Channel Islands Surfboards

Yes. CI is short for Channel Islands, the surfboard brand founded by Al and Terry Merrick in 1969. Al Merrick is the founder and shaper whose name is associated with many CI designs; Britt Merrick now leads shaping and design. They are not three separate brands. Read the Merrick family’s history for the background.

Better Everyday bridges the gap between a groveler and a high-performance shortboard. In our video review with Brett Barley, Brett describes a forgiving board that works especially well in thigh-high to head-high surf. Its five fin boxes allow a thruster or quad setup, so you can experiment with how it drives and turns.

The Bobby Quad is designed to generate lift and speed in weak waves, with a quad fin setup and a modified swallow tail for quick direction changes. Feb’s Fish is a modern performance fish with a narrower nose, added rocker, and a pulled-in tail for tighter turns. Watch our Feb’s Fish video review with Mikey February to see how its twin-fin feel compares with what you want from a small-wave board.

The CI Mid uses a 2+1 fin setup and offers a broad sweet spot for versatile midlength surfing. The CI Mid Twin is a dedicated twin-fin design. In our video review with Devon Howard, Devon highlights its speed and feel in better waves. Don’t assume removing the center fin turns an original CI Mid into a Mid Twin: the original side-fin placement is too far forward for the same result.

Spine-Tek is CI’s stringerless EPS/epoxy construction with a flex system designed to spring back through turns. In our Better Everyday video review, Trip Forman and Brett Barley discuss its light feel, flex, and Brett’s experience with the deck’s durability. That is a rider’s experience, not a promise that a board cannot break. Check each board’s construction and ask a REAL Pro which option suits your waves and preferences.

Start with the model’s purpose, your ability, your usual waves, and a board that already works for you. In our Better Everyday review, Brett Barley stays near his normal shortboard volume. In the Feb’s Fish review, Mikey February rides a much shorter board with roughly one extra liter. Those examples show why one sizing rule won’t fit every CI model. Use our “Big 3” sizing guide to compare design, volume, and dimensions, or ask a REAL Pro for a recommendation.