I started a new thread to reply to 2 other threads Chrisp has out ther. One thread is about tail rocker and the other is about belly or vee in the nose. I’m riding boards with very little tail rocker right now, and I just made a board with a ton of belly that I hope to ride in crowded but solid overhead days.
I finally got around to getting some photos of the last 2 boards I made. They have about the same length, one is 7-1 the other is 7-3 and they are both about 20 1/2" wide. But that’s about all they have in common.
The wood decked board is 3" thick and it has a fairly flat bottom with very chunky down rails from the nose to tail. It has very little rocker but I’ve had a lot of fun with it in waves at Tennis Courts (Ala Moana Park, Oahu) up to just over head. With the flat bottom it flies and I didn’t have a lot of problems getting in to waves.
The blue deck board has a quite a bit more nose rocker, but still pretty conservative tail rocker. It also a ton of belly up front then a flat panel down the middle that ends in a vee at the front of the fin box. The rails are more modern with a tucked under edge from about 18" back all the way to the tail. Rode it for the first time today in small waves (2 to 5 faces) at courts and it seemed to be OK. I need to get it in solid overhead to really see if the bottom is helping or hurting. In other boards I have with a lot of belly up front the board tends to slow down if I step up toward the nose. This one didn’t have as much of that, but the waves were too small.
I don’t think most of you will like these designs, but I’m having a great time with these single fins. There were quite a few shortboarders slashing it up with their tiny 5 somethings. I can’t quite make that hard of a turn with the length and design of these, but it will make a nice solid turn off the bottom and let you make a nice hard turn off the top. Not so verticle, but I think they’ll be fine when the waves are overhead. There will be a little more wave to get the board to come around further.
that is a lot of belly on the blue decked board. i'm really interested in how it goes once you get it into some solid surf... i'm sure you guy's will get some soon enough... both boards look good... so, the wood decked board for slower / fatter waves and the blue decked board for juice?
The wood deck board was made for my younger daughter. I used a rocker table with my favorite tail rocker and we glued up the blank with the bottom skin on in one pull. When it was done, it seemed like the rocker was really flat, but I went ahead and finished putting the rails on and then we added the top skin.
I’ve ridden that board in solid overhead waves and it seems to be OK. When I had a couple of really late takeoffs, I paddled sideways and then as soon as I felt the wave pick my up I got on my feet. The board handled the air drop without pearling, but I was at an angle. I did that a couple of times during the swell that I rode it. With the length and thickness it paddles really well, so I usually can get in early enough to setup my drop and not be as concerned. I don’t know how it will work when the waves are really big or if I tried it up in the country.
The board with the belly is another experiment. I’m not 100 percent sure if the triplane bottom is better than flat or concave, but I want to see. I made another triplane/belly bottom board with pinched rails and it seems that I can’t find the top speed that I can get on other boards. This one seemed OK, but the waves were small and slow. The test will be when I can get out into a south swell, or when those huge north swells wrap around to our side. I think the gradual rocker curve helped the board when I rode up near the nose. The other boards I have are more like the McCoy nugget with more curve in the nose rocker, and they don’t like it when you step front.
If I can get my paddling back up to speed, I may be back on the 5 somethings. so this experiment may end up on the shelf for a while. Those short curvy boards fit into the small wedgy peaks so well. Courts will be like that till the next good swell.
Been trying several boards to see what I should take to Kauai later this Month. I’m leaning towards the board with all that belly in the nose. I had a chance to ride it and then the next day ride a board with a flat bottom, but about the same length. This weekend Courts was breaking overhead and the largest the crowd got was 8 people. I had several solid 3 footers (6-8 foot faces) both Sat and Sun. and they were long rides, so I got in a lot of turns and had a chance to see how fast I could go.
I was able to get the board with the belly to move along nicely and it turned easily. I didn’t notice any loss in speed when I moved up to the nose compared to the flat bottomed board, and paddled just as well even though the other board I had was a little thicker. I was very happy with the way it turned off the top and cut back. Not talking about vertical turns, but nice hard projecting bottom turns and smooth top turns with occasional hard gouging cutback and floaters. Kinda hard to compare the 2 boards I rode since they were so different. One was a round pin with a 9" fin, chunky full rails and flat bottom. The other was the tri-plane with all that belly a diamond tail and 7 1/2" fin. The triplane definitely felt looser, but I know the round pin can handle solid overhead.
Be real interesting to see how it rides on a wave like Hanalei or Laniakea where there’s a lot more power.
thanks for the update Sharkcountry. i'm intersted to hear how it goes in Kauai also... i've been sussing out my mini-gun build. hoping to cut the blank out as soon as the rain lets up over here.
we just got back from Kauai just over a week ago. didn't score any surf, i hope you do
