alright, i just finished shaping my first board, my giant point break noserider 60’s shape. everything went fairly smoothly and i can tell that i am already hooked on this. im actually very surprised that nothing tragic happened. anyways, it is a 10’6 that i shaped from the 10’7H clark foam blank, which is already basically the shape that i want, so i just had to skin it and do the rails. but, when i finished, i realized that i had left the board at a whopping 25.5" wide and 3.5" thick. the thickness is actually what i wanted it at, but the width i was thinking more around 24", but i figured that with sanding and doing the rails, the size would come down considerably. so, my question is, do you think i should risk going back and redoing the rails (which was the hardest part), or just leave it at 25.5" wide. im 210 pounds which isn’t huge, but i do need a larger board, but this board could easily float someone at 250 im sure. also, this board will basically only be ridden at campus point in santa barbara which is a pretty gentle pointbreak wave. thoughts?
also, i have been debating whether to put a nose concave in the board or not. i cant decide if it is worth risking ruining an nicely shaped board for a feature that from what i have been reading is considered by some to be only an eye catching gimmick.
damn thats big! I used to be 200 lbs and i rode a 7’2 x 21 x 2 3/4 and it floated me great. Now that im down to 185 im on a 6’8 thruster. One thing about the first board i made is that i left way to much volume in it! You might want to take it down some more. Just some thoughts…
Agree with the others. Take it down to a real surfboard width consistent with your 60s style you seemed to state as your objective. 24" max would be my humble opinion. Concaves work for specific puroposes…only for looks if you don’t want that purpose (lift in the nose). Your choice. Enjoy the ride…which by the way will be easier if you get your ride to the beach by fitting it under your arms. Anyway, congrats on your first board!
Consider shaping a handle into that wide board so you can get it to the water without flattening the top of your head!! Test drove a big wide board one time that PG had recessed a slotted handle in. Worked great…the handle that is…the board was bigger than I wanted to deal with at that time…
it is a 10’6 that i shaped from the 10’7H clark foam blank, which is already basically the shape that i want, so i just had to skin it and do the rails. but, when i finished, i realized that i had left the board at a whopping 25.5" wide and 3.5" thick. the thickness is actually what i wanted it at, but the width i was thinking more around 24", but i figured that with sanding and doing the rails, the size would come down considerably. so, my question is, do you think i should risk going back and redoing the rails (which was the hardest part), or just leave it at 25.5" wide.
Stay with the width but thin the rails. I have made two 10’08"s recently, one for me, one for my brother-in-law. Mine was shaped as a super thick small wave cruiser (24" wide, 4" thick flat deck, full rails, low rocker). It certainly works for its stated purpose, but needs some experience to fire up and link the turns; my bro-in-law really struggled with it. So I made his with the same outline template, except I pulled in the last 6" to a squash rather than a square tail. I kept the thickness to nearly 4" but domed the deck significantly and had much finer rails, especially in the last 3 foot. He has found this board much sweeter, you don’t have to put so much conscious effort into the turns, rollercoasters really well. I like it too, but I still prefer my beast; I enjoy having something to master. He still prefers mine when he takes his daughters out tandem.
also, i have been debating whether to put a nose concave in the board or not. i cant decide if it is worth risking ruining an nicely shaped board for a feature that from what i have been reading is considered by some to be only an eye catching gimmick.
It’s no gimmick, but it’s not something you really need on that board. I would stick to a bit of belly in the nose going to a rolled vee; it’ll help going rail to rail.
I had a similar board made for me, 26 inches wide, 10ft 6" with tail block, same process, the shaper, Daniel, Sunamie Surfboards, Kaiapoi, New Zealand, skinned the blank and we decided to run with the rocker in the blank to get the maximum thickness from it. The down side is that I think there is too much nose rocker in it, it paddles faster if I place my weight further back than anticipated. I can turn it easily, 250 pound combined with tail rocker and round tail. Although I am six foot two, it took a while to discover that I could carry it under my arm, and that is when I carry it with the deck against my body.
My next board will have minimal nose rocker, the locals riding flat Surftech boards seem to catch waves effortlessly, it does seem a sellout that local shapers are not being supported and that board shops rely on imports rather than local products.