i ordered a custom 6’6" board that was supposed to be 19.5" wide and 2.5" thick. i measured it out last night and it is 2.25" maybe 2.3" thick and 19.25" wide. i ran the #s through akushaper and the difference in volume was about 2.7 litres. not really stoked b/c i didn’t get exactly what i ordered and that’s disappointing, especially considering what i paid.
i have a call in to the shaper. i’d ideally like to get the board i ordered.
do you think that the 0.25" difference in thickness should make a noticable difference in the paddling/wave-catching ability of the board? would you live w/ it?
be honest how good of a surfer are you? what percent change in volume is that 2.7? I have seen boards ordered by a professional surfer to be 5’10"x18 1/4"x2 1/8" wind up being 5’9" x 18x 2 1/16" and the board was the best boat the guy has ever ridden. don’t get too hung up on numbers, a good shaper will lookat the board and make small decisions to make the board better, so ride the board then you can complain. that’s my opinion.
on good days, i’m an average surfer. the 2.7 litres is about a 9% difference. i kind of wondered about what you said - would it make any difference to a really good surfer? the board hasn’t been a super wave catcher for me and i’ve been assuming it was me and not the board. when i looked at the numbers i started to wonder if the extra 1/4" would make any difference.
1/4" is a significant amount, depending on your level i have guys that can start telling a difference in a 1/8" If you orderd 2 1/2 that is what you should have. When i do custom boards I listen to what the customer want’s, i might not always agree with what they are telling me and i tell them my thoughts, but in the end the customer get’s what he want’s. That’s why its a CUSTOM board. just my 2 cents-josh
The combo of thinner and narrower can make a noticable difference. If he compensated for the thinness with a wider board not so noticable. Do not be afraid to ask your shaper why he did not give you what you ordered. I personally would have been more dissapointed with the lack of width.
It is just another reason to develope a good relationship with a local shaper or learn how to shape them yourself.
I think the last time I saw a standard 6’6 @ 2 1/4 was in about 1993.
If you ask for 2 1/2 you should at least get it. a quarter inch of foam can make ahell of a difference, all depending on the foam distribution throughout the board of course.
1/16" close enough, 1/8" getting out of most shapers tolerances, 1/4 too much.
Be polite to the guy and tell him it felt a bit thin so you measured it and it came up short.
If he’s any kind of decent human he’ll build you a new one for nicks.
Interesting situation. Seems like most all my boards are slightly smaller than what even the spec on the foam reads or what I ordered in the past. It use to kind of bug me, but then it happened so often that I figured that it is normal (perhaps they start with the right size then start shaving it down?).
I would at least ask him about it, I had a board made recently and it turned out really thin in the nose and I made it clear that I wanted it to be a little thicker. It still kind of bugs me as I am one who would rather have too much volume and not to little (and I made that clear) even though in the surfing world that would not be “cool”.
Let the shaperknow youve noticed a difference and are not sure about it but youre happy to surf it and see if he is willing to make another one should it be not what you expected… he might agree or he might have another idea?
do you think that the 0.25" difference in thickness should make a noticable difference in the paddling/wave-catching ability of the board? would you live w/ it?
The solution is simple! Put some hot coat on it untill it is thicker than you want and then sand it down to desired thickness.