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Psillakis Surfboards also called The Benny Model is tiny wave groveler that is intended to get you up and going in waves that are really, really small and weak.

In search for the perfect groveler – something that catches waves and cruises on the smallest of small days yet handles bigger, better waves, too – I looked to Mike Psillakis of Psillakis Surfboards.

The original was an epic wave catcher and was smooth on the drop in slightly better surf but felt a bit bulky.

This refined version has weight taken out of the tail and rails and feels sharper and more lively.

This is the Psillakis Surfboards The Benny review, enjoy!

Have a question? Wondering if the Psillakis Surfboards is the right board for you? Let’s talk about it in the comments…

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Pluses

+ It just allows you to push the board into steeper wave faces.
+ Even with that little rocker, with that very, very flat rocker throughout the board.
+ It was 6’0. It was 23″ wide and 3″ thick, and it was just an absolute beast to paddle on.

Minuses

– I can’t find any minuses for this board.

Benny Rides

The Psillakis Surfboards The Benny Review model  at _______________.  It was easy to surf before. It was quite user-friendly, but again, if I was flying down the line, which I often was on that board because it was so fast that if i wanted to do a turn and slow myself down, it was hard to do it. Anyways, this is the evolved version, which is now The Benny model, Psillakis’ groveler model.

Standard Psillakis Surfboards The Benny Model Dimensions and Volumes may be found at the bottom of this page.

Best Wave Type

This board allows you to push the board into tiny steeper wave faces.

Features

• It has very little rocker throughout the board.
• Has a very wide, oblong groveler outline.
• With a diamond swallowtail that helps to loosen the board up a little bit, makes it a little bit easier to turn and easier to maneuver.

Compare To

• DHD Surfboards DX1 Surfboard Review: Jack Freestone’s signature model and Stab in the Dark winning high performance  shortboard
• JS 107 Surfboard Review:

Video Summary

Hey. My name is Ben. This is Benny’s Boardroom. I hope you’re doing well. This is the evolution of a custom groveler that I asked Mike Psillakis to help me build. Mike has a lot of design expertise, and he’s built a lot of custom boards for me before. I basically asked him for a groveler, really directionally small, small waveboard, something intended for the tiniest, tiniest end of the wave range before you get on a longboard.

I had some ideas about it, the tail shape, and for things that I liked and didn’t like about other grovelers. Basically, I just wanted something that could surf those tiny, tiny waves, but still have a little bit of range, and surf slightly bigger waves and slightly steeper waves.

Anyways, Mike created this custom groveler for me, and I liked it so much that I worked with Mike to refine it a little bit. I mean, he did all the design work. I just said, “Oh, this kind of works. This didn’t work,” and he put his design skills to task. The result is what he’s now calling his The Benny model, so this is the latest groveler from Psillakis that he’s decided to name The Benny, I guess just because there wasn’t a better name. This is again, a tiny, tiny wave groveler that is intended to get you up and going in waves that are really, really small and weak, but I’m just going to talk you through what his change from the original custom groveler that I had asked for Mike’s help to design.

The original Benny or the original custom groveler that Mike designed, very wide, very thick. It was 6’0. It was 23″ wide and 3″ thick, and it was just an absolute beast to paddle on. I mean, you can paddle onto anything, but it just had a little bit too much bulk, I felt, in the rails and the tails, so he’s taken a little bit of the bulk out of the rails, smoothed out the tail a little bit, and taken out a bit of the bulk, dropped it down an inch, and just made it a little bit more refined than it was before.

It was easy to surf before. It was quite user-friendly, but again, if I was flying down the line, which I often was on that board because it was so fast that if i wanted to do a turn and slow myself down, it was hard to do it. Anyways, this is the evolved version, which is now The Benny model, Psillakis’ groveler model.

The Board

You can see that it has very little rocker throughout the board. These boards are intended to be surfed when it’s tiny, so they don’t have a lot of rocker at all. You want to have the least amount of drag you can find when you’re surfing tiny waves. Again, very wide, oblong groveler outline, so a lot of width running all the way throughout this board. Back at the business end at the exhaust as Mike would call it, he’s got this little subtle wing here, and then, I had called this the arc swallowtail, but I think he’s called it his diamond swallowtail. Anyways, that helps to loosen the board up a little bit, makes it a little bit easier to turn and easier to maneuver.

The nose, I don’t actually know exactly what he’s done to the nose, but it’s just magical. You can drop into the tiniest little waves, but still have a bit of steep face.

It’s such a wide outline, you would think that it would just flip on its side and not stick into it, but the nose is really forgiving. It just allows you to push the board into steeper wave faces, even with that little rocker, with that very, very flat rocker throughout the board. It has a deep double V concave that runs throughout this board, and you can feel it, literally, all the way through this board. I think that’s unique to this board for Mike.

I don’t think he’s ever really tried anything like that before, but the end result is something that serves its purpose in the very small end of the wave range. Again, this thing catches anything, even though it feels a little bit thinner, and has slightly less volume than the previous version that I surfed. It still catches anything, this board, but again, when it’s junkier, and I’m thinking of little sucky ripples, and steeper face conditions, it does handle those better than the previous one, and again, is a little bit looser and easier to turn.

Experience in the Surf

It was easy to surf before. It was quite user-friendly, but again, if I was flying down the line, which I often was on that board because it was so fast that if i wanted to do a turn and slow myself down, it was hard to do it. Anyways, this is the evolved version, which is now The Benny model, Psillakis’ groveler model.

Fin Setup

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Summary

That is the Psillakis, The Benny model, and if you’ve had a go on one of these, I’m very curious to hear. I know a couple of people have actually asked me about the custom groveler, and have gone to Mike and ordered one, so I’m very curious to any of you out there that have ridden this board to let me know what you think, and thank you so much for watching the show.

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Stock Standard Dimensions & Volume

Standard Psillakis Surfboards The Benny  Dimensions & Volumes available at the Psillakis Surfboards: