Still thinking about making a real thick board - posted a question a while back re. ones I saw this summer being made on the north shore of Kauai, but I couldn’t find it in the archives - so, I am wondering, for a mid length gun style @ 7’6", narrow @18 1/2" how thick could I go with out losing the ability to turn - I’m 5’11" @ 180 lbs. I am considering 3 3/4" (possibly w/chines and strakes, but that’s another matter!)
Thoughts, links, etc. Most greatly appreciated - Taylor E. Olson
…i think that youve got really stronger legs…
…if you go for 3 3/4´´ width, (onto the stringer) you should dome the deck…cause with a flat deck rail to rail seems to me that the rail will grab too much the wave wall…
…Felipe Pomar rode somethin like that in Pipeline…
I think I remember seeing articles about Joey CABELL riding REAL THICK boards back in the early seventies. Wasn’t it something like 5"? Does anyone remember that? Didn’t seem to last for long, anyway…
I remember Joey’s Hanalei gun, the thick one, and made one for myself!
At 140lbs. then, mine was 9’10" x 19 x ? nose and 9" tail, and right around 4.25 thick with a FLAT deck and all turned down soft rails except for hardness from the back foot thru the tail pin.
After riding about 7 days over 12’ with it, I thinned the board out to around 3.25" thick and chopped the tail off to a 10.5" tail, now square.
That’s the board I rode in Natural Art…by FredWindisch.
Some of my best working boards were 3" thick, super flat deck, but with lots of V from the front foot thru the fin. Narrow made it possible to ride even in fast moving surf, as you can always bank over a narrow board with a narrow tail, even if it’s thickness would seem excessive.
I’ve also made plenty of 3.25" thick 6’ boards, but most around 3" thick. Work for me, a back foot rider, but the guys who like to highline it, trim for speed, and tuck HATE those boards.
It really comes down to what waves you are riding and esp to me, what the takeoff is like and what shape you are in. For example, although mid forties, I surf three times a week in Hawaii, also travel to the South Pacific. Am 5’11, 170 lbs. I have been going DOWN in board length and thickness now to 2 3/8" for the past few years since the waves I have shifted to riding are now the steeper, more hollow performance type for which extra volume does not mean better wave catching ability, has lack of duck-diving ability, and poorer performance. Waves that throw the top 2/3rds on takeoff require sitting in a tight pitch area with a shorter stick, thinner to turn quickly and hold, and thinness to duck dive down to the bottom if need arises. But I surf and train and have adjusted to a quick takeoff. Thicker boards sometimes give a false sense of wave entry ability, hinder performance and duckdiving but ride in a boring but dependable fashion in these waves. But now if I go to a break like Laniakea on a big day longer thicker boards rule, they get in early and move down the line. I’m seeing guys our size on 8-9 foot boards about 3 inches thick. And thicker. Hanalei too. I also want a beefier board at say Sunset where paddling power can help you cover acreage to get to the shifiting takeoff spots. But Pipe boards are surprisingly thin. To me, pitching tight takeoff= thin board. Slower wide takeoff= thicker board. Maybe some West Coast guys can offer their thoughts on thickness at say Ocean Beach/ Todos vs big Newport Point /Wedge etc.
OB SF is all about the paddling, to get out, to fight the N or S currents, the rips, the refractions at high tide, and the takeoff zone is usually at least 30 yards inside outside, depending on which direction sets come thru…similar to Sunset, just lots of water moving around in odd directions.
PA, a point break farther N, same thing, but it’s a point…similar maybe to Dav’s N reef and Scotts…you need paddle power, ease, and sprint speed.
Riding the wave is secondary, you gotta catch one first.
I don’t see too many guys duckin the impact zone at Pipe.
The way I look at it, by far the majority of California waves fall into the category of thicker/more paddling power the better, only because they don’t fall into the category of South Pacific/Teahupoo/Tahiti- style top 2/3rds of the wave pitching. Maybe except Lobster Lounge and a few others.
I believe I’ve read where you prefer thick boards. Think they’d work better in such waves?
Pipe boards are overwhelmingly thinner than one would expect for their length for good sized waves. Yes, ducking does occasionally come into play, but if it was just a matter of getting into waves/ more thickness the better, they would be as thick as Sunset boards. They are not. Obviously entering the wave is not as dependant on thickness in these types of waves. They have more rocker too. But lots of turning is not a concern. Something more is going on.
I love to surf with the “thickness is better” group on pitching ledge waves. They sit further outside, erroneously thinking their thickness will save them and get them in early, but they still fail to catch waves with thicker boards since the jack zone is mere strokes and extra thickness means nothing but trouble. I see them all the time perched above drops, backing off or going over with the lip. I see them failing to duckdive deeply enough, with amusing results. Terrified paddling jaunts furiously outside everytime a set appears to keep themselves and their overly thick boards from getting caught inside. I am talking waves that suck up anything that’s not deep to the reef. When they get over their fear and go thinner and put themselves more critical they get better results in these waves. On the other hand I’ve also seen poor guys out on Sunset totally frustrated on their thin highly rockered Pipe boards that don’t paddle well. Fit your board to your wave.
Well Cool!
We should have fun surfing together, me sitting farther out, you sitting in the pit doing no strokes. That way, no waves go unridden.
True I like thicker boards for bigger waves, like 3" thick on a 7’6" semi. But I also need it narrow, mostly around 18", now I’m 55, so need an additional inch of width.
I think you are mistaking less skilled surfers to ASP pro surfers in your comparisons. Given equal ability, it’s all about the preferences of the surfer, and an old fart on a thin board is every bit as incompatible as a young gun riding a 3.5" thick 20" wide log.
Tubedog…forgot to add…
I’ve gotten my 60+ days at Pipe, some pretty big, most over 7’ sizing (either yours or mine, I’m NorCal, not Texas, ECoast, or Socal).
When it’s smaller, I’m usually at 'yards, Jocko’s or other less popular spots.
When solid, that’s when I go to Pipe and Sunset, hence the need for better paddling boards.
Don’t you break lots of 6’6" x 2.3" thick boards at Pipe? Bump the thickness up to 2.5, breakage all but goes away.
My smallest Pipe board was 7’6" x 18" x 3" thick winged rounded pintail at 11" a foot up.
It’s what you can handle…some guys cry if the board is over 2" thick,geeez.Herb