After all these years and shaping thousands of boards I've finally started to get into longboarding, moving to the dark side :-)))
I've had soooo many good hulls over the years, mostly in the 7-6 range. Has anyone ridden a hull in the 9-0 range and if so any thoughts or insight on the finer points of the design at this length?
TW
Could be because of my size, 5’3" and 120 lbs but I had a vintage 9’6" Yater Spoon that seemed very hull like to me. Rescued it from “dump” in early 80’s. Rolled bottom, belly up front, if I remember right 3 stage rocker. Amazing speed from forward trim a couple feet back from the tip, carve long turns from almost the middle of the board.
Hey Tommy, I have found that on a nine foot board there is too much bottom curve (length) to make a real hull work like a seven footer. I have to do a transistion bottom with a flat section under the feet to a slight Vee in the tail. with all that length a hulled bottom tends to "slide ass" on hard turns, no matter the fin set up. That's just my experience. I'm 6'3"-6'4" depending on what time it is and 280lbs. I need the float.
check out rephullmen blog. there are a couple of pics I believe. looks like there is more tail rocker in most of the longer hulls cause of the extreme length, in order for it to fit into the wave. I've been curious as well and have a feeling this will be a good thread
"check out rephullmen blog"
Agreed. Lots of good stuff from Kirk Putnam and Brian Hilbers. I also checked out Brian's website and found this little gem...
"The only rule is no rules."
I don't know if Brian discusses his design theory with non-customers but it might be worth a try to shoot him a line or find him at one of the Sacred Craft shows.
There is a fine line when length, rocker, and a hull bottom converge. Too much of any of three and it becomes this "dishy, pivoty, slidey" thing that won't trim with the speed associated with a hull bottom.
You put too much rocker in them and suddenly you are making nineteen foot long "surfboards"?!!?!
This is a 9’6 bladed hull. It holds in and surfs like a hull, just with way more glide…It has a pig like outline. Putnam/Hilbers makes a great one called “Son of Sam”. They work great with a relaxed nose rocker that accelerates out the tail… The rolled bottom makes sideslipping into waves really easy.
I think the “pig” outline is a smart and effective design feature for extra long hulls.
LoVe, What do you mean,"nose rocker that accelerates out the tail? Is it still somewhat flat like shorter hulls?
ps. The location of the hips makes a big difference also. Dig the tuberc. fin!
Thanks! I like the tub fins on big boards.
Sorry the confusion, I meant relaxed nose rocker with more tail rocker, mine starts turning up from the rest of the rocker at the hips so when in trim, I’m riding the 1st 2/3 of the board and rocker and the last 3rd is along for the ride. I think. haha.
Djelem,
What is the tail rocker end number on that 96? looks fun, do you walk around much and turn it off that hip on the tail kinda like a log? I'm curious as to how these things go, thanks in advance
I don’t walk around much at all. Only a little adjustment up to the front. I just like to rail turn it as hard as possible in the flats and trim out., not a hot dogger. I made it to pick up swell and ride it to the take off spot then glide. The rails are so bladed, that’s about all it will do.
The nose is 4" and the tail is 2 3/8".
Something I've noticed on long 'hulls' (recognizing that 'hulls' might be categorized within tight parameters) is that the wrong rocker with too much belly and rails too bladed out will roll over like a log and track on edge.
A blended combination of proper tail kick, outline hips, rail foil and fin size/placement might allow you to crank a turn without the above mentioned difficulty.
I've seen enough films of guys riding broken longboards to recognize that aside from nose riding, the aft third is pretty critical towards overall performance.
let's see. are we talking about longboards with a hull(rolled) bottom-which is what most traditional style longboards have, or are we talking about a longer hull type board. think something like a 7' pointbreak model by liddle, only stretched to 8'6" to 9' or so. there is a difference between the two.
Yes Total hull, forward placed proper fin, proper hull foil, etc
After many many meditation sessions on actually riding this design I just can't get the board to work. Too much rail for the desired effect.
Thank you for those that posted their thoughts.
Aloha, TW