Im ordering my 3rd board off a great shaper in San Diego.My first board, a 6’6" x 11 x 18 3/4 x 14 x 2 3/8 was great! Now ,I’m a little older and my arms are’nt as strong. I widened the center to 19" and made the thickness 2 1/2 for paddle power ,but I’m keeping it a 6’6". I really like the feel of my old board but was wondering if I increase the width a bit should I bring the nose out to 11 1/4 to complement the outline ,and make paddling a bit easier? I dont want the board to suffer much on performance, but I’m looking to increase the paddle power a bit. I was wondering what everyone’s opinion on this matter is? Should I keep the nose at 11" or bump it up to 11 1/4? Am I being Anal?
I only wiegh 70kg and i use 11.5 nose width, doesnt make any difference. With shorties an 1/8 or 1/4 will make barely any difference anywhere on the board, they still going to sink.
Mike, l think for you to notice the paddling difference you would have to atleast take it out to 12" in the nose, unless you foil a bit more volume in the nose. Whenever l talk to guys about adjusting their outline l try to get them to picture the outline as a curve on its own, looking at it plan view l ask them to see into their minds eye and add the adjustment to the part of the outline that they are wanting to change. Using the 3 point system as a basic view (that is nose width, centre width and tail width)l tell them to keep those points when visioning the outline, l then tell them the basics of how curves react ie: the longer the curve the longer the turn and vice-versa for tighter curves and get them to play with it in their mind ie: keep the same centre width but change the nose and tail width and picture the change of the curve.In doing this l hope that they get a bit more of an understanding of how the outline works and what effects curves can have on performance. Surfboards are a combination of mixed curves, to know what effect each curve has is the key to finding the board that suits your surfing. KR http://groups.msn.com/MyKRSurf/krcomweb.msnw
I think you be happy if you increased the thickness to 2 5/8, and bring the nose out to 12 inches, keep the tail as is or whatever. If you want to increase paddle power, put the foam volume under you chest. You can always dome the deck some to get the nice thin rails. KR makes a very good point, in any shape the board has to work in harmony. Your going to find out that as you get older, you get wiser in your surfboard selection, you’ll find out that boards between 6’6" and 7’3" can be ridden about the same way, and boards 7’4" to 8’0’ can be ridden about the same way. I’ve progressed from a @18 yrs old 6’2", to now a @ 40 yrs old 7’4". -Jay
Great reply Jay, pitty that it takes us so long to realise our shortcommings and figure out that it is not what you ride but how you ride it. KR http://groups.msn.com/MyKRSurf/krcomweb.msnw