First post here - so please go easy, I have read as much as i can find out about this but here goes…
Im 6’1 200lbs my normal short board is a 6’8 by 201/2 by 2/34 expanded shortboard.
I want to make a fish. i have a template of a 5’5 lis which i have scaled up to 6’2.
This give a wide point of 24" is that a bit to wide?
Im not trying to recreate / replicate the lis fish but i want something down that line. I have a 6’9a blank and a set of lockbox fins (like on the CI Fish)
So my questions are:
how does this size sound - 6’2 by 23" by 3" what nose and tail should i aim for?
i read that Derick Hynd and Skip Frye had worked on adding curve to the tail template of the origonal fish template. What width pin to pin should i aim for?
flat bottom to slight vee - is that the best ‘simple’ bottom shape to make that would work?
using this 6’9a blank - where should i place my template to get the right kind of rocker / foil and where will i need to work on most?
rail thickness and shape - can anyone explain the basic rail shapes to aim for.
Using these lockbox fins any input on position and cant?
I know these questions may appear random but im trying to fill in some blanks in the limited knowledge i have gain so far.
thanks for any input - Im in the uk and i havent seen anything over here like what i want, hence going it alone!!
I shaped this performance-minded thruster fish for a friend who after surfing it in Santa Cruz all winter and spring has now taken it down to Costa Rica this week as a single board solution.
Thruster fish w/ 3 bumps: 6’4" x 14 1/2" x 20" x 16" x 2 3/8"
hi keentolearn…i am thinking about doing the same thing. I have heard from many that the tip to tip length should be no shorter than 9" and that was on a 5’5 or else you will begin to lose the fish like speed/characteristics. For someone your size id go 11" and keep some volume in the tail by making the the 2 halfmoons of the fish tail very rounded instead of squared like modern day thrusters. These boards absolutely destroy mush and chop
Hi keentolearn, the lokbox must be adjusted forward by i inch to accomodate for the base which is longer than the box. Are you glassing this yourself, or is a shop doing it. If it’s a shop, please let me know via e-mail at lokbox@sbcglobal.net, and I will be happy to contact them direct to assure proper installation. The cant can be between 5 and 7 degrees depending on how loose you want the board. Standing them up straighter will add more drive but take away from manueverability. Further out achieves the opposite. Did you get the fins direct from rainbow? Let me know Thanks Jim
I am also interested in a fish and have a size and weight dilemma. I am 6’4" and weigh 240lbs. I currently surf a 9’6" longboard and a 7’10" custom shaped big guy short board. I am very interested in trying a fish but I am unsure of the appropriate size. I am from New Jersey but I had the opportunity to try a 6’2" fish in 4"-5" surf on a trip through Malibu earlier this week. The board was way to small but I could paddle it and even caught a few waves, although it would stall almost immediately anywhere off of the face.
OK, Here’s my two cents. I’m no expert. I’ve built 7 or 8 fishes several using the 6’9"A. Ninety percent of everything I know I pulled out of the archives or asked on Swaylocks. For a big guy and assuming you can surf a bit. 6’6" 16.5x22x16.5( I like symetry). 1.75x3x1.75. Minimum of 10 inches between tips. Seven inch butt crack. Flat bottom going to slight vee between the fins. 1/8 inch toe in with about 2 dgree cant on the keels. If you follow the rocker in that blank it will work. Move your template back a bit if you don’t want too much rocker in the nose( I don’t). I rarely measure the rocker. When it looks good its good(Hope that doesn’t make the engineers cringe). Try not to overshape or over think the thing. It’s a pretty simple design I believe. They are tons of fun and LeeD’s all time favorite shape. Kidding. Mike
I will be glassing them in (the boxes) myself - i have heard a few things relating to other plug systems and big fins where the plugs pull out and i read somewhere that it was recomended to glass over the plugs to give them extra strength. Is that the case, if so how is this done. If you can email me off list any other installation details i would be very gratefull - (keentolearn@hotmail.com)
rooster - the numbers you mentioned did they relate to me as well? (shortboard normally 6’8) i read that i want to go down 4-6 inches hence i was looking at going to a 6’2 max?
Whats the typical rail shape on a fish like this compared to a average shortboard?
Woops, sorry keentolearn. I was thinking of the 245 lb guy. Your right about the length. The general consensus from what I have read here and talked to others is 4-6 inches shorter that your regular board or to your forehead. But, that’s just a consensus. A 6’2" would work well I’m sure or a 5’8" or a 6’6". Its all so subjective isn’t it? The consensus is a good place to start, though. Most of the “Lis” type fishes I have seen have pretty hard downturned rails. Especially, the last 17 to 18 inches. If I was going to shape a 6’2" for me today I would go 15.5 ,21.5,16 and 1.75,2.75,1.75 with minimum 10 between tips, 7 inch deep crack(curved, not straight) flat bottom. I have a 6’ Steve Lis a buddy loaned me with slight concave between the fins starting about halfway to the tip. Might try that. Wooden keel fins cuz they look bitchen, work good,and are fun to make. For a travel board the lokbox set-up looks great.Hope this helps. Mike
thanks for the template, if you have any more measurements from the 6’2 that would be great. I dont have any cad software, (got freehand / fireworks if that helps).
What size board was the orginal lis this template is from, and is it scale up propotionally (i dont think that spelled right!)
thanks for the input, using this 6’9a - any idea on the best place to put the template on? I was thinking about as far back as possible, and them blend the nose up to the deck over the first 6" to 8"
“Whats the typical rail shape on a fish like this compared to a average shortboard?”
Rails are fuller (more volume) with a softer curve over the apex of the rail. Look at a CI Flyer at a shop for a good reference of a full rail. Its like a very softened boxy rail with a shorter radius of curvature below the apex relative to above apex curve.
thanks for the template, if you have any more measurements from the 6’2 that would be great.
I dont have any cad software, (got freehand / fireworks if that helps).
I think you’d better contact me by email (see my profile).
Could even send you a full size paper template if you like.
What size board was the orginal lis this template is from, and is it scale up propotionally
(i dont think that spelled right!)
(Missed an ‘r’)
The 6’02" was scaled from the original 5’05" Steve Lis plans that are floating about.
(you’ve got 'em I s’pose?)
I scaled it on the length by a factor of 1.13846, taking it from 65" to 74"; and by a factor of 1.09375 on the width, taking it from 20.8" to 22.75". I kept the thickness and rocker the same, no scaling.
This sort of scaling only takes a few moments on my CAD program,
(see my 6’06" by 22.5" scaled to 6’02" by 20.5" in the attached file).
Get in touch and I’ll see if I can help out.
im on the south coast, but get around a fair bit.
Used to surf the piers at Bournmouth (and certain points further West) when I was in college at Southampton; but that was in '86-'89, bet it’s a lot more crowded these days.
I have the origonal 5’5" lis template and scaled it up by hand!! it took a while but i have a paper template that looks spot on with measurements very similar to the ones you have.
The nose / tail / width pin to pin numbers seem wide compared to what everyone talks about (here on the board) but it looks right.
Im going to draw my template on the blank today and see how it looks, if i can get it right then im sorted (so far) if not i will email you offlist and if you could post me a paper outline that would be cool.
Im further east of Bmouth but get down there if i can, yep the crowds are mad but i guess its the same everywhere (well almost!)
I have a template from a Lis fish (thought it was a pavel) I will send you. The nose is pulled in quite a bit from the design posted above(14.5 inches). Mike
