I am digging rail on backside drop if I don’t keep my weight towards the back of the board. if the front rail is weighted,it digs in. does not happen to me with my other boards.1st minisimmons 5.10 x 23,quad. 2nd mini,6.0 x 22.5,twin fin.
A couple of my friends who ride a mini also noticed the same thing with their boards…One has a quad,the other a twin fin.Doesn’t happen on front side .As long as I remember to keep(or sometimes manage to keep) the weight more on the back,no problem.SO,anyone else on this forum noticed this?We surf in Hawai’i,and in solid overhead surf,and the mini simmons are a blast to ride,.Our rails are fat on some mini,thinner on others,so I don’t think it is a rail design,but maybe I am wrong.
thanks guys.yes,they do slide,and that’s what gives them that groovy feeling.Feels like they pivot on a ball .There is a wave here that makes a high,sloping kind of wall that gets steep when it hits the reef,breaks a long right(sometimes very long) and a left.the minisimmons is real good there.aloha
Kava, I too have had that problem. Those boards really want to slide and not go on rail. That’s why surfboards have evolved to what we have today. (more rocker).
To solve this problem I have gone asymmetrical. Less pressure required to engage board. If you ever get the chance to ride one, do it! These things really work.
This is my personal board. Left rail is my heel side. Shorter and more rocker. More “Vee” in tail also helps.
you have discovered the chink in the mini’s armor - backside surfing. go asym, or only surf frontside on em… also keep in the mind that the baugess minis have a very substantial amount of nose flip… rocker numbers from an early one I saw were around 4" nose and 0" in the tail.
Try a tri-plane hull. I used that on mine and it never digs. Also, I have snowboard-sharp rails up to about half a foot forward of the fins, after that it releases into a sharp 50/50 style rail (sharper apex) up the nose.
There are many copycats out there. Is the board a genuine Bauguess? I watched him shape one and he has a precise manner of laying out the breaks in the rocker, the concave, the belly, and the lifted panels on the bottom. I would assume that all of the components have to be correct for the board to work right. That, or make sure someone like Richard Kenvin is your test pilot.
That said, the board wasn't designed for Hawaii where it is possible the extra 'oomph' in the waves is lifting that wide tail up the face and contributing to your control issues.
Greg Liddle for example, has a modified version of his mainland boards that is specifically designed for Hawaiian waves. I suspect Bauguess would make similar alterations in one of his own designs.
No,not a Baugess,we just do our best.Makes sense about the wide tail,that’s why you gotta keep the board flat.But that wide tail sure makes catching waves so easy.I love the part where you can paddle up the face,and just ball bearing pivot on around and catch it.I gotta say,at 58,I am riding shorter than I have in a loooong time with these boards.
Kava the new surfers journal has an article by Greenough about his tri hull windsurfer no better description a wealth of knowledge devulged if you understand the concept also go to M Cundiths web site has some great pictures his personal board i am starting to get the itch to get one built have not riddden one in 30 plus years still valid today. Aloha
"There are many copycats out there. Is the board a genuine Bauguess? I watched him shape one and he has a precise manner of laying out the breaks in the rocker, the concave, the belly, and the lifted panels on the bottom. I would assume that all of the components have to be correct for the board to work right. That, or make sure someone like Richard Kenvin is your test pilot.
That said, the board wasn't designed for Hawaii where it is possible the extra 'oomph' in the waves is lifting that wide tail up the face and contributing to your control issues.
Greg Liddle for example, has a modified version of his mainland boards that is specifically designed for Hawaiian waves. I suspect Bauguess would make similar alterations in one of his own designs."
You are very right John, he just finished up several months of shaping at my shop and I can attest to both the
precision and awareness of getting the shape right. I've seen him spend a full day shaping a machined blank
in order to get it just right, and he also adjusted things for boards he sent to Hawaii. There is some tail rocker
in his boards. Also wanted to mention the rail shape is important, and could cause the problems Kava is
describing on backside. When made right, they work quite well backside, although I've see Joe shape some asymmetric Mini Simmons too. He shaped me one this summer and it went backside beautifully.
Tri-plane hull is essentially a board with three ‘contact points’ on it. Basically, its a double-concave with a high “vee” on the stringer line, and flat points on either side of the concaves. The vee sits slightly higher than the flat points creating a jumpy edge-to-edge feeling. I find it helps a lot with the grabbiness going backside because it makes it easier to release the backside rail with quick pumps so it doesn’t bog down. Here’s a shot of mine for you as well as a diagram
Mine is essentially halfway between a tri-plane and a hydro hull… I like the flat spots on the outside of the rails because it’s a much more noticable “stop” in the boards edging
I think we’ve touched on this before but are you on the north end? If you like we can always meet up sometime and you can try see if you like my shape any better. Full disclosure it’s not a “true” simmons because it was a cut-down and I didn’t have enough volume up front to round out the nose, so it’s kind of a hybrid, but rides pretty much the same (I’ve even got some cheater fives on it).
I think you’re forgetting this board is for Hawaiian waves - typically we like concaves and contours as they help control the suction better. Most shapers add these things to their boards when selling them in Hawaii
Carl, what you’re referring to i simply known as “belly” but rather than making it smooth you’re adding a couple other “rail points” where the flat panels meet (more like a hydro hull without the concave).
When you think “tri plane” think of the tri-plane boats out there - the idea is to have three planing surfaces in contact with the water 99% of the time - the reasons you add the concaves to the tri-plane is because convex shapes create suction - your design would be significantly more “tracky” than an actual tri-plane because there are no concaves to help release the water
The real benefit of this shape is the same functionally it serves on ski-boats - the raised vee in the center line allows the craft to “jump” edge-to-edge easier, without the concaves the craft would simply “roll” edge to edge resulting in longer, arced turns rather than the ability to make tighter, quicker turns. This is where it’s helpful to the OP’s situation because when the backside rail digs, the shape allows you to easily release the rail for a moment without changing your direction too much
What you call a tri-plane, we always called V with a dbl concave. Reminds me how everyone seems to have a different defintion of what phasers are on surfboards. Looks like sways has touched on it before. I remember seeing them on old boards, three separate planing surfaces. Too each his own I guess! -Carl
-Carl 
Looks like sways has touched on it before. I remember seeing them on old boards, three separate planing surfaces. Too each his own I guess! -Carl