First Board Experiment

General Discussion
1

My first shaping/glassing. I wanted to do something I had in my mind to see how it feels/rides differently. I wanted to at least achieve the big picture in my mind, I wasn’t focused on aesthetics or total attention to detail, I thought that would be too much for a first shot and too much like work when I need to surf on me days off (been workin a lot)

I didn’t want to post it here really, but hope you guys get a kick/laugh out of it. Thanks to all for ideas and teachings. (especially you greenough disciples)

The outline is ci single based- 6-0 x 19 1/2 x 2 1/2 ish. I foiled the nose and tail (and especially rails) noticably thinner than the original. It has a single concave (1/2" deepest at center) starting at 10" back from nose and blending about 20 " from the tail into flat/vee out the back. The way I glassed/reinforced and sanded the fin on gives hints of a center mound masquerading as a double concave before and throught the fin.

I’m actually stoked with the concave, I took a scrap wood board and trued it up radiused 1/2 deep at center point etc really nice then put sand paper on it.

The rails are 50/50, maybe a little hullish upturned and very almondy symmetrical (at least thats what I shot for) and very straight but pinched like mad, originally intended to be edgish but are more like crappy bodyboard rails, heh. I scribed a line 2 1/4" in from the rails, I ran it until the curve reached the point where it would start running back in towards the stringer. I squared the remainder off parallel to the stringer until it neared the rails, ended, and blended into the squarish tail.

The board paddles great though I have only surfed it in weakness so far. Could do no or 1 or 2 paddle takeoffs in absolute garbage no problem. Originally had the 9" stage 6 glassed on a 14.5" to leading edge, the thing tracked like crazy, so went nuts hacked it off and glassed it on at 19.5" (!) leading edge up from tail, works great no hint of sliding out, we will see in bigger surf.

So far have had only one semi-hollow shorebreak wave where the thing felt really cool, it accelerates great if there is any push to the wave Holds sweet in the pocket. I have been able to do weak frontside pivotty snaps and slowish cutbacks so far, backside feels like a dog though and ‘pumping’ for speed is a very difficult/strange feeling.

My apologies for ignoring true craftsmanship in that aesthetically my board is downright scary. Bumps, pinholes filled with surfwax just so I could get it out there and baptize it, hell I surfed it when the hotcoat was sandable but still a little clammy man I was stoked! Hope you find it interesting if not for a good chuckle. Thanks again to all you guys for sharing your knowledge and stoke on this great site.



2

Kinda cool really.

My only reservation is when the waves get steeper, you will be standing back farther, overpowering the fin.

Those rails look like they would fall off the face, making it hard to stay high, putting even more load on the fin. And they might also slow response some, making it feel sluggish when S turning.

But really cool, and come back with comments when you ride it in some head high clean stuff.

Tails that wide, I’ve used fins as big as 13" deep.

3

Interesting bottom! I’ve done a couple of edge boards but stayed with a flat inner hull…http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/Detailed/555.html

Mine worked better with size. I tried a paddle fin in mine but it lost drive…I’ve been using a 9.5 Liddle that works really well but it is a lot farther back. Mine are very sensitive to the rider’s location. You have any problems with that?

4

Leed,

What can I say I am sick in the head! in between lopping the fin off the first time I took that thing out finless to see if i could make it hold all rail. Chest high mid-tide semi-hollow nobody around beachie spun doughnuts most the time while dropping in but did get it to hold on a couple, felt a weird nose-high zooming bottom turn before eating it on one, heh. All I know is I had a ear to ear grin the whole time.

Day before that leading edge at 14.5" up the last thing in my mind would be it tracking. But the first wave frontside did a slowish drawn out bottom turn up the face, then to do the familiar heel pressure cuttie back to the soup (with kinda nursing it in mind) and plop! fell right on my ass popped up with a big ole grin saying aloud to myself “I cant believe this thing is fricken tracking with the fin that far up.”

