10 best data points for shaping board for a surfer?

In my quest to match “board to surfer to wave”, I always try to watch someone surf before I shape them a board.  Very helpful for me, I’m a visual learner.  And if they have boards already, I talk to them about what they ride & what works best.  If a complete newbie, I will loan them various shapes and ask which ones they enjoyed.

But it occurs to me that someone probably has developed a list of something like “what are the 10 most important data points when shaping for a surfer you don’t really know?”

Other than of course you need the basic physical stuff (height, weight, fitness) what other “most important” questions do you ask before shaping that one next board for the (guy or girl)?   

  1. skill level (newbie thru expert)?
  2. what type waves they surf (mushball or pipeline, reef/beach/pointbreak, glassy vs monster chop)?
  3. era/style? (old school vs power surf vs airs etc)
  4. front foot/back foot surfer?
  5. nimble like a cat or back foot never budges?
your thoughts appreciated, especially you guys in the "shaped a thousand boards" group!  Reverb?  Mike Daniels?  Jim Phillips?  BB30?  Bill T?  Herb?  (y'all know who you are...)

mahalo in advance.

 

Height, weight, age, experience, honest assessment of skill level, intended use (type of waves/area), volume, style/goals, present boards, foot size.

And remember the ever important color choice.... sorry, had to throw that in...

 

That's in the ''design priorites'' file. And of course, everyone knows that red is fastest.

I find shaping boards for relative newbies the hardest.  They don’ t really even know how to talk about it yet.

      Howzit Keith, This thread could very well end up the thread of the year. I am not in the 1000 shapes club due to my hate for foam dust but if it was for glassers I would be in the way over 5000 club and I mean way over. Aloha,Kokua

Less than a 100 club over here.  The"honest assessment of skill level" will be the hardest data point to nail down.  I only build a few boards for friends.  Mostly, as gifts.  But, I often have to bite my tongue and NOT say, “Bro, your an aging, weak paddling, out of shape, recreational surfer who wasn’t that good even in your prime.  Why would you want a board like that?!”  Momma raised me to be polite.  Mike

[quote="$1"]

I find shaping boards for relative newbies the hardest.  They don' t really even know how to talk about it yet.

[/quote]

So true.    But, in that situation I often ask ''What do you want the board to enable you to do?''    Many times that brings some clarity to the exercise.    Sometimes the desired performance is beyond the riders capabilities.    That's where diplomacy comes in.

NOT say, "Bro, your an aging, weak paddling, out of shape, recreational surfer who wasn't that good even in your prime.  Why would you want a board like that?! If you shape me a board like that it will be a magic board and I will be able to do all the things that  I was never able to do !!!!

Ok Wood Ogre, I’ll build it.   Mike

This thread makes me wonder, especially Mr. Daniel’s listing of Height first.  Lets say you were shaping two standard shortboards for two guys of the same weight, ability, etc. but one of them was of a tall skinny build and one was short and stalky.  What differences would the boards have?

Tall skinney, go wider.  They will be less naturally stable, but will get more torque when they lean into a turn, so they can handle the width.  Short squatty, can go narrower, because they are naturally more stable.  They will get their power more from brute force, and shove the board around more.

Consider Mark Richards at over six feet and the 20" wide twin fin, against Little Kelly Slater, and the 18" glass slipper.  Different era, and different equipment, but it is a starting point.

The height factor…

You don’t see much mention of it in most discussions, but at times I’ve wondered how much it ought to factor in.

Thanks for the question and thanks for the answer.

[quote="$1"]

[quote="$1"]

This thread makes me wonder, especially Mr. Daniel's listing of Height first.  Lets say you were shaping two standard shortboards for two guys of the same weight, ability, etc. but one of them was of a tall skinny build and one was short and stalky.  What differences would the boards have?

[/quote]

Tall skinney, go wider.  They will be less naturally stable, but will get more torque when they lean into a turn, so they can handle the width.  Short squatty, can go narrower, because they are naturally more stable.  They will get their power more from brute force, and shove the board around more.

Consider Mark Richards at over six feet and the 20" wide twin fin, against Little Kelly Slater, and the 18" glass slipper.  Different era, and different equipment, but it is a starting point.

[/quote]

 

 

 

First humm the tune of Randy Newmans grammy award winning song "Short People" as you read:

Exactly....Tall people are genetically inferior to short people. That's why all pro atheletes are always sub six footers.  It's a known fact that tall people are weaker, and have a hard time with balance, aka. Naturally unstable...their general locomotion skills are something to be desired.  I think Hitler proved that point too.

You guys are wacked in the head.

[quote="$1"]

First humm the tune of Randy Newmans grammy award winning song "Short People" as you read:

Exactly....Tall people are genetically inferior to short people. That's why all pro atheletes are always sub six footers.  It's a known fact that tall people are weaker, and have a hard time with balance, aka. Naturally unstable...their general locomotion skills are something to be desired.  I think Hitler proved that point too.

You guys are wacked in the head.

[/quote]

Everysurfer happens to be a very tall dude.  I think his point was related to the physics of a higher center of gravity, rather than genetics.  You took it wrong.

The underlying...hidden theme was that It is the athletism of the individual, not the genetic disposition. Tall, short, fat, skinny..doesn't matter. We have all seen guys tyhat out perform their body type. Or guys that look like great atheletes....but suck so bad it's comical.

 No two surfers surf the same. An argument that needs to be made is the one of equalized volume.  I have always fought against the surfer that always needs a 6" nothing surfboard because Kelly Slater rides it, or it's what Tom Curren rode etc.   A taller guy can ride a bigger surfboard. Also foot size has to be taken into consideration.  Huge feet can handle a wider board. If a guy has size 13 feet you never want to put him on a 12" tail.

 

Sorry for the confusion...Just my strange sense of humor getting in the way again.

 

I posed the height question because I am one of those tall skinny guys: 6’3" 160lb.  I do feel like I want a wider board to support my big feet and high center of gravity but I still want the volume to be low enough so that the board isn’t floating high in the water and I can bury a rail.   I just finished shaping one which is is 19" wide, which is wider than some of my other boards, but I think it’s going to still be too narrow.  I have ridden wider boards and the problem seems to be lack of hold in the juicy waves around here but perhaps that had as much to do with rail shape/fin placement.  Hmm.  Sorry for the thread derail.

Hey guys, That wasn't a ranking of height as #1 data point. I was just making a list and ''ht/wt/age/experience'' was the starting point. I'd be hard-pressed to rank the data points, they're all important.