Picked up a new planer this morning too replace my inherited black and decker which was eating belts. It’s an erbauer 240v 4mm planer and the handle setup looked about right. Little more setback than usual. I stripped the guard and kick stand off and inspected the base plate levels etc l. Was pretty good. Took her out to the bay and did the first cuts wide open and the end result was super clean! I will do a thread on it at some point because I know UK shapers are a bit stuck for choice, this could be our answer to the Wen model!
Anyway. I stuck to my off the cuff ideas and I’ve gone with the above template and I’ve gone a bit mad with the bottom. I’m hoping it will have that speed in the curl when stood up front but be really nimble off the tail.
Must confess I haven’t quite decided on the rails, Mayeb 50 / 50 pinched, but with down in the tail and soft up rail in the nose.
Well after an event full month I finally got this finished up and out in the water.
3 sessions in now. First session it was shoulder high and messy, just couldn’t get into it. Second session was waist high and perfect. Started to get my head round the boards character!
3rd session was chest to shoulder high and clean as could be! The board went really well. Having surfed mainly wide point forward it felt odd catching waves to begin with, you catch everything from further back on the board leaving you higher in the wave. The pinched rails stuck into the face lovely and released great off th tail. The Hull influence in the nose took some getting used too. Stepnforward for speed back for control!
Not sure on fin choice currently, will play around and report back!
Just picked up another 3 blanks for some more experimenting too!
I think your board turned out great. I’d surf it. I like your glass job, too. I’m guessing that you will keep this board until you completely wear it out.
As I’ve said before, I like wide-point-back designs for certain conditions but (in my opinion) they are more finicky about paddling position and they’re less forgiving in terms of the timing it takes to transition from paddling to surfing. The fat ass picks the energy up more quickly and gives you less time to react. I also think they’re quicker than wide-point-forward but have a slower top end speed. More natural pivot, less natural carve.
Yes Gdaddy, this is for sure a keeper. It’s the first midlength board I’ve surfed that is challenging.
As you say, the paddle and take off positioning is more sensitive, it won’t reward sloppy efforts, but will reward perfection!
I think this is a very ‘marmite’ style of board, and really reminded me learning the ropes on a fish. They like clean waves and clean surfing.
Thanks for the props on the glassing, I actually stole the idea from my son’s favourite t shirt! I’ll get a few snaps of the glass job and concave. It also has a floro yellow pinstripe!
I really love this wayne Lynch I posted last month. I’ve been surfing it quite a lot, form beach breakes to good point breaks. Outline, foil, rocker, bottom contours… so well balanced and fun board.
As a widowmaker but I surfed it only as a single. I’ve tried many fins and planing to try it as a 2+1 soon ( Neyra 6,75 bonzer fin + different side bites). Planing of making myself som bonzeresque side bites too.
No, the board has no leash plug (FU fin box). I will take som photos. The boards has a bit of convexe entry (first 1/2’ to little single to double concave to spiral V to a bit of V.
My guess is that running that board as a 2+1 will make it a lot more lively than running it as a single. Depending on your stature the Bonzer+sidebites that you mentioned earlier will probably do it. If you find the combo to be a little lacking in drive you can just upsize the side fins.
The bue board posted her made me think. When are sidebites supposed to “help”? I tried my board even with the bknzer fkn alone and I liked it, so fast and so much flow. Then I thought, let’s put more drivd in the mix. Option 1 bigger finns. Tried 7,75" dolphin, an 8,25" short base, less raked fin. Next step is mix flex in the mix. And then the safe option (sidebites). The board works ok with all the setups. I tried a bad fin and could feel the difference a lot but the point is that testing options is the important thing. Getting the feeling you are after is not easy, and some options surprised me. Not even halv the way testing
The bue board posted her made me think. When are sidebites supposed to “help”? I tried my board even with the bknzer fkn alone and I liked it, so fast and so much flow. Then I thought, let’s put more drivd in the mix. Option 1 bigger finns. Tried 7,75" dolphin, an 8,25" short base, less raked fin. Next step is mix flex in the mix. And then the safe option (sidebites). The board works ok with all the setups. I tried a bad fin and could feel the difference a lot but the point is that testing options is the important thing. Getting the feeling you are after is not easy, and some options surprised me. Not even halv the way testing
I think a lot depends on how you want to surf the wave AND what conditions you’re using the board in.
FOR ME, I only use singlefins when conditions are slow and mushy and I want to stay with the wave and maybe do some trimming down the line. Wide template, flat rocker, and I run the centerfin 10" or more from the tail. I use a flex fin. I never surf those boards in overhead conditions.
If I want to surf a faster wave or surf the wave more actively then I go to a multi-fin + more rocker. At that point the fin cluster is providing more of the drive, not the rail line. I don’t use flex fins for those setups.
I’ve tried doing the “shortboard” single many times and I always end up getting bored with the limitations and adding sidebites later on to enable a more agressive approach. Fin area (and drive) out at the rail is a big deal for me. It enables me to get off more quickly without having to make a bottom turn to develop speed, it enables me to take a higher line when I’m driving off the shoulder and I can pump the cluster to outrun the section.
Your board was set up to be surfed off the tail, not trimmed from the middle. That’s why I think you’ll get more out of it if you skip the flex fin and have more fin area out at the rail.
Watch how this guys surfs a 2+1 (the white board is a 2+1). He runs his fin cluster further forward than is on your board, but apart from that you can see that when he has his foot over that rear fin he has all the drive and control he needs to make some really agressive turns. I think your board has that same potential.
The video is a good example. I surfed a similar wave with this board as a single, I worked but I would enjoyed it more with another board. I surf many boards, for me singles and bonzers are best in point breaks. I know many that buy midlengths (single because is the cool thing right now) when they should have another type of board. I think small side bites is the way to go maibe. I dont want to run the fcs gx fins (will try of course) but the I loose the single fin feeling and getting 3-fin feeling. Then you can think too (same with midlenghs), this is a board that lays in between my other boards but as you write it has “limitations” but nicer “feeling of flow”, when is the board a good opcion and I will enjoy it better than a 3-fin (or quad, or twinzer or twin), I AGREE EITH YOU, the conditions decide the “best” board for the day as the feeling you want from thd board. When the wave has a wall that allows you to feel the flow of single or 2+1… But not too powerful because then I will surf my bonzer, something like this could be.
