If you are in the area, stop in and say hi and check out the Hollow Surfboard Workshop…
Seven boards in progress…
Today thru Sunday…
Wish I could!! Bit too far for me this time.
BTW, how much do your classes' wood boards weigh, and do you find the weight to be a detriment to performance for recreational surfing? Curious to hear your insights, since you've obviously built and ridden a lot of wood boards, and seen others ride theirs as well.
I'll try to stop by for a few minutes on my lunch break today.
It was great getting the chance to talk to you today, Paul. The guys in your class were making some good progress on their boards. The finished boards you had on display in the shop were awesome. I was amazed how light the 10' longboard felt.
Edit: Huck, I don't think that weight is an issue. The finished boards that I felt were all very light.
Hahaha, I don't think its an issue either! And I figured the boards would be light. Thanks for acknowledging my post.
What I was hoping Paul would tell us was how much they weighed (i.e., how many pounds and ounces), and if he (or any of the riders of the boards) felt that the weight was a detriment to performance in any way. Hopefully he'll be gracious enough to weigh in on the matter, heh heh.
The fish and the 7’5" both weigh around 12 or 13 #…The 7’5" had 5oz kevlar under the deck and hollow plywood rails, thus the heavier weight compared to “You’re Being Sued” fish…
Weight is subjective…I agree mostly with what Roy Stewart has to say about that…
”Ultralight is better for the extreme trick surfing which is the flagship for the entire mainstream surfing industry so there's a lot invested in the idea that lighter is always better. This investment has been made over a period of half a century so the attitudes are ingrained.
Materials cost money so ultimately the industry
has little to gain by promoting heavier boards. The official line is that
lighter boards are better except for big wave guns, but the truth of the matter
is that greater weight used sensibly has many advantages which apply to
waves of all sizes.
I regularly roast the tail feathers of legions
of shortboard and malibu heroes on boards two to ten times the weight
which they use, and the added mass is definitely a factor in that success. .
. of course I don’t do scoreable moves and prefer to make my turns as
smooth and invisible as possible for hydrodynamic efficiency and the flow of
both the surfboard and the rider’s concentration, but at the end of the day
that’s what usually wins in the real world.
Rip tear and lacerate or slide dream and meditate?
The former likes lightweight, the latter heavyweight, the heavy weight is
often underestimated.
By the way beware also of the line that
weight is a handicap but heavier boards are ok for less skilled surfers in slow
waves. Nothing could be further from the truth, heavier boards are faster or at
least as fast down the line as light boards in both theory and practice,
and require as much skill to handle correctly as do light boards.”
Absolutely beautiful looking boards Paul. i have been thinking about a new board. a performance board for my ageing self. something around 7'6" to 8'6" not a full nose long board but a short board.
In that quest The Mccoy Mctavish concept of more volume in the tail and less in the nose seems to be what I am looking for. Is it possible to get a modified the frame to accommodate a more custom shape?
Thanks
Thanks Paul. I had read that quote of Roy's, and found it interesting. Just trying to get a handle on what is a good functional weight-range for a surfboard.
It seems to me that if a lighter weight is truly critical, then I figure you'd have guys building wood boards then reporting back that the weight was too much and the board wouldn't perform (has that ever happened?). The more I try to pin it down, the more it seems to just be a personal preference.
Your boards are lighter than my hws by several pounds, and I haven't noticed any weight-related problems or issues, but I may not be in tune as much as others. I'm here to learn. - Huck