the glider thread below reminded me of a question i wanted to ask. if it’s completely moronic, just say so and i’ll go away and/or delete this thread.
are there 11-12 foot gliders that are narrow? like 20-21 inches? seems like they’d haul ass and could be really fun in the right waves (pinner points). i realize there’s a lot to a design like rocker, outline and thickness too, but was just curious.
thanks
I don’t get wide longboards, unless you just want to set a line and go. Too hard to set on rail. I want to surf the wave, not just ride the board.
I have a 12’ eps surfboard, hand shaped by JTG, that’s 22" wide and about 3" thick. I don’t call it a glider because it begs to be surfed instead of the assume the parallel stance and squat from time to time style. In early. Driving bottom turns. Trimming high. Climbing and dropping. Crowd ducking cutbacks. And she nose rides
And I dig a wide board too but not a parallel railed wide board. Wide back of center. Surf it the same way.
Nothing wrong with width, just add tail lift and vee and you can do much more than just setting a line.
Makes for a good tail turner, but I haven’t found the right combination to make a real good carver on a wide board. I’m only 5’8", 155, so I think that has a lot to do with my preference for narrower boards.
longer gliders need some width or the template becomes too parallel for doing anything but trmming straight on smaller waves, whereas a glicer with more curve like this 10’6 x 22 1/2 will pretty much ride any size…
thanks ICC, that was my biggest question - outline if too narrow.
thanks to everyone else for the replies too.
I don’t feel a 22 1/2" wide 10’6" board is wide, is all about proportions and outline. To me, that board has a beautiful outline with the pulled in nose and tail.
I like some of the boards posted in this thread (nice one lcc!) but aside from Surfore, who added an inch, don’t really see an answer to the OP’s question.
There’s a big difference when you keep a specific width (20"-21" per OP) and start adding one, two, ot three+ feet to an outline. I’d like to see some diagrams or better yet, actual straight-on board outlines (and rider feedback) for reference.
Added tail rocker/vee and wide point back seemingly make sense… at least to me.
My first thought was “11-12 feet at 20-21 inches sounds pretty straight and narrow.”
thanks john,
if the goal is to just point down the line of a fast-breaking wave, is the straight/narrow thing horrible or would you not really notice a difference between the 21" board and 22.5" board in that same setting while being more versatile everywhere else w/ the wider/curvier outline?
Not completely,… but you’re getting close. To give you some perspective, I have the template of a long time friend (Mike McDonough) that sanded for Brewer in 1963/64. The template is for an 11’ 2’’ x 20’’ Waimea Gun. As a big wave board there is more outline curve, than you would have as a small wave board with the same dimensions. No matter what rails and rocker you select, you’ll need to drop the word carve from your vocabulary. Going even longer, just makes the situation worse. Point and shoot? You bet! Turns? Not so much. Respectfully, I suggest that you need counciling, in the matter of surfboard design.
John, hope I’m not stating the obvious, but a lot of times questions aren’t asked in pursuit of a specific answer per se, they are asked to open a dialog on the subject. I think a lot if times people want to know more, but don’t know all the specific questions to ask. At least that’s the assumption I operate on.
Had a recent exchange on gliders with a shaper who at one time shaped with both Larry Mabile and Skip Frye. Larry’s gliders were designed for the steeper waves he favored, Skip’s for the softer waves he favored, and whereas the width of the respective boards was the same, the curves/rockers/rails/bottoms were not.
A local shaper, and highly proficient tube hunter, has been working on a 10’ x 23" Glider series, tuning them for the steeper beachbreak we are surrounded by. Evidenced by the deep and well overhead barrels he was emerging from last week, they are working quite well. Lot to be said for getting in early, setting a line and driving like a runaway freight train…
Hi Huck - Seemed like a fairly specific question to me - I.E. 20"-21" wide X 11’-12’ long. Of course we’d all like to see YOUR board with YOUR specified dimensions… (again)
Message to Huck deleted…
Wow, sorry, I had no idea - I was posting to the original poster, not you. I will delete the offending post, and confine my discussion with the op concerning the offensive board to private messages.
bill, i asked the question to get counseling on the subject from you who have been around for decades.
seems like a consensus among the counselors that while the board may go straight well, the narrow width (20-21") with a length in the 11ft range doesn’t make much sense.
end of thread.
Good post gordof, and an appropriate ending to the thread. I had a purpose in posting that (deleted) pic in direct reference to your original question, which I will explain via PM.
What we used to do was lay out outlines life size on the floor. We had a center line and mid point mark. 11’ 12’ 13’ lay it out to your numbers and see if it ‘‘works’’ . Sometimes the numbers just do not work for the look. A super long board is a challenge to surf. They can catch waves great but you have to be able to control the thing so you do not run over other surfers. Unless you surf perfect point break waves with nobody else out to have to navigate around. I think it is still the guy RIDING the waves responsibility to not run over guys in the water. I know the new shortboard guys do not play that way.
