OK. I’m waffling. I’m thinking of making an EPS/Epoxy hi-perf thruster, but am weighing all the negative factors- like people saying they’re “corky,” “You can’t bury the rail,” etc etc.
I’ve been looking at back issues of mags and noticed that in the Surftech ads they have big name pros, BUT they are throwing kind of wimpy, sketchy looking fans, if they’re turning at all. I’ve been searching and waiting for a Surftech ad in which someone is doing a full rail carve and heaving a big, solid wall of water roostertail in his (or her) wake. No deal. Is it that they can’t be done? Too “corky?”
Of course Surftech is not the be all end all of EPS/Epoxy. Maybe in other photos guys are riding custom EPS/Epoxy and throwing big spray. But I wouldn’t know. If you have photos of anybody throwing big spray on an ultralight EPS/Epoxy PLEASE POST. It might erase any lingering doubts I have before I go blow some of my very limited discretionary income on an EPS blank.
“Corky” doesn’t mean F*CKALL about what happens once you’re in motion.
Here’s why I say that, aside being a somewhat crank old fart: when you’re up and riding, you’re on a planing hull, and displacement isn’t in the picture any longer. So the thickness, density, flotation, etc. is irrelevant. The things that count when your planing are the wetted area, fins, and relationship of the fin position to the area distribution. Okay, rocker is useful too.
But I seriously question your motivation. To me (alone?) surfing is about having fun zooming around on a wave. I don’t give a rat’s ass how big, small, strong or weak someone’s spray is in a photo - especially since they may have eaten their shorts, big time, for that 1/500th second photo. I don’t surf for anyone except me.
Photos lie. Any damn fool can get in a tube, come off the top or bottom, and many can do some imaginative moves in close-out crap. It’s what happens the next few seconds that counts. If I scored a contest, each contestant would have to make their waves to get any score.
eps and epoxy , wont make a difference , knowing how to combine them into a performance surfboard will
come’on now Bert…what do you think Greg’s been making all these years? making eps/epoxy work better than poopee isnt M theory…you know that…lighter, stronger, faster response etc etc…oh yeah welcome back
regarding rail set thats easy…use lower overall board volume and thinner rail geometry…and try lots of fin setups until its just right
the archive is loaded with this information if you dont want to use it have Loehr make you a board just for your needs and go from there
what camera/lens was used with those shots? how far was the photographer from you? I’m asking because those look like some impressive shots…my guess, at least 300m from the shore with a monopod/tripod config. Colors are stunning too.
This just my personal thoughts on the molded styros or first time shapes of eps. The foam is so much more floaty, that the masters were shaped from a std. foam blank, without the forethought of this extra floataton. Lastly the main market is entry level surfers, who need float to easily catch waves. On std. foam boards, an increase in volume does not mean a proportional increase in floatation, just more weight, in eps the added volume expotentially increases floatation, without dramatically increasing weight. Just my 2 cents
Steve Ryan, Longtime pro photog, regular pilgrimages to Teahupoo, Cloudbreak, etc etc, regular contributor to “Tracks”. He lives in the next street and shoots Winkipop whenever he can, gives pix to locals! So, photo cred to Steve! And yep, he shoots from shore with a big fat digital on Tripod…
