If you’ve already taken some thickness out of the blank then you might want to be mindful of what rocker you have left to work with when cutting a 6-8 length out of a 7-4 blank. You also want to remember that when you go to multi-fin you’ll need to switch up your stance and your style in order to use the fin cluster.
I wondered about that, so I left plenty of foam on top in case I need to come down. Currently, it’s 6’9" x 21.3" x 2.75". Tail and nose thickness @12 are both 1.75" thick. Rocker is 3.5"/1.6". The rocker in the Spherical Revolver is nearly identical to this, except for about 3/8" flip added to the first 4" of nose. Should I do the sae? Maybe I can get by with a rocker and length this low, without pearling, My 7’6 is 9" longer, and its rocker is only 4"/2" and its fine in these waves
It looks good so far. That’s a nice rocker curve. If you’re going with multiple fins you can add a little more rocker at both ends but don’t get carried away. Also, don’t be afraid to spend a long time cleaning up your template and squaring off your rails prior to turning them. You can’t fix a problem from this step in the next step.
Hooray! Now to consider whether to go single vs. 2+1.:If I go single with this rocker I can try it out and if it doesnt hold the way I like, I can always just re-cut the rocker on either ends, move the box up, and put in the side bites. If, on the other hand, I go with 2+1 now and find I want to go back, re-shaping that rocker requires that I also change thickess throughout. Plus if Im not sure I actually need the side-bites, then why remove more foam if I dont need to yet. So, I’ll go with single fin and current rocker…
Once you glass it you will not be reshaping anything. You’re building your own now. If you do something on this one that you like there’s always the next one. If you do something you don’t like there’s always the next one.
My advice is to commit to doing one thing (with as few compromises or contingency plans as possible) and then resolve to learn how to surf that resulting board for what it is instead of second guessing your choices and wishing it was something else. Even if it doesn’t work the way you intended, that’s still okay. Adapting to and surfing “imperfect” boards will help you learn additional skills that you can use on other boards, so don’t be afraid of imperfect.
Not to get all emo on the topic of surfing, but everyone is working a progression. Even the pros. That progression is a path, not a goal. That’s the part you always want to try to enjoy because otherwise it’s just an exercise in frustration.
While I apppreciate your point, I should say that I did improve my quiver by going back and re-shaping three of my earlier boards. They had glaring defects. First one had rails like a wavestorm and a really really flat tail rocker. Because I was so new to surfing, I didnt undertstand it for a good 9 months, paddiing like crazy and catcing very few waves. I just thought I as weak, guys around me said keep coming, you’ll eventually get it. Then I go on a trip and rent a similar board, only to realize just how much easier it was to ride, wave count went way up. Got my wheels turning so I went home and recut the rear half of that board and now it’s one of my favorites.
And there’s also the space issue. I live in a major metro city, live and shape in a 600 sq ft condo. And there’s only so many boards you can hang from the ceilingg 
Just arrived today. Man, I wish I had heard of this two years ago. What a great resource. Thanks
The primary way most surfers use to determine when their living space has reached its maximum capacity is when their significant other gets past simply complaining about it and actually starts an argument over it.
sound logic through and through, especially because i live alone
Circling back to your bottom rocker , I REALLY like it. Do your bottom contours and then flatten the deck curve at the nose and tail a little and that would be perfect for a small wave singlefin. Also, with your bottom, adding a subtle chine or belly on the outside 3" will really smooth your rail-to-rail without cutting into your glide. 1/8" would do it. A little convex goes a long ways. IMO
Great to hear, and I couldnt have done it without you. Yesterday I took my 7’1 out. I re-shaped the rocker and rails last week, and it was a huge improvement, turning very well. So, I’ll take your advice and use that one for small to medium size rides that are curling more, where I want to turn more. With that, Ive decided to use this 6’9 on same size waves when they’re sloping, and I want to glide and trim with. So, I did as you suggested, flattening curves in nose and tail, there’s chine in the front third. The rails are soft 50/50 in nose, transitioning to soft round tucked down 60/40 by mid point, then getting sharper by the time it gets to rear 1/3, then hard flat tail. I’d like to try flat bottom. I rode an Eaton once that was totally flat and it was fast as hell.
