Hello, I am back. I hope some of you remember me. Well, I am getting ready to shape again this summer and am looking to create a lightweight longboard that can handle the mushy surf of El Porto to San Onofre. Any suggestions as to foam type, stringer, width, thickness, rocker, tail shape? This will be my first board shaped on my own. While I do this, I will also be helping my friend learn how to shape and will work with him on a board that he wants to shape. I will be back for more suggestions and the time grows closer to me beginning my board. Cheers, Erik http://www.mastermindsurfboards.com
Erik: I recognize a couple of the boards on the Mastermind site having shared a few waves with Deeb. Were you one of the masterminds working out of his garage?? Tom S.
Tom, Well, sorta. Deeb taught me everything I know! He helped me (pretty much did it all) the 10’2" hero model that I love riding. However, I helped him shape the supercharged bat tail shortboard that he did. There were a few other boards that I was around for, but since Deeb has moved to Texas, I have no mentor, so I am branching out on my own. MasterMind Surfboards was my way of trying to get Deeb to start a company with me. =) In the end, I didn’t have much time anyway for a new business and he took over his family’s business in Texas. Now, I hope to be a mastermind in my own right. =) Wish me luck and thanks for remembering! http://www.mastermindsurfboards.com
Hey Erik, I met you at Malibu one day a couple years ago when you were up there with db. You let me ride your 10’2 and I remember it really smoked through the sections on that summer day. I think it even had a Paul Jensen fin on it. I don’t know what kind of board you have in mind, but as far as foam weight goes, you can’t really go wrong with Supergreen if you’re planning on using Clark. Good luck! -Gregg Hunt
Hey Greg! Yup, we met and you were the 3rd person to ride that board. I have been the only person since then to ride it! =) I am a little bit of a toy hog (who can blame me!). Yeah, I am just looking for something that I will be able to enhance my performance moves on. The 10’2 is just so easy to ride (but heavy) and I can catch anything. I want a 9 footer to learn to do more radical turns and stuff with. I was thinking supergreen with a 2+1 set up and like a 6+4 on the deck and maybe a 6 on the bottom for the glass and of course, volan. I see that you have done very well with your shaping. www.huntcustoms.com = my favorite site!! =) The thing that I am having problems with is deciding on dimensions. 20-21" nose? 23" wide? 16" tail? Natural rocker? 3 1/2" thick? Does that seem worth it? What would be recommended? Thanks for the help Greg and I look forward to meeting you again. Cheers! http://www.mastermindsurfboards.com
I have this 9’0 shaped by Greg Nichols (Laguna Beach) that I’m really liking these days and works well for the type of surfing you described. Let me see if I can run downstairs and grab some dimensions off this board for you. Yeah, 6oz, +4 sounds just right.
9’0 x 18 x 22.5 x 14.25 x 3. Nose rocker 4.75; Tail rocker 2.75. It’s really a simple shape that works well. The board is not a full on performance board, but something between that and a traditional longboard. The nose @ 18" is still manueverable, and will encourage noserides. There’s a bit of a nose concave, but that’s up to you and your own board. The rest of the bottom is flat all the way to the tail. The secret is in the amount of rocker and the rail design. Have you ever seen Bob-O’s boards (Boss label)? The rails are kind of like that in that they do the up/down thing, but just not to that extreme. There’s a 2 1/2" nose chine which works its way to the middle area where the rails go 60/40; that blends to something much harder at the tail. This board has a squaretail, but you may want to do a rounded pin. I’ve been using the True Ames 9 1/2" Velzy Classic fin for this board and it seems to be the ticket. Hope this helps some…I’m sure a lot of others here can contribute their own ideas for the ideal 9’0 performance board.
Greg, thanks a bunch for the advice and those vitals. I am glad to see that I am along the same lines as some accomplished shapers. I hope that others post and their comments are always welcome and valuable. Yeah, I wanted to do concave, but I am very unsure of the specifics concerning concave. I know what it does, but have yet to find anything to tell me the vitals about it i.e. measurements and such. If you know anything, I would be very interested in learning what you had to share. Cheers, Erik http://www.mastermindsurfboards.com