Each guy’s best board is going to be different than the next based on rider height, weight, skill, type of wave ridden and so forth.
I saw a check list years ago that rated on a scale of 1 - 10 the various ride qualities of a board, i.e. paddling, wave catching, top turning, bottom turning, cutback, tube ride, etc. I’d think it would be pretty difficult to score straight across 10s on such a checklist.
Obviously a custom shapers nightmare is the guy who comes in and requests the magic board with all the seemingly contradictory qualities like loose off the top but positive in the tube and off the bottom. Oh yeah - don’t forget about strong but light.
After reading posts on the “Shaping Help!” thread, I started thinking about what qualities make a best board. Is anybody really paying attention to stuff like how a board top turns vs bottom turns or are we going by overall gut feelings?
If you were to create a similar checklist, what qualities would you list and in what priority?
for an adult (smooth and controlled) modern shortboarder i’d say:
light: faster acceleration, higher avg speed; i get it using std epoxy or composite now
fast: turning is much easier at speed and its just a plain ole rush; i use fast bottoms with relaxed rockers, concave and edgy rail release…and of course three fin thrust
loose: im mean loose in small pockets so curvy hippy outlines work for me on my everyday board…also bigger front fins than center…for travel boards i prefer more projection so cleaner outlines there
it took me a few years but i’m so dialed in right now its not even funny…bigger and bettah things coming up soon too…
Not only is everyone’s favorite board different, but most of us base best board on how great the waves we get on it is, and that’s not real basis for anything!
A surfer can have the best board for his style and size, waves and feel, but if he get’s skunked by a crowd or bad luck factor, he may never use it again.
Conversely, a poor board that gets good waves, the crowds part for him, everyone cheers him, he’d think it’s the best board.
been trying hard to get snappy off the top with asymmetric hybrids - failed so far, but learning a lot in the process and believe its possible while still retaining contradictory quality 2
succeeded at getting plenty of bottom turn drive so want to retain that.
responsiveness via concave deflection (lift) plus contradictory quality of stable in textured surface on powerful wave - achieveable via use of double concave, but undecided on whether the double should run full length or blend into a single concave (and at what stage in the rocker it should blend).
light and strong of course - achieveable with vacuum pump.
paddle well with contradictory qualities of must duckdive well if its below 6’ 9" in length, duckdiving a bonus at 6’ 9" +, but can tolerate it if its not happening.
feel very lively and responsive - choice of materials very important
Look nice - bonus, but not important
Water resistant - very important, one of my #1 eps cored sandwiches wasn’t
9 tuberiding - not applicable
above the wave manouvres - not applicable
despite the above goals my most successful shape (exceeded just about all my performance hopes) has belly as the hull shape, is 6’ 6" and not really duckdiveable, very little bottom turn drive (while achieving contradictory quality of being fast as hell). Loose off the top and at cutbacks despite being fast as hell. Exceeding expectations was achieved by deliberately introducing extreme design decisions in combination with blind luck - this board is my “Mr J Blob Model” twin fin. Well documented in archives under pink xps thread (despite being blue) and in photo archive 6’ 6" long. My favourite board for the occassional visits I make to the powerful San Francisco beachbreak when its less than head high.
despite my increasing knowledge of board design, at the slow rate i produce/learn, gut feel and blind luck are always going to play a large part in my designs. But thats the attraction of gambling i suppose
I saw a check list years ago that rated on a scale of 1 - 10 the various ride qualities of a board, i.e. paddling, wave catching, top turning, bottom turning, cutback, tube ride, etc. I'd think it would be pretty difficult to score straight across 10s on such a checklist.
John, have you seen what Rich Harbour has added to his website? After having to field lots of questions on his forum about what board is better for what (nose riding, wave catching, turn connect, drive, wave size…) he created clear graphical charts that show the characteristics of each board. With a disclaimer that they are just general in nature. I think this charts are great.
For example, the link below will take you to the chart for the Harbour “high performance” longboard series. similar charts exist for classics and cruisers.
Yes, the Harbour chart is the general idea… now I’m wondering what specific design factors influence each rating.
“most of us base best board on how great the waves we get on it is, and that’s not real basis for anything!” - LeeDD
LeeDD’s summation is precisely why I brought the issue up. A closer look at how a board behaves (or misbehaves), and why, can only enhance design skills.
His recent posts on Haubush’s thread “take a look” describe how a narrow tail, while looking fast, may have some negative aspects to it if it is out of proportion.
How many of us could tell by looking at a template that it might hang up on takeoff and be difficult to point down the face? How many of us even notice that a board might be hanging up and not getting down the face?
it seems as if its hard to lock down on just one best board criteria…a board, a majic board has many obvious design features and perhaps a few mysterious hidden features…
maybe its not about “best board” but rather “best features” that make a best board…(for a particular situation)
im my situation i know exactly the design features i want…but if i moved to oahu then those features are no longer ideal
How many of us could tell by looking at a template that it might hang up on takeoff and be difficult to point down the face?
this comment is a perfect example…if getting hung up is an issue im looking at other critical design features… …volume/riderweight, width, rocker…dont forget the rider too, and the conditions…hard offshores and im getting hung up too
gotta admit, that harbour web site is very impressive!
Unlike my peers I believe firmly different breaks and waves require different boards. I actually think you should design your boards specific to the break you’ll be surfing and your personal style. I think that’s why most of us have quivers…
What I’d ride in the country wouldn’t be the same I’d ride at Haubush or Makaha or in Town as every break and the crwod factor has it’s idiosyncracies. Even in the country a magic board varies from Sunset to Pipe to Rocky Point frontside or backside.
Maybe it’s just an excuse to explain all the boards I own or maybe because i can afford to buy as many as I want nowadays that I’ve developed this belief. When I was a poor grom we’d make the best out what ever we had to ride(paipo, foamboard, canoe, dingy, 12footer, popout) even if we didn’t have anything and had to resort to bodysurfing. I guess when you work a whole summer in the cannery to buy your first custom (in my case an Iggy) you treasure it with all your life…
Who knows maybe that’s the answer… The best board you owned was your first board cause that’s what got you hooked in the first place…
“How many of us could tell by looking at a template that it might hang up on takeoff and be difficult to point down the face? How many of us even notice that a board might be hanging up and not getting down the face?”
well that is exactly it. the template on the wall may look different in 3d foam, foiled etc. cant you use the same template for different boards?
and meercrafty has a good point about the rider as well.
