anyway, it’s going to be a 5’10" fish. flat to slight v, 17" nose, 21" wide point @ +2, 16.5" tail, 6" deep swallow, 10" pin to pin, 2 3/4" thick, 2 3/4" nose rocker, 1/2" tail rocker… the only thing thats holding me back from buying the blank is what to do with the rails. i was planning on 50/50 at the widepoint blending into hard for the back 18", then a local shaper threw a spanner in the works by saying that if you tuck the rails about 1/8" for the back 18" the board will flow through turns better without compensating speed or hold. do any of the resident fish experts have a view on this? i’ve studied many traditional fish made by reputable shapers and never seen anything but razor sharp rails in the back end.
i’ve completed the fins, it took ages using just a surform and sandpaper. here’s a pic taken during lamination -
I am definitely no expert…although my boards are coming along. Butt…I have a fish from an expert(Brom)…and what you described is exactly what he does on his fish…and it is “magic” ! My next one will include this feature…my older ones were as you said…hard down the last 18" or so and went good…but nothing like my Brom. Have fun…
I’ve always been partial to all down, hard, no tucked rails.
Crisp feel, can turn from anywhere on the board, usually ridden narrower than rounded or thinned out rails, fast in small waves, narrowness takes care of big waves.
I’ve always been partial to all down, hard, no tucked rails.
Crisp feel, can turn from anywhere on the board, usually ridden narrower than rounded or thinned out rails, fast in small waves, narrowness takes care of big waves.
I’m having one done starting next week.
I really want this board to be quick off the line and fast, to shralp small mushy waves, and like LeeDD said, turn from most anywhere. Flat-to-low rocker, yes, and veed points.
I’m thinking thick (??), hard down rail from the wide point (where? how many inches forward from mid? 3? 4?) back, and mellower ahead of that. How touchy is that gonna be, in bumpy water? Does an edge like that knife in and hold a line through bumps better than a rounder rail? Or will it knife in and because of the greater submerged volume and wetted area, get nuts? Is bumpy water a good argument for a slightly mellower rail?
[Also, 6’2" (I’m 6’2", 200#), 17, 22, 17, 13 pt. to pt., 3 thick, 6 swallow, Hynson-ish tail.
Wood keels, 9.5x5.5, roundy-rakey with slight cutaway, double-foiled, 1/8" toe, 2 deg. cant (opinions?), 6mm, 9-ply, aircraft-grade plywood, rear edge 2" forward of buttcrack termination (opinions?). Slight double cave to slight vee toward the tips.]
I’ve always been partial to all down, hard, no tucked rails.
Crisp feel, can turn from anywhere on the board, usually ridden narrower than rounded or thinned out rails, fast in small waves, narrowness takes care of big waves.
Hey LeeDD are you saying a full rail just straight down into a hard edge? Or what?
Boards with super flat decks, all down rails, all hard from nose to tail are generally NOT good in bumpy waters, or onshore winds.
However, it’s balanced out by how good they work when it’s glassy and clean!
You want a board that makes horrible conditions workable, or you want a board that works best when the conditions are best?
Hard rails seem to work best with WP forwards some, as it increases response, planing surface, and wave catching.
Possibly, WP back increases response to a point that it becomes too touchy.
Well, I’ll tell ya, I want something that works pretty damn good when it’s onshore, bumpy, mushy, peaky, choppy, crapped-out, tiny, 'cuz that’s how it is a lot of days here. I also want it to work pretty well when it’s decent-sized (shoulder to head), lined-up, clean, off-shore, semi-glassy, as it is about maybe 72-96 hours total of every year here. So, yeah, any and all advice for rails in kinda pretty crummy conditions? (Ideally, I want to be able to turn with 60-40 rear-to-front weight.)
How about trying something that is a compromise of what has been mentioned, basically a slightly tucked under edge, not too soft, not too much tuck or none in the last 18" (my Lis is’nt tucked in at all). Don’t be afraid to go with your instincts. If you feel a softer rail would work better for your conditions, go with it. I’ve found part of the beauty in shaping boards for yourself is when your try something that you think will work and it works!
Actually, I was joking, but it has a ring of truth.
Deep V bottom and round rails is the softest riding bottom and rail. Crowned deck means thin, good holding rails with easy water penetration. The telephone pole part was my own summation of what your board will look like cross sectioned.
On the WestCoast, if it’s really rideable and worth going out, it’s 70% of the time glassy or offshore winds. We don’t surf in blown out crap.
