Big Guy Hybrid/Shortboard?

General Discussion
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Aloha Artz:

The graphics on the yellow board was hand draw with Posca pens. This is my semi-gun. Most of my boards have five fin FCS Fusion set ups. The red board with the wing is a Quad + 1. My tails are really wide from 16 -18" so I need a multiple fin set up.

The two boards with the red foam stringers a 3 1/2" and 3 3/4" thick becasue the width is 25" wide. These boards work great well on the South Shore and in mushy waves. I haven’t tried it on the North Shore yet. At 58 years old, these boards make me feel like a kid again!
D

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I'm about 6'2, and 300 lbs. I'm shaping this board this fall/winter, and will be riding it next season, by which time I will be 275 lbs.  

 How is your current weight distributed? Big pot belly; go to 26 inches wide, 4 inches thick, but scoop out where your belly will go. This reduces the tippyness that results from thick narrow boards. e.g. Ben Aipa Big Boy Stinger which is on 23 1/2 in wide. The reduced contact of body due to a big belly makes it unstable and uncomfortable for paddling.   Of course no-one has ever shaped a board with a scoop to allow for a big belly and purists will demand you lose weight, this is just an idea. However, keep the width and add pad for your belly  to make it comfortable 

Heavy legs, i.e. thick thighs, heavy boned means that you should have a full mini -simmons twin plus fin tail, maybe 25 inches wide at the tail. What that does for you is that it allows you to get the board onto a plane when paddling and especially helps for catching waves. 

I'm looking to ride something somewhat..."short" but also something that is floaty and I can easily fly/travel with.

Check your favorite airline and see what their limitations are, probably from 6ft to 9 ft.

I'm thinking something like a 7'6'', 24'' wide, and maybe 3.5" thick? Either a squash or fish tail, quad setup. **Is it reasonable to believe this would float me?** I've considered an 8'0 or something bigger, but like I said, looking to go a little smaller, and my weight will continue to drop, as I'm working on that for other personal goals.

I live in Ormond Beach, Florida and my typical waves sit between 1-2 foot whitewash and 3-5 foot rights. Nothing real big though.

Mini -simmons, mini-simmons, mini-simmons, rides the onshore crap with speed like nothing else

So what do you all think? Any suggestions are appreciated. I've looked at a few mini simmons, fish, eggs, etc. just trying to get a feel for options. Thanks! 

Mini-simmons.

26 inches wide, 4inches thick and as wide a tail as possible, length subject to airline limits. 

 

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I have made tons of boards for bigger guys. Get the right foam in the right places is important. 8x24x3-3/4 good numbers. Wide tails get into waves and do not sink in flat spots. here is one I just finished for Ben. Ben Is a big guy and rides em good. I have a custom blank EPS made that carries the thickness back under where you are. Flatter rocker lets BIG guys use their size for leverage. You could go wider but they get hard to carry and sit on. This blank profile has been my key.

 

http://www.flickr.com//photos/obaceman/sets/72157635098414926/show/with/9511329032/

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In 1971 I made a Surf Systems ‘‘Broomtail Fish’’, called the ‘‘New Shape’’ at that time, for Doc White.     The board was 7’ 0’’ x 23’’ x 3 5/8ths  thick.    Set up as a ‘‘Tri Fin’’, the board was his go to small wave board for the West Side, Ewa, and North Shore.    Same board today, set up with close twins, is kicking ass in small to larger surf on both coasts.   I’m tempted to make one for myself, since I’ll never ride big Hawaiian waves again.  Small to medium size, I’ll have a ton of fun.    You’re on the right path.

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Nice looking board Tom Your personal ride?

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Thanks Doug, no that is a customer’s board, these two are my personal rides

The black one is 6’10" x 24" x 3" eps I used black tint to stain the foam and fill the voids from the eps instead of spackle then glass 6oz bottom 2 layers 6 oz top gloss

The green Bolt is 6’ 10" x 24" 3"  pu and poly double cutlap green tint gloss

These work great for me being 6’4" 230 lbs 

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Your liter rec is going to vary according to age/paddle/ability-level/etc., but here’s a screencap of a shape3d file of a board (my design) that’s about 62 liters at 7-2 x 3.5 x 23.  I surf a 6-2.5 version of this at 208-215 lbs, intermediate (7 yrs surfing, surf every day last 3 years), 45 yrs old.  The file’s not exact.  This is a board I drew/shaped by hand, and then I made the file to figure out the volume.  Of all the boards I’ve owned (20+), this one is my fave as a daily driver (3-6 ft).  Smaller, I go to a 5-10 (more toward) simmons volume, and bigger I go to a normal 7-0 step-up with somewhat “big guy” dims.

 

So…at 7-4, it can definitely be done…

[img_assist|nid=1076268|title=big dude hybrid, tweaked|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=1121|height=594]

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Oneula, just checked out the Cronic Bully.  Nice looking ride.  Has me thinking of something shorter Then an 8’0" For the first time in more years then I can count.  

