can anyone eplain to me where the pros and cons of a piggy outline are?
I built some boards now with the wipdest point slightly back of center (3-5 inches) and an outline that is inspired by the pig shapes, althought these are no pigs…
The boards are quite agile in the water, and they work well with 2+1 and 4 fin setups.
Now I wonder, why you cannot buy this kind of shape? It think this has some reasons…?
Are there any disadvantages of widest point back and piggy style shapes on longboards that I didn’t see so far?
The False perception by many is that you can’t nose ride a pig style board. The wider tail with hips will spin out is another false perception about pigs. I Have been on pig style Longboards since the 1990s. i saw a Nat Young board That was shaped out of Donald Takayamas Factory. I Liked the look of the board but they could not use The Nat Young Templates. Yes some shapers and builders do have integrity. So we worked on a new outline, slightly different rocker and some other tweaks like a two One fin set up. That board was magic. I Now have a 9’5" by Robin Mair. It’s another Pig style board that is also magic. I’m sure others will chime in on the disadvantages.
For some years now, all of my longer boards have been wide point back but much of that is a function of the soft/mushy local conditions. I don’t like them for faster and more critical conditions because there’s just too much drama. Having more volume in the tail helps the board get off faster but the corresponding downside is that there’s also more drama with the critical take-off. You’ve got more surface area to manage and control. Your wave judgement and timing also has to be better.
The other downside to wide point back is that they seem to be more sensitive to your paddling position - there’s less margin for error when it comes to positioning to get the board in trim while you’re paddling for both distance or trying to paddle down the face of a wave. Unless you’re using at least a moderate rocker it’s easy to accidentally bury the nose at the wrong moment.
For these reasons I consider those designs to be less forgiving for novices and to have a somewhat more limited degree of versatility across the wider spectrum of conditions.
Boards in the stores are made for a mass market. They won’t sell quickly if they aren’t the flavor of the month.
You can buy good classic style longboards with the wide point back. Most modern short boards have the widepoint at center or slightly back, and longboards are designed for either performance (wide point forward) or cruising.
Robin Mair makes really good boards, his eggs have a wide point back from center.
If you want a board for turning more, wide point back is the way to go. 50% of my boards are that way. My opinion is that a wide nose is only important if you want to hang five or ten. I like the drivey feel that you get with the wide point slightly further up. You engage more of the rail when turning, so the boards I’m making now are wide point forward of center, like a speed egg, or older style singles and fish.
I’ve found that I had more fun riding smaller waves with boards that have a wider tail.
Downside would be in big fast waves, where you don’t need all that surface area in the tail. If the waves you ride have a lot of power, a narrower tail will project the board more (for single fins). But you can still have the wide point at center or just slightly back. If your plan is to have 2 +1 or quad, then the tail width is compensated with the extra fins, but a wide tail will always be a challenge in bigger faster waves. With more power in the wave the board gets much looser, and will turn much quicker.
@all: thank your very much for this great input!
I think I will stay with my piggy-style design for my allround longboards.
But will check the wide point forward design in one of my next boards.
I haven’t ridden a longboard in 15 years but I made a piggish 9’0 last year. I’ve ridden it in 2’ mush to 6’ steep walls and it works great. Sweeping bottom turns off the tail and a step or two to the middle and it flies! The one quirky thing I found was once you get past the wide point, the board wants to climb the face so you have to actively redirect the trim line to compensate. You get used to it. It’s probably the result of the angle of attack between the rail line and fin being different from a wide-point-up relationship.
So far I’ve not encountered any other “unpredictable” problems or sensitivity issues but I may have stumbled onto the perfect rail/rocker/fin combo to make it all work. No talent, just luck.
The board in my avatar is an 8’ wide point back piggy sort of thing. It’s fun. I think in larger surf it might be a bit odd when compared to a wide point forward design, which might project a bit more, but I made it for smaller stuff anyway. Turns quickly and then you can just step up and go fast in trim. I’m waiting for warm summer days to ride it again. I don’t know why more production boards of this sort aren’t made. I think they’re super fun, and I personally think the wide point far back looks cool too.
Been a pig guy from long ago.
I have made a number and tried to “upgrade” the shape, via the spoon.
Finally pulled in the hips.
Now you can rip it.
Pig = classic performance…
My 2 cents…
