Hey guys, I am getting bitten by the shaping bug VERY badly these days. I am up at such an ungodly hour tweaking designs, scouring old forum posts and anything I can find online to give me inspiration and help put me in the right direction. I am coming to Swaylock because you guys are my go to source for unfiltered advice, and that is something I truly appreciate. So here it goes:
I’m looking to shape a board for typical East Coast Florida waves, the most common waves being 2-4 foot wind slop. I want this board to be able to handle that and up to our good winter surf, 4-5 foot clean (early enough in the morning). I want to shape it smaller than my current 6’2" JC thruster. The JC just bogs down too much. It’s a squash tail but it doesn’t float enough to get me down the line, I NEED MORE POWER!!! A lot of you older guys are going to think I’m a kook for falling onto the “shorter is better” bandwagon, but let it be known my 9’2" is still my baby and although I’m a typical 22-year-old college surfer, I still try to emulate the old school style. I’m building this board in hopes of just another outlet.
Anyways, the basic dimensions of what I’ve constructed is 5’4" 15 1/8x19x15 11/16 x 2 1/2" thick. My inspiration has been the McCoy Nuggets, Zots, etc and the Channel Islands Biscuit and Gravy. I’m 5’10" and 165lbs (trying to drop a few here soon). My biggest fear is that this board is still going to bog down with my weight. The plan is for a quad setup with a singlefin box as well.
So I come to you, oh might Swaylock members!!! Lend me your advice, your wisdom…maybe even your secrets? Will it work? Where to put the widepoint? Move it forward or pull it back? Rocker opinions? Bottom concave advice? I’d rather you tear the design to pieces and help me create a masterpiece than let me build a board with the rideability of a fresh turd. I attached my Aku Shaper pdf for you to laugh at in my expence.
Not really a lot of volume, especially if a 9'2'' is what you ride a lot. Go wider and thicker. Im 5'9'' x 175lbs, and im shaping a 5'8'' egg, but 17n x 21 x 17t x 3 thick, and im worried i dont have enough foam. Though i am a foam lover.
I don’t have a problem going to a lower volume from the 9’2"…I’m just worried if the volume it has is enough to keep me afloat and get down the line.
I’m a bit wary of going too wide. Maybe it’s just what I’ve heard/read that a wider board is going to give me problems in my cutbacks. I could always bump up the thickness but then I’m worried the rails are going to bog or catch. Thoughts?
The dimensions you have listed are probably about what is recommended for a guy your size on a biscuit style board; however, I have always thought those dimensions are more for the west coasters where their “small wave board” is for the waist to chest groundswell that never seems to go away in Southern California. From one east coaster to another, pump up the volume!! more volume= more planing area= more speed
WIDER (these are some of the fastest boards I’ve ever ridden) You could easily go 20, although you might need to bump your nose and tail dimensions out a bit to make it work.
THICKER, maybe 2 3/4ish. If you’re worried about it being unresponsive give it a nice low apex with a harder edge. This will allow you to still keep a lot of volume through the middle and still be able to turn.
LONGER 5’6-5’8 I’m pretty much your same exact size (eerily close actually) and I just shaped a very similar board (modeled after the rusty dwart), and it goes great at 5’6 in everything
Rocker- Take your standard 6’2 and just take 4’’ both ends
Widepoint-Keep it near the middle, an inch in either direction won’t matter too much in the grand scheme of things
Bottom contours-Probably a semi shallow single from 6’’ past the nose till maybe 6’’ in front of the fins, there you want to change to some V, possibly with double concave as well. The V will help recenter the board after turns like the center fin of a thruster.
On the one I shaped I pretty much did everything I listed and it goes pretty good in everything, from thigh high and mushy to head high and throwing.
For the single I’d fade into it, but would keep it about the same depth once the blending from the flat nose is done. Same for the V or double concave or whatever you do out the back
I’ve also heard of going flat in the last 3-4’’ out the tail behind the fins, but am not fully familiar with the pros and cons of this.