Recently a couple bros and I have been trying to get one of our good friends back in shape and into the water surfing. He grew up on the North Shore surfing, then played college football, blew out his knee, etc. etc. Long story short, he’s gotten up to 450lbs and we’re trying to get him back into the water to slim down. We pitched in and bought him a custom fit wetsuit and he’s been surfing a 12’0" 9Fish Orca SUP. When he sits up on it it floats him to his chest. Pretty insane right? Anyway, he saw the board I shaped and asked if I could help him make one. He wants to shape a 7’6" twin keel fish. I have no idea how thick or wide I need to make this to float him. I was hoping you guys could help me out here. He’s 6’2", 450lbs and amazingly agile for his size.
8’0 egg 4 1/2 x 26 That is where I would try and go. I t would be a huge jump for him but he seems like a good athlete if he played ball so should get on a paddle training regimine
If he is interested in a 7’6" – do somthing like a 9’0" x 24" x 3.5 (or 4)" - carry the thickness through the rail and up and down esp in the tail… That is a whole lot of foam.
Or maybe do 10’?
I am 200lbs and I like boards that are between 6’6" and 7’6" and wide. Favorite board at this point is my wood board and it is 7’6"x22"x3" and the thickness is not carried through the rail also the rocker is (mostly) through the thickness of the board (flat deck - no nose/tail kick). That board is 162 beers in volume. ;)
If you give him somthing that is 300 beers in volume, it will (should) work for him.
Considering that the 12' SUP 'floats' him chest deep.... I'd be sticking with one of the SUP designs. The models have been improved and streamlined to allow more high performance surfing in waves. Plenty of guys are doing OK on those - just chuck the paddle.
Thanks a lot for the super fast responses. My buddy is childhood friends with Jack Johnson and grew up on the North Shore up Pupukea Rd. I saw him surf back when he was a “trim” 350 lbs and he was ripping on a 9’0 longboard. He says he wants something he can do some tighter turns on again and the the 12’0" isn’t cutting it. I think Girvin’s suggestion of a 8’0" (or 8’6") is a good call, maybe bump it up to 30" wide and 4 1/2" thick all the way out to the rails (nose and tail). He seemed like he had his heart set on the fish shape though. He mentioned a custom Pat Rawson he had back in the day that he loved and wanted to replicate. Thanks John for the SUP suggestion also, I remember seeing a 8’0 x 32 x 4 1/2 Egg shape epoxy SUP at a local shop for $400 recently. If you guys think that’s enough volume to float him maybe we’ll go this route instead. Much thanks again to everyone.
Many years ago I built a koa rocking chair for a 410 lb guy. Boy was that a task! Less than a year after completion he died from heart falure! His family had the nerve to ask for a refund on the chair ! Seems as if paddling that much weight around is going to do a number on his back . A guy here well over 350 pound took up 1 man canoe paddling, went every day and has lost over a hundred pounds so far. Gotta give up on the Loco Mocos ! I wish your freind the best and hope he can get it together and lose some of that weight !!
this is the type of scenario that volume measurements will help with.
somewhere around here, MikeDaniel mentions a formula that he uses for board volume based on the rider’s weight. (you may want to PM him)
once you have the equation, figure out the target volume and start drawing up different shapes in AKU/BoardCad/Shape3d being mindful of the displayed volume calculations…this will allow you to noodle on the lenght/width/thickness specs while keeping a target volume that will float your friend appropriately.
beam width of the board is going to make a huge difference for him…that and a flatter rocker through the tail for easier wave catch.
my gut tells me that something in the 2.7-3 cubic foot range could be good. I’m 250 and ride around a 1.5 for average surf and a 1.4 for better days.
I have an old Clark windsurfer blank, two stringers and about 5 inches thick, and wide enough I can’t even begin to put it under one arm. Seems to me that if you wanted to TRY to make a 7’6" that had any chance of floating this guy, you’d want to start with something like this. I can’t say for sure that it would be surfable for a 450 lb guy, but its possible. If you used more of the length (it’s about a 10 foot blank) I think you could do it for sure.
**7’6 x 26" x 4.25" Twin Fin
**
I can send you a file in Shape 3D format and you can cut it with on the North Shore with most of the machines over there. Send me a PM with your email if you want a file?
2.0 EPS - 6+6 Deck 4 + 6 bottom give him a year and he will lose 100 pounds.
My ''very general'' guidelines for wt/volume are: .50cuft/100lbs for shortbord float (high-rib to chest float), .75cuft/100lbs for fish and hybrids (low-rib float), and 1.00cuft/100lbs for midlengths (bellybutton float). I bet surfding has it all dialed in his file. And afoaf's suggestion of 3.00cuft would be about right as well. There's so much personal preference in bouyancy that there aren't any ''rules''.
I'm surprised the 12'0'' doesn't float him higher than his chest.
My uneducated guess: - As fat has less density and more buoyancy than muscle, he and the board reach neutral buoyancy at that point. A shorter board may float him at roughly the same level as his legs, butt & belly are submerged. Personal example: At 195 lbs. and out of shape, I was more buoyant than now at 180 lbs. and fit(ter)
My uneducated guess: - As fat has less density and more buoyancy than muscle, he and the board reach neutral buoyancy at that point.
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Not at all an uneducated guess, that's exactly right. I just didn't want to go into that level of detail about something that most surfers (and shapers) are still trying to begin to understand. Muscle mass, particularly in the lower body, will affect ''float level''. I have a customer who played in the NFL, he's not huge (a little over 200 lbs, he played the safety position), but his ''heavy'' legs require some additional foam.