I went five inches up expecting to be able to spin out at will (even in semi flat waves), and thus find the absolute max forward limit to know where to install a box eventually, but nope haven’t spun it out yet even on some almost zippy little middle to shorbreak slides. But like we all know who cares about the crap I’ve been surfing it in, I need some clean head-high semi-hollowness to feel it in. (and I am expecting to go on my ass when the waves step up, we shall see)

lee V,

You and solo’s stoke and projects are the primary instigators for my curiosity in different rails and fins, so thanks a lot, I have stared at your two boards for quite a bit!

As for stance so far the waves have been so weak that to connect multiple turns I have to really drop my back knee to have my weight transfer forward through lamish off the lips or turns. The tail is pretty thin so it could be my imagination but I have felt the nose come up and I lose speed if I just stand there on the tail, though harsher rear weight can be used for quicker pivotty snaps if you have the speed.

There is a GREAT photo of Mick Fanning driving at J-Bay (green journal pgs 22-23) that is pretty inspirational (and probably unobtainable by an average joe like myself). The way the back leg drives weight forward but still allows rear pressure over the fin cluster. Machado is similar on his single fin clip at cisurfboards.

For real turns Judging by the delams on my last 6-0 single (heel delam from frontside cutties or backside bottom turns) my backfoot hangs around 8 to 14 inches up from the tail. This is right over the front half of most fins I have had in the board, and right centered between the front fins and the trailer on a thruster type setup (just checked an old thruster for the heel dents locale)

I tend to have very narrow stance way up on the board (single) weight forward when trimming or glide pumping for speed. Always with the slightly bent dropknee forward rear leg as I never understood/enjoyed the function or aesthetics of that weird Hakman/Nuuhiwa toe out stance.

Sorry I ran on but to answer your question yes so far it it very sensitive to foot placement. Too far back and the nose comes up and you lose speed. To far forward and the rail bogs a bit. This is all very preliminary and in crap waves so I will let you all know how it goes in fun-good surf.

Also I have never done a full rail hull turn as I have never surfed a displacement hull, so I can’t comment truthfully as such but I can imagine.

edit-Heh almost forgot the whole reason I got up to post here again!

I was just lieing down after dinner and thinking, and the idea popped into my head that eventually I want to sand the deck on the tail down (from tip to about 16" up) to bottom laminate (blend it into the foam) and throw 40 layers of 6 oz to make that rear foot and a half solid flexy lam, just to see what happens. I want to blend extremely gradually into the forward foam as to minimize stress along that ‘seam’.

Also have thought of quadding it with fins WAY up and on the rail like parkes kneeboards. Also the front two fins would be traditional quad sized but actually single foiled paddle fins.

Definitely need a couple months to f with current setup in different surf…hmmmmm…

5

Good stuff!

Looks like you are the perfect analytical person to shake that bad boy down. Keep trying, and I hope you get some clean shoulder high waves soon, with no crowds.

I think the multi fin thing, with all fins on the rails, has an excellent chance to excell.

Sounds like you are converting it to full spoon…good luck with the paddling and positioning.

6

Very Interesting! It kind of reminds me of Stewart’s Hydro Hull, but without the vee. This is the kind of experimental design I love to see on Swaylock’s!

7

I like the design - not too certain and a bit concerned on what kind of surf it can properly handle - but I really like the design :slight_smile:

Aloha

Bryan

8

I know lots of you guys that are the real deal think this is a joke or snicker, but I’m just a kid learning and messing around so I don’t care.

The board is not what I desire.

I stared at the rail line a lot this morning thinking why it’s so stiff. It banks rail to rail fine but doesn’t cut a natural arc once on the rail. Moving the fin up loosened it but as you all know and I found out it lost drive overall.

The most notable point of acceleration in the board was right at the top of a roller-coaster when unweighting (the beginning of the downglide), or ending a cutback/turn where it swung from on rail back to its planing single-concave/ straight rail line from side view.

I hopped on my old ‘professionally shaped’ single fin (the inspiration for the outline and a portion of the bottom contour) a couple days ago and it didn’t feel ‘mind-blowingly’ better than my monstrosity in the conditions, but it did feel more well-rounded.

