I was thinking of Greg Griffin’s remembrances of Roger Adam’s board, how he could do extreme things on it, but others “couldn’t even turn” it.
And I got to thinking of my personal “magic” boards. When I’ve loaned them to others, they quickly give them back- and vice versa with theirs for me (regular modern thrusters).
You get used to what you like of course, and if you like unusual features, the translation problems begin. In my case, I like heavy. My 6’ fish weighs a ton. I love the feel of momentum I get: other, more normally glassed fishes I’ve borrowed feel skittery and slow (my board is a Brom too, and has a ton of volume, if you know them).
My other most favorite board was a lead-filled Velzy back in the 70s, a 7’8", probably 4-inch thick slab that looked not unlike Bruce’s Stoker 5 in outline. Standard Brewer fin. It probably had a few extra pounds just in crudely executed repairs, and was undoubtedly waterlogged. Yet it went wherever I wanted it to on a wave. All that weight and thickness felt just right to me (and then as now, I’m 5’9", 145)
And then by contrast, my most magic ride these days is a Paul Gross featherweight, finless mat. No one evenwants to try that one. Mwahahaha!
Do you ride something other people can’t turn, can’t not turn, run from screaming? What is it, why do you like it?
(and Greg, what was it about Roger’s board design?)
My boards are a bit outside the box of mainstream off-the-rack type boards, and for that reason, most other surfers I know are not interested in trying them.
Seems most guys I know kinda follow the trends and are therefore not interested in mid-lengths (which a lot of my boards are), or single fin boards, or “big-guy” (old guy) boards with lots of volume or seldom-seen Thrailkill twin-single fins. I also like heavier boards, and again, its not the mainstream flavor of the day.
My first boards were hollow wood boards, and everyone I knew treated them like elephants - you know, fun to look at from a distance but don’t want to get anywhere near one.
I did loan a mini-glider type board out to a fellow swaylockian, told him keep it for a year, I was hoping to get some feedback / ride reports, and maybe I still will. I hope and assume he’s getting some waves on it!
I have tried other’s boards, with mixed results. The smaller, thinner boards I don’t do so well on, since I surf crowded point breaks I like a little paddle advantage to deal with the pack. I have a mini-mal that a fellow Swaylockian made and gave me, and have enjoyed it thoroughly before it developed a de-lam in the tail. Its in the rotation for repairs awaiting my next resin purchase.
I can’t really write anything too exciting, but a friend of mine has a firewire sub scorcher and thinks its the best thing ever, he has kept trying other boards over the years but always goes back to that.
When I tried it I just didn’t like it,I couldn’t get enough drive snd speed out of it, we are about the same height and weight but I just didn’t get on with it.
I think that most of the boards I’ve made for myself only work well for me. I’ve also ridden boards made by really well known shapers and I’ve not liked them. Among those are Brewer, Iggy, and Parmenter. We all have a certain type of board that works best. As we grow or age, this changes. My brother and I have always liked very different boards, and we rarely like the same board. The only exception has been the Griffin 5 fin fish we have. My brother has a 6-8 Alexander Gemini that I used and really liked, but he gave me a 6-4 and I didn’t like it at all. Really strange because it’s from the same shaper and only a few inches shorter.
To clarifying my question: Is there a design feature, or combination of features, that sets your board apart? And how did you utilize that in your surfing?
PS- It seems to me anyone who rides full-on hulls would be in a position of having “that board”, and know why.
The few boards I have made, I add “design features”, not on purpose.
I made a 5’10 board with a tomo front half, and round pin back. The bottom has vee, even a little in the tail. I had a couple friends try it and they said it was a little unstable. For me the board is a rock, and when the waves get headish and a little more, I can get in easy, and take later drops. From my limited understanding, the vee in the bottom, and lack of hard edge from a little bit in front of the fins to the nose, let the rail suck into to the wave face and make it real stable, and slow things down a little for me on take off. Once I get going it is fun to carve slowly. No snaps, or rocketing down the line but feels good. I have made plenty of waves with it, where I really thought I was going to eat it, but somehow it just stayed under my feet.
For me it’s more like Boards People Ride That I Can’t Ride…Starting with HPSB and anything under 6 foot…The add says ride this board four inches shorter than your normal short board…OK…don’t see any 6-8’s on the web page…and most longboarders are afraid of my mid lenghts…comfort zone…but like Huck says…we deal with crowds in California…so why rip if its extra work? Some days it’s just best to glide on a log…
I have such a wide range of features from rolled bottoms to flat bottoms to multiplane with rolled sides, tucked under rails to pinched rails. I ride single fins, quads, 1 + 2, thrusters, and Griffin’s unique 3 in a row multi finned boards. I have boards with just a couple of inches of nose rocker and less than that in the tail, but I’m enjoying more rocker these days.
I’ve been making my boards with flatter bottoms and tucked under rails lately and been mostly making shorter boards with more volume. I’ve always been riding the shorter and looser boards so I think that’s where my strength is. Probably why I didn’t like the older, heavier, longer board is used this weekend.