I’ve been doing quite a bit of searching and can’t really wrap my head around the difference of hulls. I’m still in the design stage right now, but I’m going to go roughly 5’6" x 22 5/8" x 2 7/8" (maybe 3). Nose rocker at 3 1/2" and Tail 1 5/16". The outline is just a standard Mini Simmons shape with a very slight diamond.
I was just going to stick with a flat hull, but the more I look around the more unsure I become. It seems like there is a lot of variety with the Mini Simmons. Both Planning hulls AND displacement hulls.
Any feedback on one or the other would be greatly appreciated.
From what i see in them they are like a displacement hull in the front 1/3 of the board then into a full planing hull. The front end is designed to lift the board up onto plane, it’s sort of like half a dome at the front which would help stop it from catching in turns, drop in etc but essentially it’s designed to get the board on plane asap.
The planing part of the board is designed around a good ‘aspect ratio’ for planing hulls’ wetted area which would help with width decisions. Working out the average wetted area is the tricky part
The
objective is to skip across the water surface. A wide rolled front helps the
board achieve user friendly entry and soft when on plane but if you extend the
role to far back it will slow the board down considerably .How far down you
role the bottom is determined by the weight of the surfer. The flat section
behind this will create lift and concaving the tail will let the board be more
predictable un turns but once again the size of this arias is determined by the
weight of the surfer and also there ability and the size and shape of wave. My
Point of view is that there is a formula that can only be achieved by extensive
trial and error and it’s defiantly not a case of one size fits all.
So if you go down the path of shaping a Simons keep
the most detailed records possible
In addition to your weight, what kind of waves do you ride and how do you like to surf? I surf well shaped but fairly fat waves and my version has a flat bottom but displacement hull rails (relatively thin, up in front and down in the back). This set up matched with higher aspect keels and a swallow tail lets me put the board on a rail and go more vertical than the Hydrodynamica-like boards. It surfs carvey rather than skatey. Too much hull up front or extending it too far back will slow your paddling speed and will take a savvy rider in the right kind of waves to really take advantage of that kind of bottom.
If its all about chugging down the line, your tail rocker will work fine, but if you want to get a little more versatile, add a bit more tail rocker (1/2" or more) and move the wide spot back to halfway. I like the swallow tail since it will allow you to put your feet closer to the tail without spinning. Not sure how long you are going but 3" thick works well with mine (5’10"x19"x23"x18"x3"). I have a nice S-deck to take some foam out of the nose and tail. The board works in 2’ to 8’ with no drift or spin. It’s my every-day ride.
101kg and 6’5”I
mostly surf strong Sothern ocean ground swells on a local reef or long point
breaks on my back side goofy foot and some very long hollow beach breaks and a
frame shore breaks. I agree the fish shape is the best general purpose board
for most conditions.