The next version will be:

Same outline

Same overall thickness flow nose to tail

Same bottom contours (single concave-flat-slight vee)

Less concave (1/4" max depth, centerish of board)

Narrower concave/wider rail line (say scribe 3" in instead of 2 1/4")

The rails will be less pinched/dropped down to traditional 50-50 rounded on the bottom side a bit more.

The rails will be separated from the planing hull by a definite edge (at least a 1/4"; more as nose to tail rail rocker dictates)

The most important thing I want to change is the transition from the rails into the flat/vee tail. And the rail line that is so flat from side view. I want to upturn the end of the “hullish” rail into the deck to imitate increased rocker when in a turn, especially through the tail. Right now its pretty much opposite that. (heh what was I thinking!)

I’m thinking at the mid-point of the board the rail line will drop to bottom level, but the nose (and especially tail) will disappear as maxed out as I can get em into the deck.

In general I want to turn the board as tight as possible from further up on the board than a thruster.

The stage 6 is at the bottom of the sea, it snapped off in a bottom turn on a kinda thick longer period head high set last thursday, that was the biggest wave I had the board in so far, skimmed in with very little board in the face, got to bottom, leaned, schizoed, crashed, got held to bottom a bit (kinda shallow mid-low tidishness) came up to find finless board, heh.

9

try it wiyh a thruster configuration . I love it and reackon it would go like a rocket it has much the same chines as my outer island flextail.well done.

10

Its hard to tell from the photos but it looks like the rail line rocker is really really straight even with the chine and nice bottom curve. When you roll it up, it might be tracking along the rail line. If you do it again, try drawing a curved line with a marker from nose to tail along the outline cut. That will be your rail rocker. Shape the whole board leaving that line in a 1/2 inch (or more depending on how knifey you want the rail) band until the very end. Voila…rail rocker.

I got my trifin edge out in some junk this weekend and you really have to lay it over to keep it from doing skatey, flat turns with a little squirt but not much else. It seems like you have to disengage the “bottom” hull and bury the rail…If you do, woooohoooo. On my single fin edge, using the rail was sort of the point of the whole deal anyway so I was a little surprised at how this new one needed a rail too.

11

Thanks all for your thoughts. Hope you find it interesting!

I contemplating putting two new bahne boxes inline in it, but want to save them for yet to be born version 2 of the rail transition and changes I spoke of earlier.

But before I throw it behind the garage and move on to something else and let the spiders build a new home I threw a fin setup from one of my old favorite boards a round nose fish twin finner type deal. I moved the whole cluster about 3/4" up from where it was on the orig. (heh went to the side of the house to find the oldy, all yellow, with brown foam showing a foot down where I snapped the nose off about 2 yrs ago, wax all melted etc, and got the dims off it)

Surfed it in FUN longer period pushy head high waves with fair to good shape.

The sweet spot is so much bigger than the single, especially on later drops to hand-skimming bottom turns. But the rail to rail (going for a cuttie) swing lacks quickness and you have to nurse the transition into top turns. It holds in the pocket sweet! (what doesn’t on a good wave?)

No more glide…you have to tweak and work it a bit to get it going, and it doesn’t like mush much. Overall way less functional than a flyer type thruster, but very interesting different type feels. Got my first little tube on it, not a real spitting tube, just a decent head-dip on a very fast semi-hollow wave where you just sit there low with your hand dragging tight in the pocket and the sound- the hissing hollow sound is heard for a few seconds and the peripheral vision gives notice of the lip over your head. Pretty cool feeling on something I shaped (hehe, butchered?) with me own hands.

Made my first fin panel. These yet to be foiled little buggers will someday end up on a traditional quad fish type kneeboard turned flex spoon. The depth and rake are all loosely based on a quad kneelo that is one of the fastest boards I have ever ridden. (especially when you consider it is all fall line surfing, no wiggling leg leverage antics)

This is gonna take a while it is all just messin around for fun - still have the second version standup edgy board to contemplate/shape. I will still be shooting to make it go as a single first. Maybe going to use a new greenough 4c I’ve been stoked on in my old single…who knows… the rail fins (heh training wheels) are obviously more user friendly.

(thanks of course to everyone out there, all of these ideas are based on what others already came up with somewhere, so thanks for the stoke)