Hey everyone I was keen to see what everyone thinks about my idea/shape.
A couple of years ago I got myself a trendy singlefin midlength. I generally ride shortboards and fish under the 6ft mark but felt like something a bit cruisier and fun. It was a 7’4" x 22" x 2 7/8" single fin pintail. Pretty simple but had a few modern updates like the hard edge at the tail. I’m about 65kg/145lbs so it was a big board for me but it would go pretty well in everything from knee high to well overhead. When it was small it felt like a little longboard and with the extra length and float I could paddle into the bigger stuff super early, stand forward and just go! Anyway ended up letting it go but as with too many things, didn’t realise what I had until it was gone.
I’ve often mucked around making boards using the cad programs and late last year I decided to go ahead and make a board. It’s probably frowned upon here but I designed it using Shape 3D and had it machine cut then glassed. The board was a 5’6" quad shortboard and ended up turning out really well. I don’t have the tools, skills or space to properly shape a board by hand so this way works the best for me right now. I’d been thinking of doing a remake of my single-fin but with a few tweaks. I know I could go back to the shaper and order another board but this way I save some money and I still get to have a board with some of my own flavour. I also have a little bit of hands on with it which is better than nothing. Eventually I’d love to have a go and shape a few boards completely by hand and glass them too.
Here’s my updated take on it, 7’4" x 21" x 2 3/4". I really enjoy when the surf has some push so that’s where I’d like it to shine. I narrowed it down to 21" and gave it nice and low rails by keeping the deck pretty flat and having the beveled edge before it goes down to the rails. As for bottom contour it’s pretty simple. Rolled nose to flat through most of it then to a double concave and then vee out the tail.
I added some pics to show what I’m thinking. To me it looks alright but i’m not sure and would love to hear some input from people who know what they’re doing before I get it cut. I’ve seen the beveled down rail done a bit recently and think it’s a good way to maintain volume while having a nice low rail. I’ve searched and searched and it seems that these type of boards are generally shaped with either vee the whole way through or vee to flat to vee. The rocker is also something I’m unsure about. It seems that many have quite an even rocker like I’ve got here ie. 3.x" nose and 2.x" tail and others a 4.x" or 5" nose and 2" or less tail so that’s another area i’ve been questioning.
I hope that’s not too much info and it all makes sense but I’d love some feedback and thoughts on where I’m at.
I think it looks really good. To keep it trendy you might want to rethink the single fin… quad layouts with a center option seem to be pretty popular right now(?) Just me but I’d go ahead and knock that last corner off the deck cross section.
Singlefin steup-ups in that size range generally run about 2" in the tail and at least 4" in the nose; sometimes more. They’re all about the bottom turn and the long carve. I’d only run less than 4" if I was aiming the board at small/mushy conditions. If you go through the blank catalogs you’ll see what the veteran shapers are doing with rockers. A 7-5A blank from U.S. Blanks would be what many shapers would use for your design and it’s stock rocker is now 2.1/8"T + 6"N (up from the 5.1/2" of the original) .
Looks like a Speed Egg to me. Time to get off the computer design and enter the real world. Gotta buy a blank sooner or later. US Blanks 7-7A or 7-6EA will yeild an awesome 7’4" Speed Egg! And order a custom stringer with glue lines or Applewood ply or Darkwood just to make the board way cool… right up my alley! Not single fin. thruster or quad…Ray
I ride a 7’6 that has roughly the same dims, and I agree with those above about the single. Mine is a thruster, and I use it chest high to as big as it gets. I would at least put the boxes in for side fins, then you can ride it single or 2+1. Also, mine has concave in the nose, and doubles with vee in the tail. Rocker is 4.25n x 2.75t.
Thanks for all the info and help. I’m in Australia so I will be using different blanks, but it was really good to see what everyone is using for these types of boards. I have increased the nose rocker to 4" and I did end up knocking the hard edge off the deck. It looks a lot cleaner that way. I won’t go for a quad but had been thinking of putting in plugs to give the option to surf as a 2+1. I will do some more reading on exactly where to put the box but included it in my image to give myself a better idea of the final board.
I’ll keep this updated and add some photos of the finished product.
I think where your box is right now is pretty good, although depending on what fin you’re running you might have to run your fin at the back of the box. Your deck/rail profile looks good, too. A more subtle transition and/or fuller rails would also work well. . If it were my board I’d drop the tail rocker a little, though.
Hey everyone just wanted to say thanks for all the help. Got the board cut and finished it up a couple of weeks ago. The blank has an obeche - red hd foam - obeche stringer and was glassed in volan. It’s turned out way better than I could’ve hoped. Will pick it up tomorrow and if anyone’s interested I’ll put up some better pics. For now just this one. Thanks again!
