Guys, being talking to a pretty good shaper about getting a new board. I said to him I'm 45 YO and 98kilos and ride 6'4 2 5/8 boards but its becoming a little bit of a struggle in less than solid waves. He came back with the suggestion 6'6 x 3 inch x 21 Thruster which is pretty big. Apart from the duck diving aspects I dont have to many issues with this but will it bottom turn sharpley enough or will I have be forever scooting acoss wave faces without a turn of any significant degree.
Yep this shaper knows his stuff, but thought I would ask you lot how a 3 inch short board may perform.
Sounds pretty close, at 41 I’ve been going with the trend of shorter, wider, thicker. No need to be ashamed, it’s just easier and my wave count has gone way up. Maybe stick with same shape you have but go 2-3/4" or 2-7/8. Just have him foil out the nose and tail. I like the thicker and wider boards but I go with more of a pinched rail so I can sink it. No need to go longer, the few inches in the nose isn’t going to make a difference in float.
I'm riding a few boards that are quite thick, some are about 2 3/4 - 2 7/8 " but I have a flat deck so it maintains the volume thru the deck towards the rail but you can still have a lower rail for performance, not corky at all.....I would like to do one of my almost finless boards even thicker, possibly 4", just need a snapped or 2nd SUP blank.....
I’m 42 years old , 6’4" 200+LBS without my 4/3 MM suit and my shortest board is a 6’0"X22.75X3" Mini Simmons (Yellow) and I think I could go smaller. I’d say make a Mini Simmons if you want a short board that turns and paddles good in small gutless waves because they are the best…and you can go small…for you I would say around 6’0". But if your looking for more of a “normal” shortboard I can pull of a 6’6"X19.75"X2.75 (Quad) with no problem. Maybe try a quad if your going wider and thicker and that will help keep it loose and turning freely…especially in small gutless waves. The blue and orange striped board in the picture is a copy of a C.I. Flyer I had. I loved the C.I. board but it made me tired trying to paddle it at my local beach break. I decided to make a copy better suited for me so I added an inch to the nose, made it thicker and fuller through the nose and tail and I made it a quad. It works way better than the original. Three inches is a little thick unless your making a Mini Simmons or and old school keel fin fish and I would look for my flotation by going wider in the outline but keeping a thinned out rail so you keep that nice performance feel. If you like that 6’4" I’d try a new 6’4" but wider in the nose, tail, and middle and make it 2.75" thick and you’ll see a big difference right there.
If your having to ask this question probably the latter. If your skilled as a surfer, and in OK shape and he can shape, its no problem to make a board work with those dimensions. Cornholio, what a terrible name, but with the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” I guess you can call yourself whatever you want.
Check out the "thick board skinny rails" thread, or the "stepped rails" or "stepped deck" thread. I've shaped 2 boards that have the stepped rail design, my personal one is 6' - 20" - 3" thick and have a 3/4 inch thick stepped rail, this style rail solves your problem. Im gonna start a build thread on how I do the rails next week. The board is goona measure 6'6" - 19" - 2 3/4 with stepped down rails in a traditional shortboard outline.
86 kilos x 6’2 and have been riding 3" boards for decades. If the extra foam is kept in the middle 12" of the board and then foiled into a smooth and gradual transition into the same rails you’re riding now, and the nose and tail foiled appropriately, you shouldn’t notice any difference in turning, and I personally feel the extra centerline thickness helps absorb chop vibration frequently dealt with in bigger surf. And at your size the duck diving difference should be nil as well. Also far less buckling in thicker center foiled boards …21" width will provide more curve and loosen the board up a bit…if your primary bigger waves are more of the “sucking out over the boil” type, however, think about going with the 3" but keeping it a tad narrower…
at your weight, I think that going 3" is a good idea. as pointed out, just make sure you have a nice foil in the rails and tail area so that you can sink them.
the width and float will be nice for paddling and catch which is 90% of the job.
Im 80 kg and i like 3" thick boards. They work fine, especially if the rails are thinned out. Though i quite like chunky rails too come to think of it.
2 5/8? You must be one hell of a good paddler. I’m a 102 kilos give or take, 40 yo, and could couldn’t imagine trying to paddle around a 6’4 x 2 5/8. I’d feel like I had an anchor tied to my board. Any shaper who knows what they are doing can make a 3" thick board just as high performance as anything else. My boards range in thickness from 2 3/4 (a 6’6" fish type) to I think 3 1/4. That doesn’t mean you have to have fat boxy rails, although at 2 5/8 you probably do want a full flat deck and full rails.
Give it a try you will probably be catching more waves on the less than stellar days.
Was riding and bogging a 2.45 inch board until last year so have been progressively stepping up the volume so talk about anchors.
Guys thanks for the feedback, concluding that 3 inches fine but will look at 20 3/4 width and foil it out.Need to get hold of the shaper now (Mick Mackie)
have a few like you are wanting the most overlooked variable is where you surf slow waves or fast waves and all the other wave variables a Hawaii reef break moves way faster than a west coast point break as a rule so some of the dimensions given would not be ideal for some breaks in the end ride what works best for you dont worry about the mass mentality, think about displacement and floatation two different concepts good luck aloha…
have a few like you are wanting the most overlooked variable is where you surf slow waves or fast waves and all the other wave variables a Hawaii reef break moves way faster than a west coast point break as a rule so some of the dimensions given would not be ideal for some breaks in the end ride what works best for you dont worry about the mass mentality, think about displacement and floatation two different concepts good luck aloha....
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yep. I'm 220lbs-230lbs, 40 yr, living in NE FL, I ride most boards being 3-3+ thick...can feel comfortable on 2.75 if necessary; slower moving, smaller beach break.. I have no problem laying over 3 inch boards; if I surfed a reef break I'd surf completely different boards.
Are you guys using a shaping cad program to figure out your volume?I design my personal boards around the volume that works best for me.Im really digging shorter thicker boards with some width like the minni simmons.My 5’5 has the same volume as my 6’6.You dont need added swing weight in the nose(longer board),you need more volume under you body and feet.
