I want to shape my first board, a 9’0’’ classic square tail single fin and after skinning the blank I am now looking for some advice on rails, concave, and vee.
as it is my first attempt at shaping I thought of using 50/50 rails all round but keep reading about things like ‘hard down rails at the first foot of the nose for more lift’ and easing to 50/50 towars the middle, then getting harder towards the tail. Do I need to go throught the hassle of shaping and bleding different rail types? Will I be able to noseride with a 50/50 rail on the nose instead of the hard down rail?
I am unsure about the bottom contour of the board. Are concave & vee absolutely neccessary or could I get away with a flat bottom?
Could someone advise how much conc and/or vee is needed? Are there templates or diagrams that illustrate dimensions or location of vee and concave?
Don’t want to sound flip, but all your questions are answered by how you want the board to surf, what you want it to do. The archives are full of info on this. You mentioned a “classic”, nothing wrong with a 9’ board, but the classics were all over 9’ (9’ 6" or so). I’d take the time to do some research / study on various shapes and try to learn what you want to end up with.
Sound advice from Richard. I don’t know where you are located, but get out to a shop or the beach and look at other boards. Ask a few questions, find out from other surfers what it is about their boards they like(besides the bitchin’ airbrush). Run your hands up and down the rails and across the flats on a few boards. Get a feel for the transititions at key points on the board. Take mental notes and reveiw the archives here at swaylocks. I agree with Richard; the idea that a 9’0 is a classic is something that started in the '90s not the '60s. McDing
dredd, what part of the world are you located in? west coast with better waves, perhaps something with a little more rocker; fla’s eastcoast, something with a little less rocker. either way, 50/50 or 60/40 rails thruout but again at what level is your experiance? the wrong longboard can be discouraging in decent surf. and as the other posting said about todays longboards…most are contempory shapes. the boards of the 50’s to mid 60’s were thick, around 10 or 11’ long, with the skeg nearly back against the tail,and very little rocker.but every needs one in their garage for the fitness aspect of just carrying it down to the beach!
there’s any number of different combinations of rail types and the one you choose should be suited to your surfing style and what works for you…not for what fits in line with the “image” you’re trying to portray from this board. i just finished a classic shape with a 60/40 down rail at center to almost full at the tip. center of the board was almost perfect flat with a real nifty nose concave and a vee out the back (starting about 2-2.5 feet from the tail). shoot me an email at and i can send you some pics/specs on it. it’ll lay out everything really nicely and give you a visual basis for rails, bottom contours, etc.
you could do a flat bottom for nostalgia, but i’d recommend some concave and vee. like i said, concave in the nose (i did a takayama-style concave, about 3/8"-1/2" deep at center) and a vee out the back (last 2-2.5 feet of board). i can send you all the diagrams you’ll need. just e-mail me. although, a word of warning: for your first board, just let things flow naturally. get a generally idea of what you want and roll with it, but don’t overshape the board trying to get everything precise. with your first board, close enough is close enough. if you keep shaving it down to what the diagram says and then evening out the other side and then evening out the other side again and so on and so forth, your 9’ classic style noserider will soon be an 8’ mal.
the board i did was a 9’6" and i like riding the fin really loose, so i put the box up 6.5", although 6" up from the tail is pretty standard and safe. boxes are really easy, but if you’re doing a glass on fin you kinda just gotta be able to eyeball where you want it. again, that’s one of those things that is suited specifically to your preferences and style of riding. have fun, and good luck!
yes… if he’s using a clark (i.e. 9’1Y)he can pretty much follow the contours of the blank. its almost too easy! on the other hand if you have a preferred rocker template that isn’t close to a clarksbars precast…then it takes careful selection.
Thanks to all you guys, as you could probably tell I am quite new to the whole thing both shaping and surfing but because I enjoy making things I thought it to be a good idea to shape a board myself. Ok, so it’s not really the sixties classic with only 9’ but hey…
All I want the board to be is reasonably stable as it’s still early days with my skills, some noseriding maybe don’t quite know yet. It should also work in the smaller European surf ie of Cornwall and the Bay of Biscay. As I live in London there is not a great choice of shops and beaches to go and have a look at other boards. If there’s anything they are shortboards so not of much use.
I really like G Hunts stick!
Brandon: Thanks for your offer, I’ll drop you a line.
