Hey guys. So I am working on my first shape, and I've run into a little issue. First of all, my shape is a 6'0" retro fish, with a width of ~21.5". The template was provided by the guy teaching the shaping class which I am in. He says the template is solid, and has worked very well for him.
Here's the issue.... While working on the foil of the tail, I managed to create a section from the tail to about 12" up from the tail which is rather flat. In other words, rather than my rocker having a nice flow to it, it has kindof a straight section near the tail. I havn't got a WHOLE lot of extra foam left in the tail, so I don't think that simply trying to blend it in would be a good idea. Besides, this is supposed to be a retro fish, so I'd like to keep the volume up a bit in the nose and tail. I have not cut out the "butt crack" of the swallow tail yet, which I guess will at least minimize the appearance of this flatter section, because there will be less of a straight section of stringer to look down. But here's something I was thinking... What if I were to take a couple inches off the tail of the board, making it a 5'10"? I realize that this will shift the wide point toward the tail (relative to the "new" midpoint of the board). I was just thinking that taking off that 2 inches would allow me a little spare foam to blend my rocker back to a nice flow.
I realize that it's going to be damn near impossible for you guys to answer this without seeing it... but I just wanted to get some more oppinions before I ask the teach, and get his opinion. So what do you think? What would you do in this situation? Thanks in advance.
maybe you could increase rocker along the stringer with a concave or series of concaves(single,double, single) leaving some of the thickness out at the rails??
Your solution is a practical one. I would do the same thing. The modest shift in the wide point, is MEANINGLESS.
what size are you?
if you go to 5’10" and pull the template in .5" you may be able to keep the widepoint were it was intended. In other words the whole thing is still flexible and see what will give you the best board for the intended rider.
Provided you have enough volumn I’d preserve your rocker flow and adapt the outline to best fit what you have left to work with.
good luck
A flat panel behind the tail rocker apex can be a good thing… maybe more of a squared off bottom turn but lots of squirt when you punch it.
I’ve seen and made boards with a tail rocker that turns down a little right at the end. That can create a little extra tail lift in slow waves.
weren’t the early fish just flat all the way thru with minimal nose rocker and hard down rails all around?
i got an old natural art from maybe '71 in the shed and it sure looks like that.
Back a little ways LeeV posted this in response to question about hull rocker.
Quote:
The hulls I've ridden and attempted to shape have more of a lift than a curve in the last half of the board. Kind of straight segments with blended transitions. For a 7'+ board I see around 1.5-1.75 inches of lift over the last three of feet of board (one inch or so in the last foot and a half). (measurements are from the center point)
Hey again. Thanks for all the replies. I am 6’2", and 180 lbs. I am not very worried about shrinking the length a little and maybe even going a smidge narrower, because I really want to get that skatey feel from this board. If the instructor still has that template around today, I think I may try to morph my shape into a 5’10" with the proper shape. It was a spin template, so it shouldn’t be a problem getting it to work out. To do this I’d essentially lay the template back on, trace it out, and then use a surform or block to bring it to the line. Sound about right?
If he doesn’t have the template, I think I may just take the length off the tail, and maybe use the lines from a different template to bring the width down the slightest bit over the rear half of the board, and therefore bring that wide point back up to about 3" forward from center. That should give me a little extra foam to blend my rocker a little better. My thickness at center is still at about 3 and 1/16" but I want to make sure that it is at least 2 and 3/4" when I am done. Thanks again for all the input. It’s been very helpful.
JohnMellor- I just noticed that you are from Los Osos. I’m actually shaping this board in a shaping class at Cal Poly, SLO. I’m not sure if you have heard of him, but the instructor is Nick Cooper, of Coop Deville Surfboards here on the Central Coast.