I was very lucky to get hold of a Skindog Surfboards 9’1″ Peacemaker in thunderbolt to take it through it’s paces. As with the gem I tried a few fin setups but opted for an 8″ centre with large sides (taken from a medium sized 3 fin set).
My view of the peacemaker is that it’s a high performance longboard which has been stretched out width ways in the front half to make it more forgiving. Getting up to the nose is easy but does require some adjustment, the rail is turned up so the board lifts up the face as you step toward the nose, this creates lift and allows you more time up there but means you need to set up a bit lower in the wave than you would with other boards.
Off the tail the board responds as a high performance longboard should and is smooth through the turns thanks to the pintail. The board “springs” out of turns due to the Thunderbolt technology but doesn’t carry the same down the line speed as the TJ Gem.
This board is a great all rounder for someone moving onto their first performance longboard or looking for an everyday board. It handles steeper waves than the Gem would and goes best in over waist high to overhead conditions and is suited to all UK beaches. I’ve not yet tried the 9’6″ version but feel it would offer the same versatility across conditions and would be a great all rounder for smaller days without having to go for a heavier, more traditional option or an all rounder for someone who prefers a bigger option than 9’1″
The official write up is as follows
The Peacemaker perfectly bridges the gap between traditional longboarding and the modern high-performance style Ben is known for. Slip the Peacemaker under your arm and it feels like a traditional longboard with a 50/50 rail but this rail blends from a high apex in the nose and completely transitions seamlessly into a low and hard shortboard style performance rail at the tail. Ben is super proud of the Peacemaker, particularly the way it flows and rolls with no ‘clunky’ hiccups when moving between classic longboard and radical shortboard style manoeuvres.
The Peacemaker is the board Ben is most proud of, a culmination of 10 years work resulting in a board which levatates like nothing he’s ever experienced before. This is the board which ignores all the previous restrictions about what you ‘could’ and ‘couldn’t’ do in longboard shaping…you can ride the Peacemaker anyway you choose, nose ride or hack some turns from the tail.
If you’d like to try a Peacemaker contact Surfed Out in Braunton.
Ashley Braunton 