Hawaiian big guy boards

General Discussion
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Three to four years ago there was some TV footage of bigger Hawaiian guys surfing on boards that they had obviously designed to accomodate their bigger than average size. The boards seemed to be around the 7-8ft mark, maybe minimal rocker and had quite radical upturned noses that seemed to allow them to catch waves with one or two strokes,(this big guy’s dream). Does anyone have specs for those boards? How easy are those upturned noses to shape into a board and how do I explain to my shaper as to how to make one with out sacrificing thickness?

Cheers

MrT

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Prolly more like 10-11’ long!

Like the tandem boards, lots of them have upturned pointy noses, for penetrating offshore winds, late takeoffs, and faster looks.

Assuming you mean for surfers weighing in at the 300+ mark.

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I saw Jr. Ride rocky point before he died back in the early 90s. That big fellow probably hit the lip harder and threw more spray than most end of the street wanna be rippers. Many of those big fellows over there simply rip. It’s amazing really. Most guys in the states quit when they hit 260. I think Jr. was riding a floater shorty board. Greg Pautsh also makes a really nice big guy fish for guys like Aleka. Titus K’s brother.

It was around 7’2’’ 21.5 wide 12.5 x 16 x 3.5 still had beautiful lines.

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“how do I explain to my shaper as to how to make one with out sacrificing thickness?”

Assuming you know a good experienced shaper (not too difficult to do in HI) he should know all the answers and know exactly what to do. Here, you’ll get 10 responses and 10 different opinions.

I would find one that works often with big guys. Shop around. Your physical specs, wave conditions and your ability are important design inputs to the shaper.

Wider, lower rocker boards catch waves much easier but are not as loose while rail surfing, IMO. Its about compromises.

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Hey bro,

What I use is the clark 7-11R blank or I use the walker 8-3 blank for the size I am. I am 6-0 foot tall and weigh 270 pounds. I make them both a thruster square tail and I am happy with them. The 7-11R will get you a 3 inch board with the rails turn down in the blank, it gives you meat under your feet. The 8-3 walker will get you 3-1/8, if you are careful with your planer. I found out you have to have a shaper that understands about what you weigh, because no matter what he does, if he does not know how to shape for someone in the 250 and up group, you are not going to have fun. I love my boards thick with a vee and with a crowned top.

Would love to shape a board for you,

surrfdaddy

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Jeff Bushman makes a really good one. He is in Hawaii. Also if you want to wait and pay order a Mccoy Nugget. there is another guy ordering one from Geoff over there right now. You guys could split shipping.

Pautsh in southern califronia makes one of the best looking ones in the business. Ask Titus or Alikai on Kuai. Also Kirk Bierke on ohau.

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Oh, shortboard for big guys.

I’m a monster at 140 lbs. during my surfing days.

7’ 11" was my most used blank.

Had plenty of 7’6" x 21" x 3" thick turned down rail floater glide boards. But at my tremendous weight, I never went wider.

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Hey solo… (on yea thanks for the 2 mccoy fins)

I bought one of Alekai Kinimaka’s used boards made by Terry Chung of Kauai Boys fame.(Shapemakers)

About the same specs as you described… Kauai Green, 1/2" stringer, double/triple 6 glass strong and fast rounded pin.

Glass on fins with a slight vee my “new” board for the country. Looks like a board for hanalei…

He must be a big guy cause I’m 200 and it floats unreal.

As far as junior moepono… his whole family rips… Junior also had a heart full of aloha as big as his stomach.

the biggest boys I think are in makaha… Dave Parmenter, Jeff Johnson, Jim Richardson, George Ku and BK make most of their boards. But I think Terry Chung’s got a nice template here…

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Thanks for your postings, Swaylocks is where I got the confidence to order my last board, 10ft 6in x 26in x 3 3/4in, however I was not aware of the influence of too much nose rocker, (havent measured it as unsure how) but can feel the effects when paddling. This place has enabled me to overide opinions of 140 lb shapers who have no idea of the exponential effect extra poundage, height etc has. I am now at the stage of adding a smaller board to my meagre collection, any links to those big guys shapers would be appreciated.

Mr T

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Hi Surfdaddy,

Thank you for the offer, unfortunately I live in NZ and the freight would be prohibitive, I am building a picture of my next board, and the specs you outline will be taken into consideration, boy those 300lb guys can surf.

