I found this board on Quiver, 2003 6'4" Edge Bottom Stubbie http://www.quivermag.com/boards/2003-7. I had noted a board with some similarities in a recent issue of Slide magazine, and was intrigued by it.
The Slide Magazine board was by Josh Oldenburg...
I would love to hear more about this rail / bottom detail, including theory, ride report etc. (the Oldenburg board had a good ride report in the article, but the write-up was so brief I couldn't really sink my teeth into it - looking for more)
Google Wilderness Surfboards and click on the photo images and there are some recent photos of their version. Also their website gives Greenough credit for the chine rail / concave bottom set up. Michael Cundith (original Wilderness owner and friend of George) has a fair amount of info on his website also. He has also had a short movie produced concerning the original stubby surfboards.
Wow, I had no idea the idea had been around that long - there was no mention of Greenough in the Slide article. Used yahoo search, and found some photos - this one is from, of all places, swaylocks! I'll be researching more as I get some time, meanwhile, anyone have any experience with this rail detail?
I’ve made three boards with edge bottoms with varying levels of sucess. More a reflection of my poor rocker design than the bottom but I digress…
The idea was to marry a Liddle-like pinched round rail with a flat planing surface to increase the range of surf I could ride with the ability to rail turn. After talking to a bunch of people that spoke, knew or worked with Greenough on his, that was the reason he shifted from the round Velo design to a more racy edge bottom version. George’s flex edgeboards did a whole lot more than the foam filled version Duncan makes or I made.
The boards I made got up on a rail and stayed there like I had hoped. They also skimmed a lot better than my “hulls” in the flatter waves I rode. The question is; are they worth the effort? While they look very cool, I think you can accomplish the same thing with a triplane hull with sharp transitions. Or you can just go with a tucked edge. Just depends on how you want it to feel. Duncan’s Wilderness versions I’ve seen are quite subtle and look more like exaggerated tucked edges.
Shaping them is pretty straight forward…Square up your outline and flat bottom making sure you leave 1/4 inch thickness for the edge. Template out the inner surface, at least 2" in from edge of your rail. Fade it off the corners of the tail (Greenough style) or flatten it out like mine (Paul Gross has done at least one with this type of tail). There is a radius between the edge and the rail more for glassing than anything else I suppose. But that’s the way George did his and who am I to argue. I cut mine with a Bosche planner because the edge of the cutting blade is exactly the same width as the shoe. You’ll never get it with a Skill or Hitachi 'cause you just can’t see what you are doing.
If I had the time and gumption, I would try several versions of this bottom on the same outline to figure out what performance characteristics you really get. The edge bottom swallow tail board I made (its in the archives somewhere) really worked well.
Hi Huck -
I've posted two of my Edge boards (not stubbies) in the archives.
http://www.quivermag.com/node/710
http://www.quivermag.com/node/864
On one of my boards the edge treatment extends to the nose. On the longer one, it fades in a bit farther back. Bob Duncan at Wilderness Surfboards did both and as far as I know still does them. You could probably order one through The Beach House in Santa Barbara. I've seen a few Wilderness boards in there. I think it is approx. $100 extra for the edge treatment.
There is a photo of Greenough holding an edge board in an old Surfer's Journal issue. If I can find it, I'll scan it.
huck- if memory serves me correctly check gg's movie crystal voyager. he talks about why he transitioned from velo to the edge bottomed boards,
Back again... Photo of early edge board is in TSJ Vol 7 No 2:
Also a snip from Paul Gross article profiling Greenough in which he covers edge theory and development:
Don’t remember who gave me these photos but he sent the following text along with:
Dimensions: 66" X 17” X 21" X 16”, w.p. @ +2”. nose rocker about 3", tail about 1", concave in the front, double concave in the tail, deck thickness over 3". Chine 3”
He uses a 6.5" hatchet fin on it, but also used a big Greenough on it (standing) at 3OH Rincon in the Jan. 98 swell.
[IMG]http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac190/GeoffreyLevens/Stand-up%20edge%20board/Stand-upEdge5_zps11924ae6.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac190/GeoffreyLevens/Stand-up%20edge%20board/Stand-upEdge6_zps297345cd.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac190/GeoffreyLevens/Stand-up%20edge%20board/Stand-upEdge1_zpsdd2255bf.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac190/GeoffreyLevens/Stand-up%20edge%20board/Stand-upEdge4_zpsaf84f6c2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac190/GeoffreyLevens/Stand-up%20edge%20board/Stand-upEdge3_zps71a3d115.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac190/GeoffreyLevens/Stand-up%20edge%20board/Stand-upEdge2_zps84a3ed0a.jpg[/IMG]
There was and exquisite Greenough Edgeboard at the Del Mar Boardworks/Sacred Craft show last weekend. Carbon fiber and light as all get out. George kept the edges of the edge quite sharp. The runners looked to be right in the middle of the boards length rather than up towards the front as described in the TSJ article. The flex on those things is crazy complex. If you pull on the rail, the bottom puckers into a concave rather than the convex that a Velo style board does. It has a boxy swallow tail with fabric between the pins. The flex on the swallow pins is about the same as the un-ribbed portion of a pair of Duckfeet swim fins.
Hoo Boy, Lee - I hope this works...
Shoots! There were more of these in the post no? I coulda swore the board puckered when you pulled UP on the rails…Oh well, you know what they say about getting old…I forgot.
