I am about to shape a new board and would appreciate your thoughts and input. It’s going to be a midlength that should work from small to medium size waves for me. I am 42 years old, 184cm (6’0") and 85kg (187lbs). I have shaped a few boards over the last 20 years, including fish and eggs and also a Scorpion type of board. This will be my longest midlength. I am looking for high wave count, early takeoff, glide and easy carving.
I will attach a picture of the blank I am about to order. what do you think about the numbers? till now my tail width is 15,2"…
…I am most concerned about tail width as I think that it is not only responsible for the types of waves the board will work in but also for my ability to put my backfoot in the correct spot when I take off. On some boards I almost always land in the correct position with my backfoot, on other boards this is not the case and I have to adjust a lot of the time.
So I have shaped this Scorpion type of board (6’8" / 2,75" /22" with a 15,5" tail) which I like, It’s one of these boards on which I land in the right spot most of the time. It goes well in small to medium waves and feels flowy and even does some tighter turns, especially on my backhand. It’s a single fin also.
My question now is: If I built a 7’8" with a similar tailshape and similar rocker numbers (though with a pulled in nose), would I go with a 15,5" tail width again or should I decrease the tail width as the whole board and outline is more stretched out?
A lot of the midlength boards I am looking at seem to have narrower tails…
Where will you be surfing this new board? Knowing the waves you’re targeting, helps in making a recommendation. When I was in my surfing prime, my ‘‘one board quiver’’ was 7’ 10’’ x 21.5’’ x 14’’ Nose x 14.5’’ Tail. My weight at that time was 175 pounds. That board was able to negotiate 3’ Calif. beach breaks, and up to 15’ Sunset Beach, Hawaii. The board you are considering, is very close to what I considered ideal, back in the day. I applaude you’re decission to select a single fin configuration.
The type of wave you normally surf is a critical factor. In my area we have spots which move very slowly - having more length and more surface area and lower tail rocker help out greatly in wave count there. But we also have beachbreak spots which basically dump at all size conditions except at the extreme high tides. In a dumping wave simply adding more length can cause more problems than it solves.
So with the midlengths I have spots where I favor the 6-10 with more tail rocker because regardless of my length I still need to be in the right spot at the right time in order to catch it - there is no running the wave down from 50ft away. Especially if there’s a crowd. The shorter length fits that pocket better and is more nimble.
In the slower/small wave spots I use a longer board which enables me to better run the wave down from a distance. In those spots having less length is a distinct disadvantage.
thank you for your reply, it’s exciting when an experienced shaper like you chimes in.
To answer your question: There are some (mellower) reefbreaks in France I have in mind that I will surf up to 2,5m (a bit more than head high). Not too hollow. There will be mushy sections that need a cutback or a fast board that connects the sections. And I will also try it at the beachbreaks in Southern France…
I have been surfing for 20 years now, but I live far away from the ocean. Thus I am also far from being a good surfer. But I am still stoked and I keep up the stoke during those days far away from the waves by shaping…
As I am landlocked I also don’t need a board that is meant for those perfect days only; My time at the ocean is limited and I will always go, so I need a board that helps me make the best of a lot of conditions; thus there will be foam under my chest and it’s going to be 22" wide. I like some foam in the tail as I often do those takeoffs where you push the tail of the board into the water…
And although I swim and work out, those first days in the water after months without surfing are a bit of a struggle - this is where this board should help me to get a lot of waves and surf them with ease and speed.
And when it gets a bit bigger I want to lay into a bottom turn and know I can trust the board to come around and project without me having to nurse the turn too much…
That’s what I have in mind for this particular board.
thank you for your reply; very helpful indeed; There are some waves I have surfed this winter that are maybe a bit similar to the ones you are describing; like Beliche in Sagres/Portugal, where the takeoff is next to the cliffs and the wave reflects and jacks up. I have a shorter board with more rocker for those waves (a 6’5" /21 quad).
Also I tend to not paddle down waves I think unless on a longboard. I rather try to position and then stick in the tail… but there’s quite a lot of room for improvement regarding my skills…
would you consider the tail rocker of the screenshot above to be “more tail rocker” or is it rather flat for a board with that length? what about the tail width?
And concerning rocker curve: should I move the point in the middle further back to have more curve between the feet?
I did a 7-10 with 2" of tail rocker and 4" of nose rocker but i was kicking myself for not going a little lower on the nose rocker. I normally have gone lower with the shorter lengtths but I’m getting older and trying to transition into longboarding so that’s why I did that board at 7-10 and not 7-4 or so. In general I like relatively flat rockers for single fin boards, but then again I usually only surf singlefins in small/weak conditions. I switch it up for faster/bigger conditions. But as I say, part of that is because of the conditions where I normally surf.
I only use midlengths for the smaller/weaker conditions and in lieu of a longboard. Usually no more than chest-high and slow. It’s a narrow application - I don’t use them as a daily driver across a wide rangfe of conditions. So for small conditions I don’t need much rocker at all. For other conditions I switch to shorter boards. When I’m surfing a midlength its because I enjoy the ride, not because I “need” the length in order to get my waves. Flatter rockers trim better. For me, anyway.
I bought a board like that off the rack at Mitch’s once, and built 3 or 4 over the years. It always went the same way - I’d surf them as a single for a few months, get bored with the limited range of drive and add sidebites to make them more versatile.
Isn’t the Howard a 2+1 design? I’ve been out in the water with Devon Howard a few times before and I’ve never seen him surf a single that wasn’t a noserider.
Rocker one or two? wide point is still about 5" forward. I feel the board will get livelier with the rocker apex (is that the term?) further back, like in rocker one, as there’s a tighter radius curve between my feet. what are your thoughts?
Can’t see what the measurements are, but generally, low tail rockers for singles and twins. More tail rocker for thrusters.
There is no fin cluster or fin area out at the rail to generate drive and you already have a lot of curve in your template so you don’t have as much engaged rail line to add drive. Flattening the bottom rocker behind center (some) will help compensate.
gdaddy, the measurements are the same for rocker 1 and 2: nose rocker 4, tail rocker 2.8!
I just played with the curve of the rocker… So reading your post I realize there’s a lot to learn for me here!
By the way, those curves will be cut out by the company (atuacores, France) where I order the blank. It’s high density EPS with a stringer. They cut out the outline and the rocker really clean, so I won’t really take a lot of foam away apart from shaping the rails, crowning the deck and putting in the bottom contours. That’s why I need to nail it at this stage of planning.
