Looking for a little help with dimensions for a couple boards. Drew up a couple ideas with Surf Designer, which I find to be a lot easier to master than APS3000. If I were actually CNC cutting I would probably try, but I usually just figure out some dimensions, plot them out and take a ruler and bend it to the curves. Lot of guess work involved. I’d just like to know if these dimensions would work for their purpose and the individual.
The first board is a 6’6" semi gun for myself for the winter waves. I found out during some solid windy swell that my lightweight fish is just not made for the conditions. I’ll probably take the dimensions to the nearest half inch or so.
Next is a 7’2" first board for a friend who is learning to surf. He’s about 5’4" and all of 115 pounds probably. He’s been learning on an 8’6" Bic, so I wanted to shape him something that he could progress on. His foot placement is a little off, so I didn’t want to give him a shortboard, where it would really matter a lot. I’m afraid it may be too much board though.
I like the nose, width, wp, and rocker on the “semi-gun,” but I would pull the tail a bit. More powerful waves require a bit more control, and putting more “pin” in the rounded pin helps. I would stay under 14" for a 6’6, but maybe you’ll get some others with different input on that.
I’d trust your gut on the “too much board” intuition on the second board, at least with the planshape. For a beginner who’s a smaller surfer, I’d stay under 15" in the nose, and under 22" for width. I’d be comfortable with 14.5" squash tail, and the rockert looks good. If anything, I’d make up some volume in the thickness… 2 1/2 to 2 5/8 for easy paddling and wave catching.
NJ_surfer, thanks for the help! I redrew the 7’2" based on your dims. Smaller would definitely be better for him.
Extra thickness is always good for catching waves, but would the board sit too high in the water? And would it become a problem for him to sink the rail when he gets that far? Perhaps more thickness with a domed deck and pinched rails.
Thickness can only get you so far for catching waves. It would also make it harder for your friend to duckdive. If you want it to catch waves, play around with the rocker. My suggestion is to flatten out the rocker and you can still add a bit of volume if you want (but don’t overdo it). Overall, looks good.
For a semi-gun you might move the wide point up a little, say, to 0" or even +1" and see what it looks like keeping the same nose and tail. There just seems to be too much board behind center. Moving the wide point forward will take a bit of curve out of the tail and give you more control without sacrificing wave catching ability of a wider tail.
The other board looks great! Dome decks are tough for beginners as are pinched rails.
hey rach how is it goin’? wel the first board i would pull in the tail to AT least 13 7/8 if waves over 1footOH beach break is what you have in mind.And I don’t know if the winter winds in rhode island are like the are in jersey but a wide nose like that will hold you up in the lip and blow you out the back.
I moved the wide point forward, keeping it around 19" in the center. It greatly affects the tail though, but it was already suggested to keep it under 14", so that’s accomplished!
Hey Kyle, things are going well, lack of swell at the moment, but finals are approaching and they kind of like it when you study for them. I think chest-head high was what I was planning the semi-gun for. I doubt I’ll see OH and be brave enough to surf it. The winds are crazy in RI! That’s why I’m making the semi-gun, because I definitely felt myself getting pushed off the wave by the wind when I was riding my fish. Do you think you’re still gonna apply to URI?
For a semi-gun you might move the wide point up a little, say, to 0" or even +1" and see what it looks like keeping the same nose and tail. There just seems to be too much board behind center. Moving the wide point forward will take a bit of curve out of the tail and give you more control without sacrificing wave catching ability of a wider tail.
Now that’s the kind of feedback I’m talking about! I can’t wait to get home and start shaping this beauty. There’s a possibility I’ll throw in a resin tail block, since my 6’8" blank is missing a chunk off the tail.
Anyone have suggestions for how to do that efficiently with epoxy? I got the fast hardener this time, would it exotherm too much in the mold?
I was going to do several layers of weird colors, thought it might add a little splash of color to the board. It was going to be tinted opaque blue, but I think I’ll save that for my longboard. Would leaving it outside in my garage work? Or maybe cold wet towels around the mold, like for finboxes?
I think I have some PE resin lying around somewhere that I could use instead. Got a ton of UV cure, but for opaque that’s not going to work.
I don’t know about the PE resin block if you’re going to use epoxy over it. It might be fine… I don’t know. I guess you could really rough it up and get a good mechanical bond between the PE and Epoxy. PU foam, I’m guessing?
Leaving it outside would be the ticket if you’re doing thick layers. Just don’t pour it all at once… it will expand and get all bubbly. I’d do no more than 1cm thick layers, one at a time, and I’d tint them shades of brownish red to make it look like an old wood tail block.
(Another thing I’ve done is painted my divyncell (?) foam stringers on my EPS blanks with a coarse brush tinted with glazes… and streaked it to make it look like wood grain. Fools everybody who sees it.)
Resin block attached to EPS blank & glassed over with epoxy?
Good enough for Jim Phillips…
Photos & board from Surfore…
I like the colors on the otherwise clear/white board. Very subtle. Its also evident that the block was done in many small pours. Austin does his in multiple layers as well. Not only less exotherm, but less trapped bubbles. You can bang the mould against your bench & settle the resin…or subject it to vacuum if you want to get crazy and practice for marinating meat.
