I just finished my first board and it happens to be a Mini Simmonsish board. Mine is a 6' x 23" with belly in the nose 1/3, flat in the middle and deep concave out the tail. I did pull the tail in a little to give more curve to the outline in the back 1/3 and it measures 14.5" at the tail block. The board is a blast to ride in waist to shoulder high waves but starts to get away from me much above shoulder high.
My question is about the belly in the nose and what it does for the performance of the board. Has anyone ridden a version with a flat bottom in the nose that might be able give some insight on performace differences.
I love the board and plan on making my next one in the 5'9" range but keeping the board at about the same volume by leaving the tail thicker and no S deck. It's a great style of board for the wind slop we have down here in Texas.
I've ridden a swift movement mini simmons, as well as a design of my own that had a huge amount of belly (though only 21 1/2), and another one of my own thats the full 23" wide and which is nearly flat on the bottom, with only slight belly in the nose. in short the board with more pronounced belly rode better, felt more fun to ride and more in control, easier to get rail to rail.
My impression is the belly is more a function of simmons style rails and bottom contour - which was designed to provide lift - the rails on a swift simmons look really unique and also the board feels to surf ON the water rather than IN it.
I have a good picture on my phone I will try to upload later today which illustrates this
in my view the belly keeps the rails out of the water to some degree, and eases rail to rail transfers- which is important on a board 23" wide with such a square tail. through my experiments I will be adding more pronounced belly to the next shape I make
I agree 100% about the feeling of riding ON the water and not in the water. At first this was an odd feeling but now after a couple of days riding it I've come around to really enjoy that feeling. I expected it to be really tracky. Mine is drivey but still turns fast and smooth.
I might have to rethink the flat bottom on my next one.
Have got a pretty pronounced roll or vee on a couple of my “simmonesque” boards just up the front third of the board and it definitely helps the boards turn easier. With the wide nosed ones it increases rail rocker which in turn stops the board from catching a rail as the turn is initiated or when the board is transitioned from one rail to the other. It also decreases rail thickness in the front without rolling the deck too much or carving a big s deck which in turn makes for a more sensitive rail entry. The only downside it seems to have is the boards are a bit harder to paddle into waves and ‘push’ a little water which takes a while to get used to. Overall I think i prefer the ones I have with a single concave but like the idea of creating extra rail rocker so im contemplating a chine rail for the next ones to avoid a full hull entry… anyone tried something similar, thoughts?
Just finished a 5’6" “simster” and the front 18" or so has I guess what you’d call a blend between a “chine” and a belly. I cut the bottom rail band 2" from the rail and rounded that into a flat bottom. This transitions to a single concave (about 3/6" deep) through the center of the board and a vee from the front fins through the tail.
My take is that this type of front end sits lower in the water, and the board catches waves very easily. The wide, thick tail gives push, the the soft chined nose sits low and wants to head “downhill” on takeoff. This differs from some boards which tend to hang in the lip if there is too much concave/lift up front. Once you are up and riding, the effects are negligable because you are doing most of the work off the tail. And the soft entry from rounded chine to flat to single seems to offer a non-disrupted flow from front to back. You can see in the second photo that the rail contour gets more “modern”, ie harder through the business end of the board.
it is a design that is ridden off the tail, so the nose is not in constant contact with the water, belly causes water to stick to it, but parts the water for easier entry, plus the original boards were the very first to sport what was thought to be an extreme nose rocker
if it were you, how would you change up the bottom design?
I have a Joe B. from about 4 years ago, basically the "original new" design. It's fun, fast and loose. Other shapers have changed them up. I'm curious as to your take.
My latest two are chined rails with flat entries and a small square nose. They seem to work well for the junky wind slop we have been getting, but I haven’t had them out in any decent waves. If you would like a pic, pm me your email and I would be more than happy to send you a couple shots
Perhaps the photo is misleading. The concave is in the mid-section only.
The front third is flat with rounded chine-type rails. It flows into
the concave in the middle, then vee in the tail.
Figured out how to post pics with the iPad. Pretty stoked on this one so far. Chined rail back 18" to where my rocker flattens out. This is also the same place I start the single concave. I have found that starting the single higher up really helps with some extra drive, especially for me because I’m a big guy (220lb). This one is 5’5" x 21-1/2" x 2-78".
dont like it and dont put into my shapes …did first six or 7 with rolled entry but never liked it for the waves I surfed and had feedback from many others which was much the same… I sent a trial board around and was surfed by about 30 different guys in different waves, most enjoyed the board and only recurring negative comments were about the rolled entry…each to their own but its not for me…but I do have more rocker than most and rails are very rolled and soft in the nose…