 

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Alright everybody! Sorry it's been forever, but I'm picking up a blank today!

Driving down to US Blanks in Melbourne to pick up an 8'2A.

Still playing with some dimensions, but leaning towards a super fish. 24" x 4".

Sitting between a 7'10'' or an 8'. Ample volume either way. 

Looking forward to starting the journey! 

 

 

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I'd say something in the 8' range is good for you, but, for reference, I just did a 7'6 x 24 x 4 for a 290lb ~6'2 guy. Custom US blank (I think it was an 8'2 with added thickness and rocker).

 

 

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Re shapen's post and custom blanks for heavy dudes, I'm 210-215 and my last board is a 6-5 hybrid (similar to a Stretch Pug, but thicker and wider than normal Pug dims).  I wanted to go 3" thick minimum, so I used an off-the-shelf egg blank to make it – turned out to be a mistake in my view.  Most of the shortboard blanks available to me off the shelf were only aimed at boards under 3" thick in finished form (max 2 7/8 or so, really, but maybe that's because I am a beginning shaper and when I skin a board more comes off than with a more experienced shaper).  Bottom line, the egg blank didn't allow for the tail rocker I wanted, and trying to make an egg blank work for a shortboard seems to have been a mistake in the end.

Next time, I'll try and start with a custom blank.

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Shapensurf, I was actually considering those exact dimensions! I found a 7'6 Firewire Addvance I liked A LOT but it was like 23 x 3, so I bumped up the dimensions a bit to give me more float. Was gonna run a quad setup, but I love that board! 

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Don’t want to make a new thread, so I’ll piggy back on this one.

I’m in a similar situation, big guy at 6’1" 230lbs with pretty broad shoulders and some pretty big thights (guess I should stop doing squats…).  Anyway, I’m looking at getting a mini longboard around the 8’ range, stepping down from a 9’2.  I want to keep it wide at around 23.75", but curious about what thickness will give me just the right amount of float.  Would it be wise to maybe even go a little shorter?  I primarily surf the South and West shores of Oahu, with occasional trips up to the North when it’s not hitting too hard due to my limited skill set on a board, I would still consider myself a novice surfer.  LONG time lurker/first time poster… love this forum and thanks for all of the outstanding information and experiences from all of you guys!!

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BuffDriver:
Here is another board shaped with the US Blanks 8-2AX. I adjusted the nose rockers -1.5"C. This one is 8’x25"x3.5". It can be adjusted to 23.75". The guy who bought it is 6’4", 240lbs and former football player. He normally rides longboards is the 9-6 to 10 ft. range. He tried this board and offered to by it. It was my proto-type made for big guys. It is a real wave catcher made for small surf to slightly overhead.
aloha,
D

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Uncled,

That’s pretty much the same as what I am going to have shaped here locally.  My original thought on the thickness was 3.5", but wanted to get some advice from the bros here on Sways.  I can definitely relate to the “former football” player body type because that’s pretty much where I’m at, in shape but bigger than the average surfer.  I’m thinking about a quad+1 setup for a wide variety of fin configs from single to 5… thoughts?  Sweet board by the way, pretty nice for a prototype!!

Cheers

 

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Joe Blair has been building big-guy boards like that as well.  

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gdaddy: Joe Blair inspired me.

 

BuffDriver: I think the quad + 1 is a great set up.  The point I was trying to make is the 8-2AX blank has enough foam to shape a variety of big guy boards.  The rockers can be adjusted to make a longboard shape.  I normally adjust the nose -2 last 24 or -1.5C. I live in Kahalu’u and you are welcome to come over to my place to talk surfboards.  I am a hobbyist.  I can even give you some of my AKU files to get your project going.

D

 

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Might also be good idea to check out  The Stoker V machines Bruce has been post of Photos and some reviews on The Stokers. I would like to get my hands on one.

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What the other shapers who do these boards all say is that you can’t surf the wave unless you catch it.  McCoy has the same philosophy.  The Simms caught on because they pack a ton of volume into a short length, so even though the neckbeard guys won’t admit to it that’s part of the reason for those boards.  

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Artz,

I’m  hesitant to put down another guy’s ride… to each his own… but since there has been lots of claims on the surfshop thread about how good they are, I feel it is fair to add a little balance.

I’ve seen some of Bruce’s Stoker Machine boards, and I wasn’t quite impressed with them.  I know pretty well one of his “riders” who he mentions by name.  I know how well this “rider” surfs on various equipment.  My take on them is they are a really wide, really flat board with a healthy amount of vee in the tail.  Yes they catch waves easy, and go moderately fast on a mushy wave, but so would any really wide/ flat/ thick board.  No, they don’t turn well at all. They aren’t even close to what I’d consider high performance.  Too wide to carve, and kind of tracky.

But on the other hand, if someone wants a board for a weak paddler who wants to catch a lot of waves, and isn’t the kind of surfer that does more than cruises in a straight line, it could be just the ticket.