First off, I have only regurgitated to you material that others before me developed and passed along. As a builder I am 100% derivative. I scavenge from others; there’s no original thinking going on here. Secondly, and I can’t stress this enough, the whole point of doing your own is to do what YOU want to do. To try out the things that make sense to YOU, and to put the rest on the back burner or the bin. So whatever you do in this project, you should consider it all you. Your personal expression as of this point in time. Maybe next week you’ll be somewhere else.
There are a couple competing ideas on the contour in the tail on a Simmons. Some people prefer the use of concave and some to convex. Personally, I use concaves on narrow tail designs in order to compensate for the lack of surface area. I use convex for wide tail boards which already have a lot surface area and lift but which (IMO) benefit from adding more control.
What I don’t do with vee is use a lot of it. I normally use vee in very subtle amounts because IMO a little goes a long way, even on a fat assed board. I rarely use more than 1/8" or so on even the fat ass boards. If the rider needs more control than that then I narrow the tail.
With a Simmons, generating lift and down the line speed isn’t an issue because of all the wetted surface area. All that real estate in the tail is why they’re using the really large keels; it takes more input to control it.
With that said, some people consider the use of concaves on wide boards to be a control element, too. They sometimes refer to it as the catamaran effect.
Cool, I just finished hot coating and will likely test it out tomorrow or this weekend. Regarding vee, do you happen to know what George Orbelian means by, the column “Bottom Contours V At Rail”? Every one of his boards spec’d out in the back list is. So I can only conclude that in the 80’s all boards had vee, but that doesnt seem right
Nope, you’re reading it correctly. They were doing a lot of boards that by 1995 would be considered short, flat, wide and chunky. Blocky rails, fat foils, flat-to-vee bottoms and one-size-fits-all fins.
And as crude as they might have been considered to have been later on, back in the day there were still relatively few surfers who could outsurf those designs.
Look at what you’re doing right now. This isn’t a recent or new design; you’re doing a design that’s been around in that length since the late 1960s. And you’re doing lo-tech because that’s how you want to surf these conditions.
amazing, that was very long ago
I forgot to acknowledge that the Campbell Bros and Eaton were using extreme concaves in the Bonzer design, a couple examples of which are cited in that book.
I see that, thanks. Here are pics taken after todays maiden voyage, sunrise session on weak but clean two footers, felt great. Rocker glides nicely and I can get it turning pretty quick after I mount. It feels like it’s just on the edge of being too low in the nose, but I can manage it by shifting my chest back when I paddle. Running a 6’ fin all the way back. Will be interesting to see how it feels on a bigger wave with bigger fin.
Awesome outcome for you. That board will definitely surf and should be good up into the overhead conditions so long as it’s not pitching. .
Once you get accustomed to the low rocker in the nose for small conditions you’ll never go back. . Put a 9" flex fin on it and run it a little further forward and you’ll be able to get some nice hula action going.
It’s not too soon to start planning your next project. Don’t forget to suss out your design well in advance of building it. Then you can pick the blank/rocker combo that will best fit your application.
No kidding? That’s awesome. I assumed it was only good for something small. I assume it will require a bit more paddle power to get it in there though. Today I felt that with this shorter length, my body had to be positioned within about 2-3" of a sweet spot for it to plane quick. Once I got it there, and was in the right position for the wave, it was two strokes and I was planing. So much different than rowing in from the back on my longboards. And ironically, better for my joints too because it was less paddling. Im 48 and my left shoulder has issues, so I have to be careful. I had SO many people tell me that aging folks should stick to longboards just for that reason. Doesnt seem to be the case.
Sweet, I have an 8’ Tiller flex I can try out this weekend. 5’ predicted a few hours north of me
Yep. I keep a journal of thoughts on what Im currently riding, what I do and dont like about it. Then I roll it into a list of requirements. I learned a ton during this one, and once I digest the book I’ll probably start planning the next. I’ve found that I really enjoy the experience of having this complex, sculputural, process rolling around in the back of my head in my free time. It’s grown to become my favorite hobby. So rewarding too.
For insight about what they were doing with these boards and how they were surfing them you can check out the old surf movies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgisHsJZ0vw&list=PLHinzM36AJbwCOL6SRxVhrl2N0l_eBcjp&index=13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1ya9ltiFjc&list=PLHinzM36AJbwCOL6SRxVhrl2N0l_eBcjp&index=12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB2ch04Cqeo&list=PLHinzM36AJbwCOL6SRxVhrl2N0l_eBcjp&index=3