I am 6’3" 215lbs+ live in charleston sc …waves not that great most of time and have trouble finding boards that dont “bog down” “drag anchor” with out riding a fish… My delima is that if i ride a standard shortboard i have to go up to like a 6’8" to really have enough volume and the longer shortbaords just seam to be “tracky”…they dont want to turn in the “pocket” well at all… especially in average small surf… so i have been shaping fishes and stubby/fishlike boards 6’ long, w/ 23" wide pt., fat tails (17"+ at 1 foot up) and thick boxy full rails and 15"+ wide nose at 1’ and 3"thick at wide pt. … etc to try and compensate for my size and weight but keep length down so it still turns good in small to average surf… they are fun boards but i want to take it to next level of performance and feel limited…i really like the way a high performance boards handle and was wondering if i can possibly just take a 6’8" and add more nose and tail rocker to make it come around better and then move center point back to bring the sweat spot under my feet more …would that solve the tracking problem??? just dont want to put to much rocker and have the board “plow water”…east coast swell lacks power most of time…if i ride say a 6’2"- 6’4" short board it handles great but it bogs down real bad … and i spend all day just trying to generate speed and just has no drive …
You have it backwards....You don't need a board change, you need to move to better waves.
WTH you are 6'3 @ 215lbs. You can't (or shouldn't) ride a pro size shortboard......you are twice the size of a 5ft nothing, 130 lb panty weight pro surfer. Put down the magazine and stop comparing to "what the pro's ride, or what's offered in the surf shop
a 6"6" through 6'8" short board should be a good match. I fought the same thing until was about 25......Thats why I started shaping.
More rocker and straighter fins will help some. But knowing what surf you have is important? Small over here is anything under head high, and I really wont even attempt to surf anything under chest high......because I am like you, just an older version. Any wave I surf under head high I just plow along.
You can step the rails, hydro hull the bottom, add rocker, straighten the fins, add volume, etc, etc....but you are a big guy trying to surf small waves with a small surfboard. It's all about equalized volume...take the 125lb guy, and the volume the 6'2" surfboard has. Now, your 215+...err lets say 220, because of the holidays etc. There is a weight difference of 95 lbs.......Holycow, thats like another surfboard just to float your mongo ass!
it's not about catching the wave, it's about the ability to float and glide through the wave...that weighting and unweighting, in and out of turns. if you don't have the volume in foam, the minute you let off the gas pedal....you just sink to the bottom.
do you have any thoughts on the moving the wide point back on board to make is turn quicker? it feels like im riding a long board when i get on a 6’8" walk up to drive down line and walk back to tail to turn it and it still digs rail … the 6’8" i had was a channel islands Flyer… loved it as far as paddleing and catching wave and wonderful for fast easy speed down line but could not get it to wip around or cut back quickly enough in small surf…
I live in Florida and am 6-3" 180 lbs. I know where you are coming from, I was surfing a
6-9" for a long while. On that board I found a smaller fin am2 really worked well. When I swapped my fannings in which are larger the board stopped workin the way I liked. So you may find a fin swap an inexpensive solution. In answer to your question re wp. Back designs. Have you ever heard of McCoy surfboards? Geoff has been shaping the answer to our mutual problem for 40 years. Most of his boards incorporate wp back. I think you might like to check out his design theory’s. I got a Cheyne Horan zap. This board has really stoked me out. 6-0" x21 1/2" x 3". If you love high performance short arc surfing this may be the stick for you. They aren’t for everyone but of you dial in on it you will love it. Also my Cheyne zap is a single fin! I love the ability to dial in drive and looseness. The amazing part is with the proper fin the single is more maneuverable than any quad or thruster I’ve had. Geoff shapes some sweet sticks no doubt. If you are not into the single fin don’t despair they are also available on some models as a thruster. I now shape replicas of this board. Mostly singles but also thruster. The great part is you get the best of both worlds on this design. It loves to turn. I never bogs out or plows water. It has a way of finding the power pocket that I love. It goes vertical well too. Sorry, I don’t mean to sound like a McCoy add but wanted you to love surfing again.
i havent seen mccoys designs yet ill have to go check those out here in bit… thats what i wont tight archs and a board that drives out of turns not stalls… thanks for addvice and info… do you know what the nose and tail rocker in on that board?