I’ve had a couple of surfs now and I’m really digging the board. Obviously I think its 10x better than it probably is because i had some input but overall I’m stoked. Absolutely love the look of the stringer and volan laps/patches so I added a couple more pics.
The first surf was in waist high waves and it felt pretty neutral and similar to my old board which was a good sign. Nice and stable but loosens up when you step back onto the tail. We were lucky enough to get some swell so I took it to a local beach around low tide for the next surf and it felt right at home in the steeper stuff even with a bit of lump and bump. Lots of closeouts but also some sneaky runners. Catches waves super easily and has speed to burn. The bottom ended up pretty much flat with just a slight vee out the tail so that definitely helps. The extra weight from the volan is noticeable but it feels very stable and it just cruises through chop. I even managed to get a little travel time before the closeout on one wave which will always make a session stand out.
I only have a 9" fin right now so I’ll try and find something smaller and see how that works. Also would love to get it on a nice point wave and see how it handles some proper turns. Overall I’m really stoked and already planning the next one haha!
Hey again I’m loving my board! I have another idea/question for a similar board and thought rather than start a new thread I’d keep this one going.
I saw a 9’ something Christensen C-Bucket that looked amazing. Similar outline to mine but stretched out. It looked great, but as to how it surfs I haven’t got a clue? I had been thinking about a stretched version of my board above for proper big stuff and maybe just the odd cruisy surf. There are a few bombies around here that hold quite a bit of size and I’d be keen to make something to give them a nudge and maybe still use when it’s smaller. Would a shape and design similar to this one work in even bigger waves? Am I asking too much of one board?
Anyway I had been thinking that I could keep a similar width ~21-21.5" but stretch it into the 9’-9’6" range and thicken it through the middle to 3"+ . Add more vee throughout the board and increase the rocker to 6" nose and 3" tail? Is this too little or too much for this style of board? Probably just keep it as a single again for simplicity.
Just interested to see what everyone thinks about this sort of stretched single fin. If it seems reasonable I might go ahead with it.
And just a big thanks to everyone who helped with the last one. The input here was invaluable and the board turned out great. Cheers!!!
Looks good! Good job on the midlength. I am attempting something similar but with a vee bottom.
I am looking for feedback on vee and rocker dimensions. Aiming for something from evolution/sea of joy era but a bit more managable. More vee perhaps? I am aware the rails are pretty hard, I am hoping to refine rails by hand… Any thoughts?
All good… the 7’4" by HotBruce and the 9’6" by awa1l looking outstanding.
If I had one bit of advice and it’s not meant as a put down or anything… if you’re going to go with two stringers, consider spacing them a bit farther apart so they sandwich the box. It adds to the structural component immensely. Routing through the wood for the box install really compromises the integrity of the stringer right at the front of the box where structural integrity is most needed in any kind of impact on the fin.
Many used boards with single fin boxes have cracks directly at the front of the box. I’ve seen quite a few boards snapped in two right there where the stringer gets cut down to a fraction of it’s former thickness for the box install. Two stringers are great… they add a lot of strength and when placed correctly, offer a lot of support for the single fin box.
Figured I’d just add this onto here and keep this thread rolling…
Didn’t quite go to 9ft+ this time, but getting there ha!
8’0" x 22 1/8" x 3"
The other one ended up a little gunny so I made sure this one packed in some extra width and volume. Have had a few surfs in a range of waves and so far so good! Next step will be a 9 footer for sure!
I have an 8-4 and a nine footer both single fin boards with similar planshape, and they consistently perform well for me in a variety of conditions (mostly backside point break).
The links will give you a few more details if interested. Check the quiver archives for more inspiration, especially from resinhead in the 7 foot plus category.
I have to say tho at nine foot you’re out of the midlength category and into longboard territory.
The OP is clearly shooting for designs that handle bigger conditions - getting in early and setting a rail.
I like the 1968 transition era designs with the wide point back and have been using them for a number of years. But it’s a niche design that doesn’t work (FOR ME) in pitching beachbreak runners. I only use them in relatively slow and smaller conditions as a means of getting the most out of the wave. Really, in lieu of a longboard.
The OPs boards look wide point center to me, which is what the boards I posted in this thread are also. They work great for me, and apparently for the OP, who already finished two boards in this thread and included a very stoked ride report.
My plan shapes, very similar to his, are glider influenced, but scaled back in length. In my mind this plan shape falls in the middle between a longboard or “fun board” shape, and an outright gun shape. For me it is a versatile shape effective in a wide variety of conditions.
The tail is more pulled in than the nose, giving it a bit of a wide point forward look, but the widest point is actually in the middle.
It’s not a slash and hack shape so the pros and most the young guns don’t want it, but for a good old-school single fin daily driver, its awesome. Rails foil and bottom to suit your preferences (and I’m sure the plan shape works with a variety of fin setups).
