Great Lakes Board

General Discussion
1

Any suggestions for dimesions for a good allround Great Lakes board. Or perhaps a good clark blank to start with?

BTW I’m 5’9" and 175 lb.

Keeping it under 8 ft would be nice so it would fit in the van but not absolutly necessary.

Thanks

Bill

2

is this your first board? is yes, a 7’11" egg/funshape… if not, a retro fish (size im not sure of)

3

Hi Bill-

Longboard will cover your needs most of the year, winter you can take advantage of the better waves and go smaller, but it’s ALL dependant on your abilities as a surfer.

Remember, freshwater is apx 4% (give or take) less dense than seawater, our waves are slower. You’ll need a board just a tad thicker than what you’d ride in the ocean (for paddling), a little wider helps with the slower waves (more planing area). Heavy glass job if you’re the type to go jumping off jetties to get the waves (I am).

Longboards, shortboards and everything in between are ridden on the Lakes. Just depends on what you like.

If I were you, I’d pick a type of board first (longboard or shortboard or whatever) and then you can get realistic blank suggestions. “All around” is way too vague…

Good luck!

4

if you have them, start a post with some pics of good GL waves. I just saw UNSALTED trailer and was blown away by some of the waves they showed. Never woulda imagined it got that good.

5

Hey Guys,

Petrochem, I’m curious to know where you got the 4% density reading, and how it was factored- temps and salinity. 4% seems a bit too low in terms of density between salt and fresh water.

As I’m also a lake surfer/shaper, I did an experiment a while ago to find the lakes density in comparison to the oceans. I used fresh water and water with the same salinity as ocean water, both chilled to 50F. I then made a float system with measurements down the side, and weighed the float accordingly. I found that fresh water is up to 9% less dense then salt water. Also, colder water= increased density, so if your riding in the summer you might add a percent, whereas if your riding in the winter (DEC.) you might subtract a percent.

Breid, also remember to create a rocker suitable for the waves your riding- Since lake waves are usually slow and mellow, compensate by lowering your rocker. Its also a good idea to keep your tail a bit thicker than usual for extra float when turning.

Cheers,

Alex

6

My gut feel on surfing the great lakes is that you guys have good waves with short periods. Thinking of that, I would build a board that has a consistent curve in the planshape. I would avoid long, straight rail lines. Aside from that, go thick and wide with a lot of foam in the rails, tail, and nose. Length probably is not too critical. I saw the post about less rocker… Personally, I would add nose rocker because of the short period waves and decrease tail rocker to help get into waves earlier. But then again, I’ve never surfed the great lakes [though, would like to sometime].

Just my two-cents. Good luck!

PS - I flew into Cleveland during a winter storm a number of years ago and saw lines stacked to the horizon with, what looked like, perfect left point waves pouring into a couple of manmade coves along the Cleveland shore. Offshore winds, solid swell, and 20 degrees F in fresh water! My guess would be Iceberg City.