I wanne make a 7’4" funboard with swallow tail. I was thinking of putting a small V in the first 1/3, flat in the midle and dubble or single concave at the last 1/3. The reason is that is has too be used in slow small beachbreak mushy waves in Belgium and the Nederlands. There are only onnschore waves here. anny comment please
I would think that a fairly flat rocker and some extra width (at wide point and tail) would be more important for small mushy waves. That would apply to the above post by J as well. For a heavy rider in small mushy waves, 23" wide point and 16" tail isn’t “too wide” IMHO. 18" wide as mentioned by J seems awfully narrow for small mushy waves no matter what the bottom contours are.
Any season in any surfable location surfers may encounter small, mushy, gutless yet surfable conditions. The approach to riding these waves will certainly vary. Three possible approaches come to mind: (1) glide / trim / plane - ride any one of the many longboard or funboard designs available; (2) carve - modify the design elements of a shortboard for optimum performance; and (3) “hybrid” combination of glide / trim / plane and carve - these designs draw on design elements from longboards, funboards, and shortboards. The KEY is decide how you want to surf these conditions, THEN realistically proceed to design for that type of surfing. Design solutions for onshore mush in The Netherlands or Belgium (or anywhere in the world in those conditions) may include the following: A relatively flat longboard or funboard should glide well. (Bic and Surftech bring tons of those things to the beach.) Not a real steep learning curve to enjoy such a board in those conditions. If it’s surfing, it’s fun !!! A small high performance shortboard. Significantly curved rocker with a little “speed box” under the front foot, somewhat parallel template through the widepoint to fins with hips between the feet, single concave with a touch of vee from the fins out the tail should carve like a knife through hot butter in the same conditions. If you can make this board go you will “feel” like you’re Joel Parkinson, Mick Fanning, or Andy Irons. Very steep learning curve !!! But that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun. (Make sure this one is built by an experienced craftsman. There’s not a lot of margin for error in low volume boards.) A “hybrid” combination of these diverse approaches could be the most practical solution. Keep in mind as surfboards increase in length, surface area, and volume smooth curves throughout all the design elements are required to maximize performance. These boards have a broad range of performance possibilities with a challenging yet not frustrating learning curve. Geert. You may want to try something like this … 74 round pin (swallow may be a little unforgiving) / smooth continuous rocker - relaxed in the entry, accelerating slightly through the tail / diff-greenough-brewer convex bottom (tri plane entry to panel vee that peaks 25 to 30% in from the tail) / soft dome to the deck that rolls without transition into a soft low rail / firm edge on the bottom of the rail last 20 inches / cock and ball (6 to 7 inch center fin with 3 inch rail bites) or conventional thruster. Thickness and width your choice depending on your size and how much volume you displace when weighting and unweighting your rails. Don’t add too much width and thickness just to be comfortable paddling. Design for the board to perform.