Mr T

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Mr. T,

What island are you on, the north or south? I am planning to go there in late january, which is my winter your summer. I have been checking out the surf reports on New Zealand for the past month now on www surf.co.nz/surfreports. I would like to buy a house there to retire and surf for the rest of my life,(I tend to think it is better then California) I am looking at Palliser Bay, have you ever surfed there? I wish you luck on your board. Another shaper I would look at and I would even buy from is Ben Apia, Now he is a big guy and he rips and his shapes are great.

Aloha,

surrfdaddy

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Oneule,

Thats so funny. I had the exact same green board (actually two of them) that were shaped for Alikai by Greg Pautsh. I just sold one to a freind the other day. They had the Mccoy logo on them and glass ons. How do you like the fins?

Do you know my old friend Kimo Leong. He is buddies with Sunshine and Buffalo. I have not heard from the big old boy in about 5 years.

13

Simple scaling technique. Rocker, thickness, foil can all be straight scaled, ie. take the length of the original, divide any one of those measurments, in inches, and then multiply by the length, in inches, of the board to be built. For instance, 5" of nose rocker in a 6 footer translates to 7.5" of nose rocker in a 9 footer. On width this isn’t applicable. A 6 foot X 18 would translate to 27" on the 9’. So you use traditional 9 foot width, 22.5 at the top of the scale, and18" at the bottom. If you divide the 4.5 inches between 18" and 22.5" by the 36" in length difference you come up with .125 which is an eighth of an inch. Therefore for every inch of length, plus or minus, you adjust your width, up or down, by 1/8th inch. If your original starts above or below the scale, just add or subtract that difference to the planned board after the scaling. By the way, nose and tail measurements stay almost the same because as the board gets longer the traditional one foot measurement, essentailly, gets closer to the ends (in percentage).

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Surfdaddy,

Palliser Bay would be a good choice, I am not overly familiar with the place but that bit of coastline is exposed to swell from south, east and nor east. The prevailing winds are probably nor easters, and southerlies, I am sure that if I have got it wrong, some will correct the posting.

I live in the South Island, checkout surf.co.canterbury, http://www.surf.co.nz/regions/canterbury/surfReport.asp?camera=SumnerBar

The following; Sumner, New Brighton, Taylors Mistake, Akaroa peninsular and Kaikoura combined, are probably the most consistent surf spots in Aotearoa (Land of the long white cloud) NZ. We are now still in winter, check out http://www.niwa.cri.nz/services/cam-era/sites/piercam/latestimage in our day time, it is now 12.43 pm, you will see snow on the foothills. Hence, skiing/snowboarding only 1-2 hours away Check out Mt Hutt NZ.

We are still not totally averse to foreign investment in our coastal real-estate, probably the cheapest non-third world coastal land you could buy, however resistance is gathering to the incredible price-increases resulting from not only foreign investors but also NZers who want to return home, post Sept 11, who have cashed up and will pay anything for that dream bit of land. Prices have probably doubled to tripled in the last 12 months.

Aotearoa is a temperate country, wetsuits all year round these days. My personal preference would be the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, anywhere around there, warmer, mild winter, and every where a break, not overly crowded, even in the school vacation times. Not sure on their Immigration rules, ours are tightening up as well.

Mr T

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Hi Surfdaddy, prices over here are starting to drop and look like going quite a way down. I have to put in a plug for the Bay of Plenty, nice clean waves, a good climate, plenty of beaches and a central location for trips to Gisborne, Raglan, or Northland. Be very careful that you don’t buy land which has a historical connection to the indigenous people here, a lot of people here are getting burnt. First you buy the land, then it gets a historic label slapped on it which means that you can’t legally do anything with it (even planting a tree) without consent from local tribes. Houses in this area have been burnt down because local Maori did not like where they were being built. Land agents won’t always tell you about this, so watch out! Residential property is normally ok but land tenure in Raglan or East Cape is very suspect Northland is also suss. In my experience the bigger towns are better unless you feel like a total immersion in small town hick mentality.

16

Well, shawn Briley seems to me to be a pretty enormous hawaiian and it seems to me that he rides a fairly standard width/length shortboard - how does this happen? Anyone out there really know sb’s weight and details of his boards?

17

Hello RobRoy,

You know that was my first choice, Bay of Plenty. I had a house that a realtor sent me (Baily’s Real Estate) and somehow I miss out on the bid of the house because of the realtor. I have been looking into the laws as for a staying there, everything looks good so far. The only thing I am working on is how is my medical and health insurance since you have a government policy. I cant wait to get there.

Aloha,

surrfdaddy

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