Some of you will be surprised by my next project, a HP 5’ 10’’ short board. This board will also get the historic Red Dot Thrailkill decal. The fin setup is still under discussion. It will either be a Thruster, or a ‘‘Twingle’’ twin fin. Me, I’d recommend the twin fin.
Nice! Excited to see this one.
I’d vote twingle as well but I’m biased… I know how good they work.
keen to see this one too, and get ride reports… Bill, what do you think about a twingle set up, with plugs for side bites, so 2 plus 2… considering this for a mid length i am doing, so can be surfed as a true twingle, or asymmetric, with a single on toe side, and a side bite on my heel? Either way, i will go for the twin boxes, out of curiosity…
Actually a good idea. Lots of versatility. I’ve done a similar thing, on BroomTail Fish, with small rear side trailers.
would the fin setup change the designed bottom contours at all?
if not, do both fin setups!
Well Grasshopper, as it turns out, the board will probably get both setups. FCS fin plugs will most likely be used. And FCS fins will be used, as well as some of my custom fin designs. I’m considering modifying a set of FCS fins, with the secret foil, just to demonstrate what happens to board performance when used. There will be no toe-in or cant, involved in the fin setup on this board.
Custom stringer I assume? Mike
Aloha Rooster,
Custom stringer? Actually not. The customer is supplying the blank, so it will probably be in the 1/8th to 1/4th inch thick range, normal glueup.
…hello Bill, I suggest to use fusion boxes instead of the plugs.
Thank you Reverb,
In this case, it is customer choice, all the way. He is a well seasoned surfer, with a great depth of experience, and knowledge. I do appreciate your input.
“There will be no toe-in or cant, involved in the fin setup on this board.”
Looking forward to this.
I love my 5’8" twingle but if it’s going to a customer I would be concerned they might not give it a chance.
Still, I vote twingle.
Aloha Monk,
It will be a Twingle, but a Twingle with benefits! There will be side plugs/boxes, so that other options can be explored/compared. The ‘‘customer’’ is someone I’ve known for over forty years. He knows his way around a surfboard. Monk, I’d like to hear more about YOUR Twingle. Did you modify an existing board, or build new?
Hi Bill, I like the concept. Playing the devil’s advocate can I suggest making it a twin fin and glassing in the fins?
The blank, a US Blanks 6’2 A, with a 1/8th inch Bass stringer, has arrived. I’ll shape the board this Friday, at Bird’s Surf Shed. The next board, on my conveyer belt after that, is a balsa re-make, of my last personal balsa from 1962. That board has been commissioned by a collector.
Hi Bill,
STOKED to hear about the 5’10" that’s on the way; I too will be very interested to see your take on such a thing.
'Stoked to see the upcoming balsa “re-issue” of your '62 personal board as well, but the 5’10" is of particular interest, as (from what I recall) of the threads I’ve read so far containing your boards, they’ve all been mid-length or longer.
What else can you tell us about the 5’10"? For instance, what kind of performance and in what kind of conditions are you aiming for with it?
Any more you can tell us about the surfer that will be riding it? E.g. height, weight, level of fitness, style of riding, etc. Maybe even roughly what age bracket they fit into, as while we know they’re at least 40, they could well be a lot older than that, and I know there’s at least a couple of Swaylocker’s around here that would be VERY interested in seeing a sub-6 footer that can be ridden by those who are 50 to 60 plus?
Cheers!
This board is intended to have, what I call break away speed. Speed capability disproportionate to what would be normally expected, for a given wave size. This thing will be all business. Some design principles of Lindsey Lord, will be at play, in the design of this surfboard. The rider is approximately 55 yrs old. He’s been surfing since he was about 12 yrs old. I’ve known him since he was 14 yrs old. He still surfs on an almost daily basis. I think he weighs about 155 pounds. Stands about 5’ 9’’ tall. On a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being Kelly Slater, he surfs in the 7.5 to 8 range. (IMO) A seasoned waterman.
EDIT: I checked, and his actual age is a few months shy of 60. My how time flies !
:) Thanks Bill!
Will be especially interested to see how this 5’10" turns out as I’m not too different from your customer, and my daily driver shortboard is a 5’11" Firewire/Dan Thompson shape “Vanguard” (http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/surfboards_custom.php?boardid=vanguard) - i.e. a board that is almost the same size and whose design is also strongly influenced by the work Lindsay Lord and Bob Simmons; so it’ll be great to see something I can compare to how my own board is performing for me.
Looking forward to it & Cheers!
Yep, I got the board shaped on Friday, 9/23. I’ll be surprised if the finished board weighs much over seven pounds. The board will be glassed with double 4 oz. deck, single 4 oz. bottom. I’ll do a re-inspection, and final touch-up sanding, right before it goes in to the glasser. After the board is hotcoated, I’ll do the routing for the fin boxes. (8.5 inch FU) After the gloss & polish, it’s into the water !