Nice forum, already found some excellent information. Appears to be not many teenage loudmouths and just a lot of good solid experience talking.
Q - About to buy a new board
Im after something that I can drive down the line setting up sections ahead of me to bang with a big driving bottom hand turn into a vertical smash.
Ive narrowd my dimensions to about a 6’2" X 18&5/8 X 2&5/16
Im a lightweight(70kg) so there should be enough volume in that.
Im going boxy rails for forgiveness and beachbreaks. And im going a roundtail with a bit more width or a squash tail.
Im not sure about bottom shape. Have been on concaves so long I forget what a V feels like.
Any suggestions for the aforementioned down the line bottom hand turn drive and smoother locked in style as opposed to pro do anything anywhere stuff…?
Single fin. check out my signature. you could add small side fins too if your more a thruster rider. as for concaves, i’d go flat for versitility, other than that its personal preference wether you like vee or concave.
I personally would go with a thruster. Single fins are a different ball game. The last time I was one single fin was at Tunnels on Kauai (6-8 foot faces) and I was wishing I had my thruster. I felt I had to nurse my turns. Thrusters, for me, mean more hold and confidence. For me anyways. that said , BK did some mean bottom turns on single fins.
For down the line I might stretch out the outline- maybe a 6’-6". If you’re interested in smoother…
I recently shaped a 6-4 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2 with a slight single concave in the middle and vee in the tail. Several people have asked me if I was riding a single fin. I rocks rail to rail for nice smooth s-turns but it not nearly as drivey as my new board with single to double. If you’re after a hard driving bottom turn I’d stick with the concaves,
Just my 2 cents.
ps I surfed three hours this morning- really cold but offshore and fun. Towards the end of my session some groms paddled out and 15 minutes later were gone. When I got out they were on the beach with their towels wrapped around their heads. I said to them, “You should get one of these” pointing to my hood. And they laughed at me like I was the kook. “Yeah right.”
ok, i am little biased here, but i would go quad for down the line speed, and big powerful turns. either flat bottom, or maybe shallow single concave to slight vee in the fins. you will be able to go vert with smaller trailers, but have all the hold you need to slam into full speed bottom turns, with no fear of slipping.
i know ‘quad’ has been a buzzword here lately, but most shapers are experimenting with them again, with excellent results. anyway, it depends on what’s going to make you happy in the end.
remember its your money, and happiness/satisfaction at stake, don’t let others sway you.
oh yeah, and most importantly, good luck, and have fun. new boards always makes me stoked.
im on a 6’2 x 2.2/8 x 18.2/8 -LSD- Good for superbanky type running walls, crap for fatter and beachy breaks. Will do a roundhouse cutty nearly anywhere if its steep enough, shame I can’t keep up with it, haha
and
6’6 x same as above. LSD- Again great at lennoxy type waves or points with a bit of variation in the wave. Again crap at beachies.
On the hunt for something a bit more solid and versatile than the 6’2. it gets pushed around a bit if the waves arent really good. ANd its a bit too sensitive hence the down the line thread. You really have to be pin point accurate with it and it has so much speed that i find myself always in a rush… ha ha