Ok so i decided to build an 8’ mini mal single fin thingy… compsand build… dims are 8’ × 20 3/4 × 2 7/8… nose rocker is 4.5 with a very shallow curve ( no flat ) and 2" tail… very low volume rails ( almost shortboard )…
What a complete dog this board is… built for small waves on the mid coast south Australia , it exells at pearling and after 100 + attempts to surf this thing ive managed to ride approx 4 waves… better in larger surf ( head high ) but a complete pig in the smaller stuff… can anyway help with where i have gone wrong???
Pics to follow…
I have posted this board plenty of times before, so at the risk of irritating those who have already seen it, I’m gonna post it here bcuz it has a lot of similarities to yours, and a few key differences.
Dimensions are 8’ 4" x 21" x 2 3/4, rocker is nearly identical to your description, thin low-volume rails.
Slight belly in the nose, flat through the middle, to subtle panel V out the tail. Pinched 50-50 rails to down rail out the back.
Glassed heavy, single fin, 5 years old and still a favorite, love this board in a wide variety of conditions, but admittedly likes a little push (would use something with a bit fatter rail in weak crumbly waves).
Explain a little more why it’s a dog in small waves? A rocker shot and maybe a shoot showing the bottom would be helpful. I have boards with less nose rocker and they work fine. In round waves, or waves that jump up really fast, they need a bit of help to make a drop.
From the outline, I see a wide point about 1/4 from the nose, then a very flat rail line past the middle and then a curve starts about 1/3 from the tail.
I don’t like rolled bottoms much, mainly because I don’t know how to do them right. Done right they are great. Too much roll and the board is slow until you get a powerful wave then it helps a little.
You may have issues with the rocker. Use a stick and see if you have flat spots and if the curve is nice and clean. I think getting the bottom rocker right is a very important first step. From nose to tail the curve needs to be real smooth. It doesn’t have to be symmetrical, but smooth. Then the thickness has to match where you need to have the foam for paddling and riding. Photos from the side showing the rocker will help to see if you did that OK or not.
I made these 2 about 10 or 12 years ago. The shorter one is 7’ and the longer one is 8’. I made the 8’ board for my brother. It has similar nose and tail rocker measurements. Maybe only 4" of nose rocker. They both have concave under the nose then fairly flat from about 1/3 back all the way through. The 8’ has down rails all the way around with a hard edge in the last 1/4 of the board. The 8’ was one my favorite boards for a while. It had a pinhole near the fin box and it leaked some water, so I fixed it and put it away. I don’t want it to get any more water and ruin the balsa (turns black).
The 7’ had all kinds of strange things like a heavy beveled bottom edge. The bottom shot is not that board, but it gives you an idea of how far I went with these bottoms. The rails were also very round and that also creates a slower board. I decided that I didn’t like the blunt nose and rails, so I cut them off and added new wood then reshaped the outline and rails. I only had to reglass the rails. Just make sure you make a nice feathered edge when you sand off the glass.
If you bottom contours are OK, you could change the outline and rails. If the bottom is messed up, you either have to redo the whole bottom, or start over.
A couple of thoughts with the compsand builds, which I rarely do now.
We would use cheap insulation foam, and sandwich 2 pieces, usually a 1" piece on the bottom and a 2" piece on top. But we would also have a 1/8" layer of bamboo in between and then we would use the vacuum bag to bend a rocker into the blank while the bottom skin was attached. We used tried and true rockers by placing the foam onto the bottom side of a board we liked, or with a rocker bed/table. Once a portion of the perimeter wood rails are glued on to an outline, the rocker is set. Then we would profile the blank, thin out the nose and tail and the crown deck from side to side as needed because we created flat, even thickness blanks.
We didn’t have to think about the rocker much because we always started with a rocker we knew we liked. There still so much that can go wrong with the thickness profile, and the rails. The bamboo we inserted between the layers was helpful for giving the fin boxes something to anchor to.
If the vac bagging system I have was working 100% perfectly, I’d do more with it, but it isn’t. I like the compsands.
If you look at the shot with the rails cut off, you can see the bamboo “springer”. We would route out a small cavity just deep enough for the bamboo.
Cheers for the comments guys… i will post some profile pics… bottom is flat… small concave at the nose then flat from the centre …
What is it you don’t like about the board? Maybe the outline and where you stand are causing the problem. I can’t see much in the side or bottom shot that looks obviously off. I have boards with similar rocker. I do mild concaves as well, very subtle, but a straight edge will show it. They are great for smaller, flatter walled or sloped wall waves.
The rocker is low, so rounder waves, or waves that jump up and break fast will be harder to take off. You need to step on the tail quickly to keep the nose up, or take off angled in the direction you plan to go.
It may just be my inexperience riding a longer board… thanks for looking and the advice… small waves forcast for the morning so ill go and have another go… fingers crossed.
The rails look to me like they are not straight almost the entire length of the board. That would slow it down wouldn’t it?
In the profile pic, assuming the rail is on the right, my eyes struggle but it looks like there’s slightly more foam toward the nose than tail. From personal experience I can say that’s a great way to make a dog.
Does anyone agree?
In the profile pic the nose is on the left… i thought the foam disribution from nose to tail was ok?? Maybe your right… bit clueless when it comes to longer boards, but eager to learn…
If it pearls as much as you said in your initial post; The rocker has got to be screwed up.
Contrary to my previuos witterings about my dog of a board, surfed this morning , shoulder high beach break and didnt pearl once… not sure what i was doing wrong last week but it went like a whipped donkey… cheers for the advice and comments mucho appreciation!!!
Low rocker = fast. Good to hear.