be able to paddle out in 10 foot faces by turning turtle and duck diving.

I read on a McCoy site that to duck dive you have to start your duck dive about one second sooner than a short board.

This works very well.

Turning turtle works well but sometimes the next wave will pummel ya if you lose forward momentum.

The Nugget will make Very Steep drops if you stay centered and don't bail out. Nose rocker??

To turn tightly keep back foot near the tail.

The board is very fast if you stay on the top one third of the wave. You can go so fast on it that you'll make every floater by flying over the top of the closeout barrel for 15 feet or so then still have enough speed to easily drop with the lip or after the lip.

Probably the best boards I ever had were a

tropical trader 5' 6" twin fin. Egg 6'8".

A magical 6'5" quad swallow with wings. Famous shaper

That board would go places on waves that defied physics.

This is my fourth board from the person I dealt with and is "the one". I have had the board for 8 months and surf it 3 or 4 times a week

It still looks brand new. I am 55 yo and have surfed plenty of boards, I really get into understanding my equipment as we have demanding powerful surf in South Oz. The All round takes it all in her stride from 1 foot to hard barrelling overhead. Has a great turn of speed down the line, eats barrels, drives hard off the bottom and does accelerating roundhouse carves. Paddling and catching waves, it has the ability to pick up and glide in early if you put the power on with a few strokes. Can be surfed off the middle of the board and can be front foot surfed. Nuggets take a much longer arc when front footed and with the rail engaged when you transfer weight back and crank on the tail they turn a quicker shorter turn like a forehand re entry. The rocker on the all round is great not too flat, not too curvey, will easily handle a steep drop. The organic curves of a nugget blend to the hardness mother ocean can dish out, they are confidence inspiring as they never let you down in critical situations, havnt had a bad wave on the nugget. There is a mojo in his boards that once you have put the time in to memorise your muscles for them there is no other board. They are way too much fun to put away. I have a quiver of 10 or more boards and only ride the Nugg.

The potbelly suits me, since I'm more a front foot surfer than a back foot. They take a bit of getting used to because of the volume, but I don't agree they that they are for average surfers or not steep waves. I really find it predictable and trustworthy in bigger stuff. The biggest I've had it out in is 10ft in Manly Sydney where I live, but I have a suspicion this board would suit waves like Cloudbreak. It doesnt look like it should work (its all round, short etc) but despite the looks, when you get it in big stuff it works. Early takeoffs, and down the line speed. It seems to pick it's own line and holds well into the wave face, particularly for me on the backhand.

Its not a pump and slash machine, its going with the wave energy, rather than needing the surfer to generate speed. Yet to prove it, but I really think this thing will like tubes. Went to Cloudbreak Fiji & the Maldives last year with my usual 6'8

Well Done Geoff and the Team, got my new Zot about a month ago and been itching for a decent swell.

A great team, willing to help to ensure you best board for what

THE BEST BOARD I HAVE OWNED! i love the feel and flexability.

thanks for the great work. look forward to getting my next custom board.....

Joseph Armanios

I have ridden mccoys for the past 10 years, (2-6'6" a 6'0" and a 7'0") These boards give you a smile and you will catch heaps of waves! I am a heavier dude (210 pounds) so a normal waffle is not an option, but I have my secret weapons. I lend my boards out all time and everybody who rides them comes back with a sh*# eating grin. I have surfed these boards on every type of surf and they work very well (not so much on really steep barreling waves beacause the butt end of the boards is huge) but everything else they are awesome. Very stable boards and ride them short if you want them to turn, and be aggressive if you want them to duck dive! Mccoy started building his nuggets 20 years ago and just recently every where I go I am starting to see every other board builder copying his designs (Look at the Channel island biscuit...foam is your friend my friend) We are not pros and we want to actually surf and have fun! get one and smile.

I've owned a 6'6" allround thruster nugget for nearly a year now. It's progressed my surfing a lot seeing as it has been my first sub 7' board and my turns have come on massively. Paddling speed is superb, it has plenty of momentum and carves can be buttery smooth in decent surf. It can add a real flow to your surfing. It's fairly loose, but not overtly so.

But, it's a bit sluggish in smaller surf (below 3ft), lacking speed out of turns and drive. Creating speed isnt easy and youre sort of left to just rely on the momentum of the board, which is created purely through weight. It comes alive in surf over that size, but seeing that it's almost impossible to duckdive, it can become a bit of a nightmare to surf.

Ive recently found a lot more fun on squat fishy quad shapes (think rusty dwart, B&W Puffin, Von sol shadow), which offer a ton more speed, drive manoeuverability and the allowance to duckdive, while still retaining decent paddle speed and planing ability.

That said, the nugget is still a valid board and one which i'l continue to use when that paddling speed is particularly useful. I.e. on offshore or lumpy days.

I think these boards need to be reviewed in context. Geoff is pitching them to 'average' surfers - and for that I think they are ok. Great paddle power - but a little bit 'clunky'. Probably most suited to the occasional weekend surfer rather than MrHardcore. I think McCoy is right - too many shapers are producing 'pro' style boards, however everyone now is starting to shape fish / hybrid / funboards - many of which will do the job for the average dude.

Growing up in Avoca in the late 70's / 80's, Geoff was a strong presence in the area - his factory was located there. Ironically most locals at the time didn't ride McCoy boards - all of us thought they were a little to 'boaty' and Nivana surfboards shaped by Bill Cilla dominated the local break. The fat boaty shape continues today, which in context is ok, but if you a a better than average surfer - look elsewhere.

I had an custom PU McCoy Nugget shaped by the great man himself, single fin, 5'11" x 19 3/4 x 2 3/4. I weight 65 kgs and am 5'7". I am 33 yoa, am fit and have no trouble riding modern shortboards, have surfed for 16 + years and have a quiver of 6 boards for differing conditions. I brought mine for a change up board to add to the quiver. Negative - For me the board lacked drive, the rails were too thick, I slid out heaps and I found it slow and sluggish. The board is not made for smaller surf and is very hard to duckdive. Positives - paddle power. I would try one before you buy as it is such a specialised board, I don't think it is as user friendly as the reviews make out online.

Now that I've been riding Nuggets for ten years I thought I should put down a review.

I now own 4 of them... and I still ride the original one that I bought in 1999! Sure it's kind of beaten up but normally a board lasts me a maximum of 2-3 years before it dies.

The Geoff McCoy Nugget is, for me, the best surfboard ever! I have a few other types of boards that I still ride sometimes but none of them can come close to the ride I get on the Nugget.

I often come in from the surf and talk to crew post surf and they all rave about how I seemed to be on every set wave that came through. I'm not that good a surfer so it is only the board that gets me on all those sets.

By far the best thing for me though is i can take the Nugget out in 2 foot onshore slop and have a ball and then take the same board out in huge macking barrels and tube ride it better than any other board in my quiver.

Someone will no doubt claim that I've drinking the McCoy Kool-Aid for to long but I really do try to ride other boards at least once a month weather it be mine other boards or swapping with friends. Most of the time my friends ride the nuggets a few times and then go out and buy one...or two...

I'll end the review with a quote I read somewhere on the net, "Geoff McCoy saved my surfing life"

Nuggets ROCK!

i have a 6'6 Mccoy Surfboards Nugget and love it. surftech