I’m getting a little (?) older and the biggest challenge for me now is late takeoffs. I’m surfing a beachbreak where frequently takeoffs are LATE! You can’t really get in early on a shortboard so the window is very small before it’s a too late takeoff. I’ve been making my boards to deal with this as best I can. So this is what I’ve come up with so far. (I’m 5’8", 150 lbs.) 6’4"x19"x2 3/8" thruster. 11 1/8" nose - I find a narrower nose slides in better. 14 3/8" tail, 5" squash - a little fuller so the wave has more to push. Single concave (3/16") - gets up to speed quicker, but no concave in the first 16" - nose concave causes lift - board hesitates to drop in. 5 1/4" nr seems adequate so far. 2 5/16" tr - enough to generate speed and still not dig the nose. a little less toe in - 3/16" per fin - don’t need it too loose as these are fast down the line waves. My goal is to have a fast board that will get me in and down the face before the lip catches me. I’m looking for more ideas on how I could make it better. All serious feedback greatly appreciated. Just don’t tell me to keep the bench warm! Gracious.
that sounds to me like a lot of foam for someone of your size in a steep beackbreak. i’m 6’ x 170lbs and that board sounds like what i would ride in good sized, steep beackbreak (and i’m not very good). based on the advice of a wizard of a shaper i know and have surfed with, i started peeling away the “extra” volume and it’s been a great thing. it’s actually easier to catch waves when you don’t have the extra volume hanging you up in the lip. i’m referring to good, steep, punchy waves. just mho.
Finally, a post about surfboard design!! Thanks Patrick!
Anyway, a couple of things that I do for this type of board;
I really watch where the wide point is. Move it back an inch,
so so drop-in. Move it back 3", board area is rearward so it
picks up the wave quicker and drops in earlier. Secondly, I
round up the bottom a bit more in the nose area to shed water
away from your eyes if there is any wind coming up the face
to help on blind drops.
In general, you could go down to 11" on the nose and still be
ok. Watch your foil and put the meat under your chest (not the
wide point per above). On the next one, try a thumb tail which
has a bit more area than a squash forward. Watch your rocker
numbers at 6" & 12" & 24" off nose so you won’t push water.
It looks like you have all this in hand, good luck!
What kind of size waves are you riding Patrick? and is this your regular shortboard or occasional for these conditions?
The reason I ask is I like a small board for the initial pump down the line. From your size it might be worth trying a smaller shortboard (6’0"ish) if conditions/ your surfing etc. allow. Maybe even a fish if initial down the line speed is what your after. Fishy shortboards never do it for me in steep waves and I’ve always suspected nose width, like you, as being the culprit, proper fish on the other hand can be really fun up to OH or so.
I’m off to the Landes next week and trying to decide if I should jam a fish in the coffin for exactly that purpose.
The tow-in guys have certainly proven that, "less is more", in serious conditions. It is too bad we are only on our feet about 1% of the time we are out there! I guess it's a better ratio than skydiving, track & field and rodeo.
Sickdog
I agree with the thicker tail idea. I have a board with a 2" tail (don’t ask why) and that thing throws me down and into the face on steep waves. It just wants to catch.
YES - keep it coming - w p back 3", template 6 1/8" wide one inch from tail. A little ‘v’ relief inthe nose. Surfteach, yeah I’m there. I’ve been thinking of going shorter and wider - maybe 6’2"x 19 3/4" (aps/aku says that width would be similiar vol.) I concur about vol - I’d love to go lower but then my sessions are shorter due to fatigue, everything is a compromise. If I go wide with single concave I’ll loose rail to rail unless I add a little ‘v’ by rear fin. I have other short boards for easier waves. Re tail rocker, I’ve found more than I’ve got only scrubs off speed without any help down the face. I’ve got a 6’2x18 3/4"x2 3/8" - it’s good for small days but when it’s head high the 6’4" get’s me in faster - I don’t have the paddling power I had in the past. Monkstar - can you say more about your board?
Oh geez, my board is a mess of a board to look at, but really fun to ride, hence my name for it: “The Freak of Nature”. Basically picture this: cut off the last three feet of a 9’ longboard. Keep the front section, lose the back section. Taper in the new “tail” area to 15" (it was previously 23"). The taper starts 17" from the back of the board. Shape in some tail rocker, shape down the deck area near the tail until you get a tail that is 2" thick. Glass it, install twin fin set of FCS, a leash plug, and you’re done. Give or take some spray paint on the bottom with a polyurethane coat (I ran out of paint to do the deck, and was too excited, I needed to try this thing out.) There is probably about a 5 degree toe in on the fins.
So now I have a 6’0 x 18ish x 23 x 15 x 3ish thick board. Single concave in the nose to a slight vee in the tail. With G4 fins, yep you read that right; small G4 fins. I’m going to buy the FCS keels for it when I get a chance but the G4’s are very fun. Slidey but they do hold as well, it is a loose board. I can also hang five on it.
This is by no means a board that I would take out on a big, tubing, shorebreak day. It was an attempt to create something Simmons-ish. It needs a carve or two to get up to speed and it’s so thick I can’t duckdive the thing. I weigh 135lbs. I want to build another one at 5’ or so.
But I did notice that when I’m paddling for a wave and the wave comes in, my tail pushes up. not enough to nosedive but enough to catch the wave I wasn’t sure I would have caught otherwise.
Don’t ask for pics, this frankenstein is going to stay off the internet, yes it’s that ugly. I’m started to get to the point that I don’t care what it looks like as long as it rides the way I expect it to.
Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought concave in the nose helped to create an almost suction like effect when paddling and catching the wave, helping to catch it slightly sooner? I agree on the part where you said it creates lift on the wave; especially when riding it on the nose. But you’re making a shortboard for a fast wave, you’ll never be on the nose. Is that an incorrect assumption on my part?
Hi Monkstar, you have me interested in your board!!!
The concave nose also works on steep drops giving hold and lift with a thin rail. The concave lets you put your weight on the nose. Also a good recipe to catch a wave without paddling. But the limit is when the upward current in the face gets too strong and dumps you in the flats… That calls for less lift in the nose, also because generating lift costs speed.
Please put her on the net, I did with mine!!!
Aloha Patrick
I think this is one of those ‘too much thinkin not enough doin’ situations.
“You can’t really get in early on a shortboard so the window is very small before it’s a too late takeoff”
IMO, rather than ‘making boards to deal with it’ or micro managing dims… you’d be better off with more more more water time, trying to get better at taking off late, under the lip - in the hook take offs.
hey Tej
definately take that fish, provided it has a little rocker to it.
fish do well in beach breaks, i took mine there, and it was solid as!!
ciao and have FUN!
I'm gonna go against the grain here and tell you what works for me.
Shorter and wider.
I think your current board is possibly too long to fit under the lip for late take offs
Try a board 2 and at most 4 inches longer than yourself with width adjusted to compensate.
I especially like my nose to be a little wider than standard shortboard no.s. 12" minimun and
13 or 14 are even better (as long as board is short enough).
Concave entry will get you in early as well.
You want enough volumne so that you can swing around late under the lip push board down
and go the old no paddle route if neccesary or by lying further forward on the board you'll
be able to get on them much earlier than your current board allows.
But hey, thats just my opinion.
Monkstar - I love it !! Bud - I’m in the water so much I look like a prune! - Great info to consider here Amigos.
They’re not fashionable except if your surfing Mavricks but paddling gloves are good for getting in early on dredgy waves…