I know where you are coming from. Rhode Island waves are less than ideal most of the time and I get sick of riding the longboard. I am 6’ 200lbs and don’t like longer short boards or fishes. I just shaped this 6’3 x 20 1/2" x 2 1/2" out if a usblanks 65R. I kept a lot of meat in the tail and with the relaxed rocker it’s really working out for our conditions. Easy to catch waves, turns great and flies. I think keeping the wide point back makes for a more manuverable board.
The rocker is 5" nose and 1 1/2" tail. It is a three stage rocker which works in conjunction with the “loaded dome” convex bottom that Geoff pioneered. He is still the best at this shape but others have mastered it as well . Pautsch being one notable as well as Ricky Carrol.
checking out mccoy video designs now very interesting… i have been on a similar patch… built several boards in 6’2" 22-23" wide w/ wide pt moved back… 23/4 thick and a 17-18" tail block at 1’ up… fun … but not as agile as a short board shape… hard being a surfer in east coast…
the tail rocker on the mccoy is real low and nose is higher so im guessing it planes real easy speed yet the nose doesnt hang up when you mark sharp turn in pocket??? I want to be able to get lots of speed for turns and manuvers yet be able to agile enough to do tight turns and airs and such…
also ment to ask you on the mccoy what is the width of the tail at 1’ up from end? they look real wide… sorry for all the ?'s just ordered a new blank today and trying to make up my mind what im going to shape out of it… appreciate all the advise yall have given… always good to hear what works for you and apply it…
When boards got ridiculously narrow during the 90’s, the only way for me was to go longer. 6’6’-6’8". Not really a shortboard to me. Felt too long and I had to constantly move around on the board.
The solution for me was to use that volume in a shorter package.
Much like the current trend.
This is what I ride currently.
This is a bigger version of my “Cash” model.
6’3"x 20 3/4"x 2 1/2"
Lower entry rocker. Probably 4" nose and 1 7/8" Tail rocker
I think the tail is 15 1/2"
Kinda like a bigger Dumpster Diver-ish.
Pretty domed deck so rails feel thin.
Left some thickness in the nose area.
Wide point at center.
Single concave to “Vee” off the tail to help the wide tail on the rail.
nice board yeah squashing down the volume is only way to go for small wave it seems. longer board just draw to long of an arch for small faces… thanks for your input and picks helpful… i started shaping earlier this year after many “ok” off shelf boards that just didnt do it… and am on my 5th board now and each one gets little closer to what im wanting… so many concepts… some fat nose w/ pulled in tails, others fat tail w/ small nose… and all the inbetween… the last two boards i did had really fat fish tails which is good to point but when comes to powerful turns and like its just to much to leverage and can slide out…like turning a monster truck around a indy race track at high speed… sketchy… so thinking about pulling the tail in more while keep good thickness and volume, like what you have done… seems to make it come around easier…thinking like 6’4-5" x 22.5 x 15 nose x 16-17 tail but pulled in at end… to squash tail x 2 3/4"… 5 fin set up. The Mccoy boards are interesting to w/ wide point pullled back for quick turning… and balance point at rear…
I’ve always loved wide tails. Having a larger foot helps to put wide tails on the rail (turning). Try shaping the tail thinner and more square. Makes the tail far more sensitive. Way more responsive too. Also don’t be afraid to put a generous amout of “Vee”.
This board, however not a big boy shortboard. Has a 17" tail. It is a 5’10" or a 5’8" depending which rail it is on. It has alot of"Vee". Turns on a dime for its shape.
thanks for photos and input… size 13 foot here… that may be all i need to to thin out the tail a bit… i left it real boxy and thick for extra volume but not good for bite and feel… good addvise thanks!
2" tail 4 3/4" nose. Single to slight V. 15 1/2" T 13"N
22 1/2 wide might be a lilltle much if you want a very responsive board. I made something similar to those dimensions (scaled down sliightly) on a previous board and I really don’t like it. It hangs up on waves and is really hard to bring around the way i want. I think at a certain point The width begins to work against you. I think it’s better to go with a flatter rocker and bump up the thickness for float.
It might be worth speaking to Tom on here, never ridden a board he has shpaed but he sent me a template that is awsome. The boards on his site all look great and the feedback i have read has been really good.
I try to take some pics later today and post of the boards… the last is look pretty much identical to the Roberts “mush machine” very fat and super wide tail … love in on small soft days… but gets over powered in anything over like 3-4 mush…looking for performance or “shortboard” but w/ out drag and bog in east coast swell… same days are strong but lot of times our swell is on weak side…
