hoping I can get some advice and thoughts on a narrow midlength that I am currently shaping. I’d like to understand bottom contours in such a narrow midlength. thickness and rail design advice also highly valued
Attached a file pic of the board that I hope you guys can see. If not, it’s a double ender style board 7’ 7" x 13.7" x 18.6" x 14.7" x maybe 2.75" ? (thoughts on thickness and foil also wanted)
You can put any bottom contour, innovation, you want into this board and it will still not surf well. The only thing wrong with your outline is the fact that it is too narrow. This would be a great outline at 20" or 20 1/2". Why are you insisting on a sub 19" width??
oh man I left out some key info, sorry guys… It’s more of the fact that I have boards in most every other shape and size (except for an egg which is my next build).
I’m about 80 kg but a light footed surfer and my girlfriend will also ride the board occassionally (though she prefers the hulll).
I have this Saggus single fin (pictured) that is a little over 7 foot and about the same width as the proposed. Love the ride, it’s very down the line and flowy but the weight distribution is too heavy up front for when you want to cut it back. I was hoping to have a more refined version that is a bit more balanced. I like how the saggus just flows with the slightest wiggle so wanted a narrow board for that reason as well as not having any other narrow boards.
surf beach breaks mostly that can be either mushy or hollow so it’s more a case I’ll take it out when the conditions meet or whenever I like. I quite enjoy taking my lovelace she hull out in whatever conditions for instance, though most people would probably only have fun with it on more lined up days.
The biggest difference between your proposed 7’7 and that Saggus is that the Saggus has the wide point well forward and thus the outline curves accordingly into a narrow tail.
The narrow outline of your 7’7 project will result in severely straight parallel rails due to the mere 1" difference between the nose and tail. All that is beside the fact that 18.6 is really narrow for a 7’7. Try adding an inch of overall width and reducing the tail width a bit. That will result in a more natural curve, as I see it.
As to weight distribution…you can keep the outline full and simply do a stepdeck if you want to reduce swing weight.
Just my 2 cents worth.
PS: If you use a leash on that Saggus, do you find yourself stepping on it, often?
Your design is fairly straight through the middle. The “tracker” board you posted below that has pretty straight lines aft of the wide point. In general, straights are not so good for turning.
If you like the idea of a narrower single fin try the slightly later and more refined versions that came a couple years after the “tracker” tube-hunting design.
I think that with design tweaks a little goes a long way. A more conventional template with the wide point forward and a little curve will still flow and turn under a weak foot or a forward stance so long as you keep the tail width at or under 14". With narrow tails you really don’t even need to go that narrow through the middle. I think that with a wide point forward layout an 18" width at 7-0 will actually be a lot stiffer than a 20" width.
If you’re looking to keep the hull vibe with the wider and rounder noses you could go in that direction with a design similar to what Andreini or even Liddle do for bigger/faster conditions.
I’ve seen that hawaiikine model but was thinking to avoid the hull design and have read liddle’s site before and wouldn’t make a hull this narrow…
I was thinking I could get away with the parrallel outline as the board is so narrow and that would compensate. Like a hotdog style longboard shape but a mini? Am I way off here?
oh and I do like those tracker models but wanted something different. I predominantly ride single fins so have been on and used to have a stack of various tracker type boards
If you take your Saggus single and add some width to the tail, pulling the curve out some, it would be a great shape for a modern single. You could pull in the nose a little dropping the wide point some too. I have a couple boards like that, and I like them. The wide point forward of center draws out your turns, but you can always stand back and get more pivoting type of turns. Go for at least 19" up to 20" in the wide point.
similiar to the plan shape I have now then but wider seems to be the suggestion. Thanks guys. Was wondering what I’m in for if I keep it at about 18 1/2 inches? thoughts on thickness as well?
Has anyone got examples or ridden any super narrow longboards before?
