#0004 for a girl, do they surf different?

General Discussion
1

wondering if anyone has thoughts on if girls, due to their genetic makeup, surf more off the front foot, back foot etc? Im making a board for my sister and dont really know what to make her, shes of average ability, she can stand up and trim but no turning yet, the board shes on now is a 6 10 gunnish looking square tail, no good for the mushy waves we usually have to surf(beachies) i think her surfing could improve with a board more suited to her. shes maybe 5’10 and 70-80kgs (havnt asked her). your thoughts?

cheers

tom

2

Physical facts:

  • On average females are lighter than males.

  • On average, for the same height and build, they have less muscle mass.

  • Different physical distribution (hips, bust, waist, etc) and a centre of gravity that tends to be more varied than a blokes. Usually the COG is higher than an equivalent male.

Non-physical observations. It’s been my experience that they tend to be more technique oriented, whereas guys have a tendancy to “muscle it”. They also tend to approach things in a more physically relaxed manner.

IMHO this should translate into alterations in board design.

So far this is all just my opinion, so feel free to ignore it.

The female surf mags (and female segments of more mainstream mags) are adamante that there should be design differences.

3

I have made some boards for girls. My sister likes smaller-lighter boards that she can fit under her arm

and carry to the beach. My wife rides hers into the sand on every wave so I make hers a little heaver.

Fashion is very important, maybe a fish with some resin swirls-flowers.Ask her what she or her friends like.

Ian

4

i have two daughter that surf in competition, i have notice that most woman surf more off their back foot ,in water skiing and snowskiing it is the same, so i tend to move the wide point of the board a few inches back ,in skiing we move the binding a little back two ,this seem to work very well for my daughters

5

a more domed deck than a board made to the same specs as a man. I dunno, my friends wife is a east coast (u.s.) for her division and he is also a low level pro and he struggles to get 2nd. He is a little lighter and rides much much higher performance boads than her. He also rips if you were to toss the two of them in a heat he would beat her by far. Men surf much more agressively.

6

I have taught a lot of girls/women to surf. The have a lower center of gravity with

a lot of weight based in the hip area. If she is a young girl, she hasn’t had this

weight change yet, but most women as adults have a lower center of gravity.

The are not necessarily lighter than men but are usually smaller in height and add

weight as they age. They do have less upper body strength than men.

Most of the women I know that surf short boards have the wide point back and

the foil is thicker from the mid point back. Long boards for women are similar and

with a parallel rail board the wide point is carried more towards the rear than the

nose. If you are making a fun board/longboard, pay attention to the volume and foil

as if it floats her better, she will catch more waves and progress faster. Also, make

sure she isn’t dragging her feet as women tend to keep their legs to the outside more

than men do when learning. A wider tail also helps women to keep their legs & feet

inside the outline until they get better at catching waves and getting up. I can

pm you some suggestions of shapes/shapers to look at for reference if you want.

7

short thick and wide

keep the rocker 1/2 to 1 inch lower than standard at nose

1/4 at tail

6 2 maximum length. rounded nose

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 thick. flat deck

19 3/4 wide (no wider .she may want to do some some turning when she relises how easy this board is to surf)

wider nose for stability when standing

16 inch tail pulled in to a rounded squash. keep it thick and boxy at the tail(at least 1/2 to 3/4 inch) and about and inch or so wider than a normal shortboard

larger fin template with a smaller centre

make the rail fuller and more forgivng with less hard edge

and leave more volume up front to assist paddles and stiffen the board there for same reason

not a fish

not a funboard

not an egg

just an easy to ride thruster

oh

and make it white

and normal looking

with maybe some discreet girly shit written one side

either that or ignore me

and make a “twunfun fush” like everyone else does

8

After watching an esther williams late night movie the other night

I have come to some solid conclusions

about surfboards for women.

  1. they wear los of sparkly swimsuits.

  2. they stand on the tips of their toes

3.most of the time their gaze is about 22.5 degrees

above the horizon and higher.

Taking these parameters into consideration

I believe when designing surfboards for these

facinating creatures we must,

1.make all the boards higher register colors

so as not to clash with the sparkles

brights can be o.k. but stay away from the dark hues

and favor the cremes and pastels.

2.make them softer perhaps down right downy on the deck surface

so their toes can nestle into the surface for control.

#3 lots of lift in the nose to avoid spontaeneous pearl diving

although the oyster is prized by some

the attraction of the pearl is especially catipultivating

to the fancier gender.

the softened deck extended over the nose

will also render reletivly harmless

upon impact the colliding projectile nature of the

modern surfboard.

This said I hope this insight can be applied in the spirit

which it has been rendered.

Yours truley

Ambrose von Faversham

Philatilist to the stars

and protector of all things

cuddly and warm.

9

Make the board pink.

Chicks love pink.

Drew

10

The have a lower center of gravity with

LMAO! Can’t believe I mistyped that.

Yes, lower. LOWER!

11

it’s lower unless they have humungus boobs, and i mean HUGE

12

U-huh. As in surgically enhanced.

I doubt anyone that vain and top heavy will be interested in surfing. They’ll probably just wanna sit on the beach…