A year or so back I read a comment from a shaper who is well known for shaping 6-channel bottoms for boards being surfed in Hawaii. He said the conditions in SoCal are too slow to take advantage of those bottoms and suggested just skipping them for boards built for local use.
I live in northern SD County and the breaks around here tend to run even slower than they do up north. I have a board coming up that I would consider doing channels in but I’m really not interested in creating a problem for myself. So I’m soliciting input from those who know better than I - what do you guys think about channels for a board aimed at overhead+ conditions like Swamis or Cardiff or Church or the like?
You can do more with varying the fin setup using the all the different systems available today. For overhead at the breaks you mentioned, focus on a small gun-design; you’ll get out faster and get more waves. In those conditions, I always see sub-6 foot boards washing up on the beach or guys spending an hour trying to swim them out. If you have consistent, clean, big waves you can evaluate whether channels work for you or not. In the 2-3 times each year that those breaks get overhead, board size and outline would be more of a return on investment than channels.
I’ve had an on/off affair with channels for a long time, all kinds. My personal experience now is that I can do more with rail design, tail rocker, and fin setups. Besides that they’re no fun to shape or glass.
Pete’s right. Channels came into vogue at the end of the single fin / twin fin era. They were an attempt to cure some of the ills of those setups. The thruster and subsequent fin and bottom/rail configurations rendered them useless. Not saying they don’t have an effect on how a board rides, just saying they aren’t worth the time that goes into shaping and glassing them. if you want something fast go to a Quad. I don’t really understand the current fetish around Sways with channels, but I guess they are cool to look at. In the real world you never see 'em. But if you don’t mind being on a shaper or glasser’s “Blacklist”, have at. it.
I worked with a known deep 6 channel freak for a while(Hamish Graham). Hawaii, no, too much water moving and chop, work great on smooth point breaks. Would never use them on big wave boards. They like to have the water flowing through them, not turbulence. For all around try not going too deep, have fun, experiment. That’s what it’s all about.
If you are in North County then stop by Surfy Surfy. Look at the channels on the Campbell Brothers Bonzers. They are not as pronounced like They were with the older Bonzers were.
Are you working with a shaper? or is this something you are building?
Look carefully at boards you like and Boards ridden by surfers you admire. I lived and Surfed North County San Diego for more then 30 years I know what I came to like in a board. In just about every board I kept a consistency in a couple of areas. Everything else was open and I let The shapers do what they wanted. I Liked a board with an egg style rocker slightly wider. Softer rails with a tucked edge and some touch of release behind the fins. That was what I had to have everything else was open to the shaper.
There is so much talent in North County. You should be able to find someone who will work with you or find a board that can act as your guild and starting point for your project.
It’s been a long time since I bought a board shaped or glassed by someone else. I’ve got a Bonzer sitting in my garage right now. What I don’t have is a 6-channel bottom, so that’s why I was asking about them.
On a trip to the Islands, I took a 8’ pintail six-channel tri-fin for Sunset. Shaped by Gary Linden. I surfed all over the North Shore with that thing. Worked unreal. When I returned, I shaped a couple of six channels shortboards for myself. They went good however, in choppy or windy conditions they lost drive. I believe that there was too much turbulence. Glassy conditions they worked cool.