I’m getting ready to build my first board. I created an outline in AKU of a hull inspired egg. wide outline, wide point forward.
dims 6’5" x 16" tail x 22 center -approximately 2" above center x 17" nose.
what I’m hoping to do is a slight rolled entry, flat bottom and I guess vee out the back?
slim 50/50 rails with edge in the tail from the leading edge of the fin back.
I don’t know enough about hulls to begin to try and replicate one. what I want the board to do is trim like how an old school log with 50/50 rails trims when you stand in the middle. I will be using it in mellow under head high point waves -mostly backside. not worried about doing critical turns, just mellow arcs. I’ll likely be using an 8" Greenough 4A fin -no side bites.
so the rocker is where I’m really not sure. the blank that I ordered is the US Blanks 6’5"A. I think that it may have too much nose rocker in it though for a 6’5". should I cut the board down to a 6’2" or 6’3" to slide the template back and get a lower nose rocker?
can anyone give me some insight on the recomended rocker for an egg that’s intended for trim in mellow point waves? I’ve attached the outline from AKU for a 6’3" but I’d like to net a 6’5" of it’s OK with the blank. as you can see I have a 2" tail rocker and 4 1/4" nose rocker but that’s just a guess.
I have a stubby I made with flattened rocker a little ahead of the midpoint, and maybe 3 inches total nose rocker, 2 something in the tail, an eighth inch of belly all the way up and down the board – it’s a quad – it’s worked best with two big fins and two small double foiled trailers – I can turn it from center like a skateboard + stand on the flattened part of the rocker to jump up on mushy fat waves that are just about to roll under me + trim on the flattened rocker, and it’s a 6’2" so when the wave re-forms and gets steep or I need to carve, pump, cut back, I just shift my stance back some and do all the above. It took me a while to really get it, but the fins were what held me back. I put an S deck in it so it’s real corky in the rear 1/3rd – takeoffs are usually one frog kick on fat waves, and either jump on the tail or the flat part to make the drop, and then skate it or carve it off the bottom and figure out what we’re doing next. The belly I’d probably delete (maybe) but now that I’ve figured out how to ride it. It was designed to do all this but it took me forever and a 30 lb weight loss to really get it working but here’s the main thing: fins. Big side fins and small rears, and the double foiled rears (two fiberglass MR trailers) freed it up, and with the stiffer FCS glass-flex AM sides I just got I expect it to totally light up.
All of which was to say, I think that thing looks great, and the bottom contours you ran off sound great, and if you want to flatten 2 feet of the rocker starting about 2.75 feet up from the tail, I’d do it as a quad and use big stiff rail fins and double foiled rears, and you’ll be able to trim, carve, catch junk, pump, cut and go all over the place. The flat bottom will probably just make it easier to do all that. I like your plans + quad a LOT. Throw a fin box in it for fun too. Woo hoo! Lower the nose rocker – hang off the back to catch em.
I think it depends on how confident you are surfing boards with flat rockers. You can go pretty flat. Some of the Simms go with zero rocker in the tail. The original Lis type fishes went with 1.0" - 1.5" in the tail and 3.0" - 3.5" in the nose, and they work pretty well in the conditions you’re describing. You just have to use the appropriate technique for the layout and use the board for the conditions that it best fits.
I used 1.5" in the tail and 3.25" in the nose on my 6-0 egg. I’ve had it on head high waves and haven’t even come close to pearling it. Yet.
I made a 6’6" Simms with 2" nose rocker and 0" tail. It woks pretty well getting into fat waves, then it glides through to the reform where it really lights up. The only time the rocker has been an issue is once the wave face is over 3 ft. and a bit walled, when I come off the top I cant go to steep back down or it digs the nose. I also made a 6’4" diamond tail single with a 22" wide point about 5" forward. 15" tail. 1" tail rocker and 3.5" nose. I put about 3’ of totally flat in the middle of the board, the tail rocker starts about 12" up and the nose rocker starts at 4" from the tail. Totally flat bottom until about 6" in front of the fin where I added about 1/4" of V and double concaves that fade back to flat about 6" from the tail. I’ve only had about 5 good sessions on it but it seems to be working great. Carves nice and seems to generate a lot of speed off the bottom. Haven’t pearled it yet.
hey thanks for the feedback fellas. I’ve ridden lots of funky boards and been surfing for 15 years so I’m not too worried about flat rockers and pearling. I’ve also got a deep quiver at the moment for different conditions so I don’t need this board to do everything. the idea with this board is to begin the learning process of making my own equipment as well as to use it on the under-head-high weak point break surf that we often get.
having said that, I’ll mess around with placing the outline on the blank to see what sort of rocker I can work out but I won’t get too into it. I prefer to stick with the natural rocker on my first shape than try to make adjustements. maybe I’ll make a 6’2" and set the outline further back off the nose to decrease the rocker.
Janklow -thanks for the detailed feedback. I’m definitely building this one as a single fin. I love the fluid feelings of singlefins and this one is for slopey shoulders so not too worried about performance. my daily driver is a 5’8" quad EPS fish which is by far the most magical short board I’ve had to date -in my experience the quads work really well backside -especially on the some of the really fast lined up waves where a high line is key to making sections.
I will update this thread with the build process. cheers.
MarcoSD -when you say “I put about 3’ of totally flat in the middle of the board,” do you mean that you shaped that part flat along the stringer? Like you flattened out the natural rocker?
hey Reverb - I took some time a while back to look at some of your work. I notice you always increase the tail rocker on your designs in the last few inches. are your boards shaped for beach breaks or steep waves? does the increased tail rocker help turn better off the top? you’r boards are rad and I like how you blend design elements. how far up is the fin box installed on that red egg?
