Older surfer - new board ideas for the comeback!!

General Discussion
1

I am just about to make a comeback to surfing after 8 years out. I live in Cornwall UK, In the late 70s through to the early 90s I used to shape and laminate many boards from short twins upto 7’6" fat boy thrusters and the odd mini mal that where just coming in. I was 150lbs and reasonable surfer back then but with several house renovations and bringing my two girls up iv’e not had enough time to get down the beach and sold my last board 4 years ago. I have been riding body boards with my youngest for the last 2 years but need to get that buzz again. The problem is I am 43 and a hefty 245lbs 110kilos, my height is 5’11".

As I have been out of touch so long with designs and dimensions I wondered what do you readers recommend. Basically I not to fussy what it is but I will need it to work for me and I’m not to bothered about size. It will need the floatation and easy paddling due to the fact I will need to get my fitness back.

I have read on here about nuggets and bonzers, I have riden one of Cheyne Horans keel finned boards that was 5’11 in 1983 that I owned after the euro pro at Fistral Newquay this was egg shaped. My favorite all time board I built was a 6’8" quad in 1983. I still have all my tools and can’t wait to get building again.

2

Hey

Welcome back to the water!

Forget any radical innovations, you just need a mid 7’ x 23 x 3.5" thick funboard, witih a wide nose, a wide tail, and lots of volume. Tri fins if you are still athletic, single if you think you might now be a cruiser.

Tri fins need rider input and constant direction changes to keep speed, but they provide for a bigger turning sweet spot.

Singles, as you know, cruise real fast.

Oh…had a roomate a while ago who learned to surf (from scratch) with an 8’6" Gordon & Smith single custom made for his size. He was 275 lbs.

Go with a flatter nose rocker, but lotsa tail rocker. That way, it paddles better, turns easy, your weight keeps the nose from pearling, when you stand up.

3

Thank you LeeDD just the sort of info I’m after.

What size tail would you recommend?

Fins 12.5" from tail?

I fancy squashed tail.

Cheers Gaz

4

for some ideas, check out Liddle surfboards.com-7-8 footers with width and thickness/thinness where you need it…

5

Hey

Squash tails the best, especially for backside snaps.

I’d plan on installing a long 10.5" finbox, post it thru to the deck, then tie the package together with woodies on both sides of the box, extending 3" past both front and back.

Since you are big guy, you can stress out the finbox connections quite easily, with a powerful bottom turn on a head high wave. Glassing on or using short boxes for side bites of around 4.75" would help alleviate the stress on the center box, and allow for bigger turning sweetspot, as well as use of shorter main fin (like 7.5" instead of a single’s 10’er).

A 18" wide nose and about 17" tail, with a widepoint like 3" forward of center, would allow for lots of surf size variances, and be a good all around board.

Brewer used to say wide point should be thick point, but I think that has been amended recently to thick point at just behind center, with a thinner nose that you can push down the face of the wave, while the thicker tail picks upwards, allowing you to paddle down the face quicker to catch waves easier.

For surfing in strong offshore winds, a nose should be slightly narrower than the tail, to punch thru the winds, allowing the board’s nose to tip downwards.

Don’t bother noseriding such a shorty, as it would look jerky at best, and downright ugly at worst.

Better too floaty than not floaty enough. It’s only going to be mid 7’s, so you should be able to snap turn it even if it is glassed heavy with single 6 bottom, double 6 deck, and extra knee/back foot patch of 6oz. 16 lbs. is fine, if the wave size is over 3’.

6

An 8’ Mccoy nugget single fin or a 7’6’’ would be a great choice for your height and weight. I am 6’1’’ and close to your weight. I have three nuggets and I love them. If your in the Uk, I think there are some shops that carry them. Check with Mccoy at mccoysurfboards.com.

Also a cheater shaped out of the becker 7’3’’ blank 7’2’'x 17.5 x 22.5 x 16 is a real good choice. In the states Steve Forstall/Coda surfboards makes nice ones.

7

Thanks Solosurfer.

Could you give me some dimensions for nuggets?

What sort of fin do they employ and sizes?

Do you have any pics of the underside of nugget?

The cheater board looks good quite fancy this style.

Thanks to everyone who are giving me ideas. I’d like to say to LeeDD that i’m a great believer in glassing strong boards and your glassing specs are exactly what I used to go with. Better stronger than repairing all the time.

8

Matt

At liddlesurfboards.com I like the Point Break Outline at 8foot 18.5" 22.5" 15". Maybe a bit shorter?

