So, here’s a question for you all to ponder (or not, if you’re so inclined).
I’ve been thinking about the next board I’m going to shape for myself. There’s this wave down near where I usually surf that’s notorious for being a fat, inconsistent mushburger of a beast. On any given weekend the place is crawling with SUPs, mals and the odd clueless Euro turo. I usually avoid this place like the plague but, our coast being what it is, sometimes it’s the only option left. I’ve surfed it on everything I own, including a 9ft longboard, a 30yo single fin, a HP thruster and a short, wide quad, with mixed results. But what I was thinking of doing was building a board spedifically with this spot in mind.
So, my question to the Swaylock’s brains trust is… what would you build if you were planning on surfing a fat, mushy and inconsistent wave that only holds up to 5-foot? I’m 38 years old, about 76kg (168lb) and about 6ft tall. I have been surfing for 25 years and I’m in reasonably good shape, but don’t get down to the beach nearly as often as I’d like to. I want something that will:
a) Provide enhanced paddle power to help my wave count and get me back out to the peak quickly, and
b) Be a bit longer, but retain a certain amount of maneouvreability (shit I hate trying to spell that) without sacrificing too much speed
This is all hypothetical at this stage, as shaping has fallen a fair way down my list of priorities in the near future. But it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a fair bit and would appreciate some input from the collective wisdom of the ether.
Another option might be a wider psb - with a single to dub concave… and maybe set wp forward center 2-3" as it seems to creates drive… if anyone locally has a cheap but doable blank you can sell me for a deal.let me know! I been look n for a serviceable second.
for the egg shape, I think they seem to run perfectly w a moderate convex bottom… not sure, but I think they have a flat tail 2’ from the rear? Maybe the experts can chime in? It might be a foot up? The one I owned seemed to be two foot up where it progressively fades to flat?I ththink fin was setup at 7" to 8" up, and it had a pinched thin rail and moderate domed s deck… thin nose, flat rocker, and a bit of tail kick? It’s been over 25 yrs? Not sure how it might work as a thruster, or four fin?
About a stubby: I’ve seen them as round tails and quad. One was even stunted w split tail …maybe a 5’4" x 22.5"? For your wave you might make it 6’8" just to play safe? Hope this gets ideas cooking. I’m planning a 7’2" egg w widepoint forward center 2-4", and I’m trying to nail down how to set a hull up?
Hahahaha. Yeah, um ok, touche! I saw a guy out on one of those earlier in the year, in 2ft beachbreaks. Guy couldn’t surf for shit, but his wave count was about triple mine.
I think I’d rather chew my own nuts off, but that’s just me.
Your suggestion is quite compelling Icc, I have an old 9’4" glider in the shed that’s in desperate need of some TLC - reglass, delam fix and nose & tail blocks - and I am going to get around to it one of these days. It would have the momentum and wave catching chops to do the job, just not sure I want to go with something quite so, well, long.
CassS, in my own perverse design world , I look at your question and wonder why a longer board gives so much better paddling speed and my insight is that a longer board has a greater area but it’s all aligned at a very low AOA so as the speed increases, the lift increases and creates a very long, maximised, stable lift that gives that classic ‘LB glide’ and easy entry into every wave.
The overall LB volume isn’t needed as only the submerged foam is actively providing bouyancy, so a shorter board is quite capable of being as bouyant as a LB.
All sounds reasonable enough.
But how could you get the same paddling speed of a 10 foot board on a board half the size of 5 foot ?
1/ double the planing area.
2/ not in the nose or tail because the rocker angle for paddling is wrong.
3/ how much square inch area is actually needed and at what angle ?
4/ and how to do it without crippling the performance of the short board…?
Cass - I know a lot of Folk’s don’t care much for egg shapes, but they plane like crazy and can allow most basic maneuverability to get you around in a slopey wave. A longer twin fish in the 6’+ range, or even a quad would get you set up there… while I haven’t tried a mr buzz model from Stretch - it looks like another option for small to sizier mush burgers… maybe take ideas and create something totally new! I got a plan myself, but need to find a cheap blank.
I like - Thirdshades board! Nice work. I’ve never tried a Sims type board but they sound good. I’d take a shot at building one, but I’d have to figure out how they’re set up.
It looks like it has very little curve thru wp and near tips…
