Coming soon, a 9’ 0’’ x 22’’ high performance surfboard for anything in California, short of Mavericks. Kind of a tall order? Possibly. But I’ve made such boards before, going back as far as 1960. Currently the OBQ style boards, are re-enabling a surfer to have one surfboard that pretty much does it all. An OBQ for California, is a very different animal from an OBQ for Hawaii, though there can be some overlap. In this case, this board will be a single fin. OBQ’s can also be twin fins, or tri-fins too. It all depends on the desire, skill level, and performance envelope the customer wants to achieve.
Bill, are we talking a fun-gun shape or trimmed down LB?
A longer double-ender?
Please ellaborate.
Think of it as a wider, shorter version, of what was called a ‘‘speed shape’’ back in the day. Something like an ‘‘Edwards Model’’ on steroids. It will have a six inch wide squaretail, in the style favored by Phil. Nose width will be a deceptive 17 inches. The secret sauce is in the rails and the rocker.
Retirement is not optional Bill ?..(lol)…do we get a few photos of this one ? I was wondering if you had a shaping bay set-up at home…that would make a good photo.
Bill, Sounds Like my kind of Board. Always liked the Hynson, Phil Edwards, look with a slight pulled in nose. Doing a three stringer?
No, not in the true sense. It is an Arctic blank, with a color swirl in the foam, and with 2 inch white foam offsets. This board will get my historic red dot decal, as a nod to the past. At nine feet long, this board is much shorter than boards of the earlier period, and at 22 inches wide, will exhibit much more curve in the outline. I anticipate the final weight will be in the low/mid teens. In the 14 to 17 pound range. Heavy enough to feel some glide, and light enough to really sling it around
The customer will post photo’s, I’m sure. I have access to several shaping rooms around the San Diego area. So, no need to have one at home.
so true…
Master Bill,
Please tell us your thoughts as you shape each part of the board:)
To start, can you describe how you think about the rocker in a board like this, and how do you change it to use it in hawaii at friendly N. Shore breaks?
Is it more curve throughout the rocker, or putting more in the nose and tail , and keeping the center flattish? or am I way off?
Thanks,
Jason
Jason ! Are you INSANE !!! Actually, there was a time when it was friendly. I managed to get in on the tail end of that era. It’s not that way now. Same with the west side. Buzzy introduced me to Buffalo, and the fact that I lived on the point at Makaha, didn’t hurt either. I was treated very differently than most mainland guys. I experienced real aloha. All that aside, send me a PM, and I’ll answer some of your questions.
Haha, no I didn’t mean people friendly:) I meant not the beastly waves, i.e. , not pipeline, etc… The ones where they may double up at points, but the takeoff is tame.
With winter just around the corner, Bill, your project is very timely. I usually build a “speed shape” LB each fall, just to show my optimistic side. But I usually build a wide-point forward shape, because that’s what I see most shapers building today. The Phil Models, the Hynson Red Fin, the Harbout Trestles Special and the Yater Rincon Speed Shape are all similar shapes (and quite stunning designs IMHO), but they seem to be considered “retro”. I know that you are extremely familiar with the Phil Model, and other boards of that genre. I saw its influence on your 7-10 OBQ, the template you graciously allowed us to copy at your second “tutorial” at the Surfing Heritage Museum (not sure of the year, 2007?) Will this new LB speed shape of yours have a “behind center” location for the wide-point"? I’d be interested in your thoughts on the performance impact of the wide-point location, specifically on longboards built for head-high or better waves. -thomas
Aloha Thomas. Yes, the wide point on the new board will be behind center, in order to fulfill the performance desires of the customer. Most people don’t realize that the classic Edward’s model is a modified Pig, with the WP at 45% of board length, up from the tail. Said another way, 5% of board length, behind center. For some perspective, the classic Pig had the WP at 33% to 35% up from the tail, which provided better performance in small waves. Larger waves? Not so much.
Got a progress report, Bill?
Aloha Thomas,
Progress is a relative term. If you mean cutting some foam? Not yet. Local weather has been very warm for some time, and I have been waiting for a cool down, which seems to be approaching. The progress is in the ‘‘mind shaping’’ I do, as I discuss with the client, the performance expectations and the locals where they will be surfing. That ‘‘interview’’ process, has always been an important part of building a custom board, for someone. So, sometime next week, I will actually cut some foam. The customer is a VERY knowledgable industry professional, with considerable worldwide surfing experience. For that reason, our discussions are important to what his surfing experience will be with this board. Once the board is shaped, it will only be about ten days, for the glassing to be completed. Thank you, for asking about it.
Not something I do very often, but I’ve let the customer have my own personal OBQ, to ride for a few days. That will be a more effective ‘‘explaination’’ of the performance of that shape than anything I could say about it. In this way, the final nuances of rails, rocker and floatation, can be dialed in to exactly what he is looking for in performance.
Is this kind of it? It looks fast? Pretty stable to?
https://swaylocks7stage.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2014-10-17-10-30-45--1016028868.jpeg
Bill - I hope your build is fun!
Will the guy be surfing lrg surf w it?
Yes.
Yes, larger waves, of the ‘‘normal’’ variety, in the 6 to 12 foot range. Not the Mavericks kind of waves, which require more specialized equipment.