thanks especially for those nose and tail measurements, Maxwell !
…something that, short of taking my tape measure to surf shops [yeah, why not ??], I am a bit clueless on with modern thrusters…
[sound like I’m the full nostalgia / retroman don’t I ? …a label I probably don’t want, so time to ride a [compromised] 'modern thruster ']
I really would like to make a good thruster with a bit more float than my wiggly 20yo mates’ boards. My ‘prawn’ as a thruster setup is a LOT wider…15 nose and bigger tail, so a 12" nose is a big step down in width [and swing weight] for me. Should be a nice change.
My mate’s 6’ x 18 1/8 " x 2 1/4" one off the rack felt too wiggly and backbreaking for me.
I think you’re pretty on the money there ,Josh, with your recommendation ! The size I’ve been contemplating is something like 12" nose x 6’4 ish x 18 1/2-3/4 " x 2 3/8" x 13" tail [4-5" rounded square pod/ tailblock]
F.C.S. all around , so I can , FINALLY, have a thinned tail !
…four plugs for the back fin though, just in case single fin withdrawals get the better of me !!
thanks especially for those nose and tail measurements, Maxwell !
…something that, short of taking my tape measure to surf shops [yeah, why not ??], I am a bit clueless on with modern thrusters…
ben, you can grab nose/tail measurements from any online photo. Simply download the photo, blow it up, print it, measure it, and scale it. Works for rocker and outline. Good rocker photos are hard to come by, though…
13 inch tail is kinda gunny for an 18 3/4" wide point, but it depends on how much juice ya got. Head high and less I definitely prefer closer to 14 inch tails at 150 lbs (70 kgs).
To me, modern thruster is about the single to double concave (max depth 1/8" to 3/16th under front foot, flattening to the rear), hard down rails in back fading to 60/40 rails by the WP. 2.5" rear rocker and 5 1/4" front rocker. Some guys go even higher on the rear rocker this is combined with the concaves.
I’m late in on this one but my dimensions are fairly standard thruster dimensions for the size of board.
Age - 44
Height - 5’10" or thereabouts
Weight - 73kg (i can never figure out whether you Yanks are fat or thin, why don’t you mix up imperial and metric and be measurement schizos like us?)
Board I shaped two months ago
6’3" x 11" x 18 3/4" x 14" x 2 1/4"
Rounded Square
Shaped in the deep concave to double which seems to be in most thrusters now.
Used a Carper blank from Surfblanks and really didn’t play with the rocker - I did measure it after I finished and it was around 5" and 2"…it seems most are around that mark.
Template from my son’s (21 but about 3" bigger and 80kg)
Very similar dimensions to my last board and I’m stoked on the end result. If I get to the point where I stop catching waves, I’ll know it’s time to look at more volume.
I’ve had it out in surf up to 6’ but I generally like to go for the 6’6" once it starts getting well overhead.
your last sentence…my brother says the same thing… good idea [I reckon I might have to start !]
Yep, chip you HAVE to start, Its hard to stay focused on a routine but amagin how good youll be surfing on a brand new thruster after all that skating and yoga…?!
Can I see a shot of the Mitchell Rae flextail, please ? [I saw a carbon fibre one in Gerringong a few years back…beautiful board…wish I had a shot of it at the time !]
39 yrs. old, 6 ft. 190 lbs. 28 years in the water.
6’2" 19 3/4 2 1/2 single to double shaped by me (board #1) for small surf.
6’5" 19 1/4 2 1/2 single shaped my Mike Estrada.
7’6" JC for large waves
7’4" Becker fun board. Great board but I try to avoid it as it makes me lazy.
Trying to stay in front of my 15 and 13 year olds. Still competing NSSA seniors and Volcom Gold Fish. Even if I do bad it keeps me young and motivated. Probably will only ride my own boards from here on out thanks to Swaylocks.
Kauai Boys Terry Chung minigun - 7’2"x3"x20" (n.shore)
George Ku C5 full concave disc - 6’9"x2.5"x21"(hollow)
Seems like 2.75"-3" and 20" wide is a requirement for anything 7’0" or shorter if you weight 190-210 especially if you want a narrow (10"-12") nose and a tail 12"-13".
George makes some of the most unreal boards here but they are geared more for the waves on the northshore where he’s a fire captain. George claims that Rusty stole his C-5 concept and desert island design from his plugs at Laminations years ago. I don’t know about that but George makes some very fast short and longboards.
This was the fastest board in my quiver until I got by four fin Gemini which has alot worse of a concave bottom.
There’s a new setup from Local Motion which places the Canards on the inside of the side fins instead of on the outside like my C5. The guy in my lineup really likes his.
I just got my board back from my brother so I’ll grab and post a couple shots. (I’m thinking of copying it in EPS and woodlam to improve the float without going thicker.)
I’m 52 live in Sydney and I surf a range of boards from 6’3" to 7’4", mostly Greg Clough Alohas. I’d like to have a 6’0" for shorebreak type stuff but it never seems to get high enough up the priority list.
All my boards are pretty standard in terms of dimensions so the only change from what I surf to what I would be surfing if I was 20 or so years younger is an inch or so of length. The longer you can prevent yourself thinking about age or fitness as an issue the better!
Yeah , it’s a northern thing. But seriously , it’s very loose and very fast, but positive in turns with the flex tail. I have only ridden it about a dozen times and love it . Probably not the set up for the waves we get but on a good clean day it is really nice to ride.
the board depends on alot of variables…fitness is the key one…weight…as what most average older guys need is more paddling power to get out.length and thickness.and stability…widhth…so if you are blown out in all areas it should be long thick and wide…if you are fit light and fast it can be narrower shorter and thin…but the chicks like the first one…
Sorry Christopher it’s not a quad but a thruster with two addtional fins inset of the two outside fins pointing straight ahead like a traditional quad. The inset fins are just a tad smaller than the sides.
The only board I’ve seen it on is owned by an older guy (40-50) like me who also still surfs shortboards.
It’s either a Cino Magallenes or an Andrus but definitely different. The guy’s about 5’7" 195 and the boards 6’10"x21"x3". and he really likes it. The seems to really paddle in fast too as he’s giving the longoarders a run for the money where as before he’d struggle getting in on his more traditional thruster(same shape).
If I can get a photo or more info from him about the design I’ll pass it on…