I recently purchased a shortboard thats much thicker than I'm used to, but you know what, I like it. When I saw this used Surftech Flyer being offered on craigslist, I was quite apprehensive about the thickness which was 1/4" thicker than the 2 5/8" I had been riding for decades. The rails are on the full side, but I've never had any problems with it. The only gripe I have about thicker boards is that it makes it more difficult to dip through a wave. While the added bouyancy makes it harder to dip, the increase in paddling speed makes up for it. At my age, 55, I need all the help I can get.
its all in the way the foam is distributed thru the shape to have sufficient volume s well as ensuring maximum performance for the intended rider....
I am not a fan of Webber boards genereally, but The Webber Mini fish is 5’9 x 20.25 x 3 and I’ve seen people surfing pretty darn well on them (some guys could surf a door though).
Have an older turflite version of the Afterburner its ok but 2.45 thick. Webber seems to have a liking for the super deep concave, I have a board from a guy who was heavily influenced by Webber and I reckon the concave may be to deep unless my back foot is dead on the sweet spot, ala my Afterburner, then the board comes to life....when I hit it that is. For a really good surfer who 9/10 times can get the back foot right over the fins/concave the boards would be unreal (probably the same for most high performance boards).
I love all the conviction, opinions, pontificating, etc. .
Ain’t nuthin wrong with 3"… look at what Simon got outa the number.
The 6’8" is 3" and the 7’8" 3-1/4" (heaven forbid!)… 
Not a fish, not a quad, S turns and roundhouse cutbacks galore.
“Paddles like a longboard, surfs like a shortboard”.
Open yur mind, your ass will follow.
Oh, and these were pre Dumpster, Dozer, Rocket… by about 15 years.
Check Stoker V Machine Facebook, read Discussions
Geoff McCoy type dicussion on the horizon I think.
Geoff? Nah… early day Aussie influence or Santa Barbara Greenough/Cundith Wilderness inspired? Since these first came around I took the design and tweaked some to make “more efficient” planing profiles. This has them going Mach 2 in gutless slop where glass slippers are dogging or being bounced up and down to get up on a plane.
The similarity with McCoy might be that Geoff had quite a run of sales in the U.S. when Cheyne was the man and riding the thick designs from G.M. . I give both of them props for thinking outside the box and proving that all surfboard designs don’t need to be paper thin pinched rails and domed decks.
Being that I’m a lifelong surfer ('59 on) and spent a decade making thick sailboards that could handle all kinds of water, I’ve learned a lot about making boards handle really well on top of water w/o spinning out.
The design I’ve posted here is widely loved and I never stop getting orders for them. There are a lot of subtleties in the design that people just don’t pick up on until they ride one, then the compliments come flying in (to sound immodest about it).
I’ve avoided posting any pix of these purposely for several years, but now that the Diamonds, Dozers, Dumpsters, Motorboats, and DIY lemmings have arrived, I figured what the hell.
The problem I have with fish is that they surf 2D, even with gr8 surfers on them, you can see how limited they are.
I much prefer this approach.
Cats outta the bag… have fun.
I’ll take the 6’8" please.
http://www.cisurfboards.com/sb_biscuit.asp
heres an example of a 3" 6 foot board that works, I am in the process of building one.
do not fear the extra foam..it's your friend
because all about how shaper contours the bottom, the rails, rocker
there are plenty of other dudes here with much more knowledge on this than.myself.
heed their advice
me-52 yrs 6.3 ..225(15%bf)..
6.4 x 24 x 3 eps minisimmons mystic jim dunlop
6.6 x 25 x 3 1/4 moontail bonzer fish pearson arrow/dane perlle
7.0 x 23 x 3 1/8 stubbie short board..."
7.6 x 23 1/2 x 3 1/16 bonzer hull.."
all these works extremely well...float me easily, catch waves easily, and turn well of the tail
yet 7.0 x 22 x 2 7/8 spud/sea of joy wayne lynch single fin...flys but i really need to be
spot on for take offs
if you're ever in north florida..you are more than welcome to try any of my boards..
and i am more than happy to send pics(PM me your e-mail address)
anyway.. i think it all depends on who your shaper is,
how well you communicate with him/her.. what you want and need the board to do
i am so lucky to hasve worked with bob pearson, dane perlee, and now jim dunlop
man it's good to talk about surfing again...
good luck..
Thanks dansan, appreciate the offer, never know might make to your part of the world one day from ol Sydney town.
Have ordered the board and pick up in a few weeks - 21x6'6x3 round tail tri. The shaper has a great rep and has been awseome to deal with, havent ridden his boards before but have always wanted one - so frothing to get my mits on it.
My requirements were pretty simple - want to catch decent waves in Sydney and elsewhere and sink a rail when required, he took it from there.Heres hopin'.
Hmm … sounds like Grant Miller … might you be getting a Waterskate ?
He’s got a good rep among people like you and I , for sure .
edit , duh just read back your earlier posts and see Mick Mackie , cool ! Be sure to tell us all about it when it’s done .
Ride fishy boards (Rocket Fish) now so Mick and his magic machines seem to suit.....................
Have this board now - shape a blend of old template new concaves. Has a wide nose (fwd mid point) and finishes with a pin (not rounded, but pin..almost a reverse teardrop) with a very sharp rail all the way up from the tail up to a third of the board, sutble single to double no vee. Pretty much thick all over i.e no major foiling from middle to either end but obviouly some. Dims 6'5 x 21 x 3
Good news is its awesome, fast down the line and carves really well, it feels very light in the water but not corky, not to bad to duck dive.With that vol you'd think its a wave catching machine but its not a main feature (maybe pushing a bit of water with the nose) but its great on the face of a wave and I think the mid point positioning combined with the upfront volume + the pinny really working well. Love it, nuff said.
I came across this surfboard on Lux BarreL. Unique approach to designing boards. 3" with S-Rails.
If you are surfing weak waves and are a bigger guy then 3" thick boards should be your go to. Check out the one in the link, looks like its got some performance in it with the wing in front of the fins. Mod Sting.
Thanks Steeeeeeeve for posting designs from the 70’s. They seem to still work in 2016
all my boards are 3"
domed if possible
been riding big boy 3.25" boards lately but then going on 60 and averaging around 200lbs justifies it
rather keep the length down and increase the width or thickness
seems the older you get the bigger the boards since surfing is primarily abour paddling
cause like ambrose said
the one catching waves is having the most fun.
you don’t want a buoy
but you want the paddle power
in the end numbers are meaningless
every dimension can be adjusted to make things work