A friend of mine is turning 55 this month and I would like to shape a kneeboard for him. A career in construction, 40+ years of surfing and a wicked skateboarding accident a few years ago have left him with a bad shoulder. Dr. says no surfing - ever - so he wants to give kneeboarding a go.
I would be very grateful if someone could give me some thoughts on shaping a kneeboard. I have been shaping for about 5 years and have shaped a number of fish, a longboard and a few hybrids. I am reasonably confident that my hands can produce what my mind sets out to achieve but I am drawing a blank on this one because I know absolutely nothing about kneeboards other than “they are different than standup boards” and “they seem to go really fast and do radical things”.
My friend is 5’10", 185 lbs., and was a good surfer in his day. He has very good wave knowledge and aside from his shoulder he is in decent shape. He has never ridden a kneeboard and prior to his injury he was riding longboards only.
I am thinking a board in the following dimensions:
Length: 5’8" to 5’10" range.
Width: 23"
Thickness: 2.75"
Nose: 17.5"
Tail: 17.5" - rounded diamond tail
Rails: Hard from tail up to 1/3 and then 60/40 fading into 50/50 in nose. No tucked edge - soft all the way up from 1/3
Bottom: slight belly in nose, flat through entry, panel V through mid area, flat through the tail
Rocker: 3" nose rocker, 3.5" tail
Fins: quad set up. Unsure as to where they will end up but definitely forward of normal quad.
That encapsulates my thinking after spending about 4 hrs researching and talking to a few local surfboard shapers. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated by me and a 14-yr old grom in a soon to be 55-yr old body with a bum shoulder.
age mid 20s, 185 lbs approx, six foot six, I was riding 4 foot 10 by 22 wide and 3 thick, 14 inch diamond tail, symmetrically foiled twin fins parallel to stringer, with a deep deck concave a la the “Shoe”. (Look it up). One layer 7.5 oz on the bottom (what we all used in those times) and up to three layers where my knees went, to keep from denting through.
Rode Sandy’s, Pipe, Gas Chambers, V-land; once at Pinballs… got a shot in the back of Surfer once, the issue with the Lopez cutback at Ala Mo that was later a poster…caption “In Hawaii, hollow places can still be found”… it was a small day at Sandy Beach inside point (not Half Point).
Kneeboards nowadays seem way too big, they are just short boards that guys don’t stand up on. As a result, most of the moves are less than what a good surfer would do on the same board, standing up. Kboards have for that reason lost the position they once held, of being the more radical riding vehicles. 'Course sponges (no fair if you’re holding on) put them far in the shade too.
With the body damage described, I dunno how well your friend will do. There’s still a lot of motion in the shoulders needed.
being a 6’6 kneelo id ride nothing shorter then a 5’10x24". …6’2x24 or 6’4x23 is better suited for me…rode 5’2 / 5’8 and i wouldnt go back to that…modern fins forward kneeboards should be longer then traditionaly placed finned boards to level out the loosness.
your friend is the same size as me. i ride a 5ft 7 quad 2006 Lis fish in everything from 2ft mush to 10 ft Indo. It’s about 2 3/8 thick and beautifully foiled… add a pair of duckfeet and your ready for anything!