Cheers Gaz

9

Kp has an 7’10" , i have a 7’5" we each currenlty ride( we also have many others in the racks )that are the point break design.basically, we have those type of boards from 6’10" on up so if you need any dimensions, etc, we can help.Good surfing to ya!

10

Today I have looked at Nuggets and made an outline plan from ideas given to me.

I think the shape looks about right for converting to templates.

What do you think?

I would like to get a Keel fin if I go down this route, who could supply me with one in the uk?

11

Hey

I’d advise against a keel fin, either in single, twin, or tri, for any big guys who are strong and like to really turn hard.

The shape is just not efficient, compared to a normal outline fin, and big strong riders easily overpower them both on the bottom turn AND when riding hi on the wall.

Single obviously not workable, as that wide tail would just lever the fin off the water, no matter how much you weigh.

Sure, you could make the keel fin, on the rail, big enough to hold in, but it would have to double the surface area of a regular fin, and cause more than double the water drag.

That tail looks really wide, I’d go with regular 4.75 sidebites and maybe a 7.5 tail fin.

12

Tail looks fine. I am a bigger surfer and I have never had trouble overpowering the keel. I have been surfing close to 30 years. They do not work well with much tail rocker. Use softer rails with a dull harder edge on the last 6" of tail. Use belly on the bottom. I can get you a keel. go to my site solosurfer.com I distribute the keels for Cheyne in the states. My site is in the marketplace here on swaylocks. Mccoy’s gullwing fin works good as well. Those are also on the site. I would put a picture here, but my AOL causes problems with attachments. Go narrower in the nose. Around 14". I have a double ender that is 6’6’’ x 17 x 23 x17 x 3 I currently use gullwing in it, but I have used keel with no problems. I prefer my 7’2’’ real Mccoy though.

13

These are the closest match blanks available from Homeblown my local blank builder.

Their web address is http://www.homeblown.co.uk/ for anyone interested.

This would be good due to the volume but would probably go 7’6" with this.

8’ fat blank

8’ Skinny close tolerance blank.

8’7" blank.

Which would you go for?

14

I am no pro when it comes to blanks like some of the great shapers on this forum. The ones that would seem to fit a nugget type designe are the 6’11" The 8’7" and the 9’3’'. The 9’3" really seems like a flat blank to me though.

15

This is a 6’10" big guy stock nugget from my site. This is for someone who is no more than 185lbs.

16

dear solosurfer, What size nugget would you recommend for nimble, experienced 158 pounder? Terry

17

Dearest SoloSurfer

What size McCoy would you recommend for someone 245 lbs., haven’t surfed in 7 years? That would be the original question for this thread.

How big are you? Have you been surfing steadily the last 7 years?

18

Terry,

If you are going to get a nugget, I would go with around a 5’2’’ or 5’6’’ micro, but you can E mail Geoff and ask him. As for the big fella. He is on the right track with the 8 footer and Lee,Take a chill pill. I am 6’1’’ 237lbs. I surf just about every swell that has come through the last 28 years and I am fairly well traveled.

19

Solosurfer what price could you get a keel fin to the UK for?

Having surfed 2 McCoys in my younger day one 6ft 1’ zap type that had a 17" tail and a long single fin (not a gul wing) the other a 5’ 11" more egg shaped with the keel fin, both held in well. We don’t get overhead in Cornwall that often but I can recall several big wave sessions on the 6’ 1", a little hairy on take off though very manueverable after that. So I think I will go for the nugget shape as I can make it very floaty 7’6"-8’ in length, I’m also adventurous and fancy something different from the norm.

I have found using a little program called caliper very useful in checking out board dimensions. You can measure the total length in pixels and divide it by the length required this gives you feet in pixels, then divide this by 12 to give inches in pixels. E.g. the picture of the white board you posted length = 362 pixels divided by 8 for required length = 45.25 divided by 12 for inches = 3.77083333r , then measure width with calipers = 92 divided by 3.770833333r = 24.39 inches wide. Just a rough guide but you can get better dimensions from pictures with this piece of software (i don’t fancy carrying a 24.39" board down to the water!!!).

What about the bottom features for a nugget shape flat, belly, rolled vee etc?

20

recently i shape for a guy like you, a 7 4 egg shape…, 16 1/4 x 22 x 14 x 3 ,3 fins, bottom flat, ´´v´´ in the last, continued rocker dome deck, soft rails, box rails in tail, tucked edge, 3 4oz deck 1 4oz bott., spray finish.

…well, but this surfer have more recently experience than you…