outline

how far back from center would I put the wide point on a longboard 9’ to get quick responsive turning? Curvy template and rocker.

how far back from center would I put the wide point on a longboard 9’ to > get quick responsive turning? Curvy template and rocker. For a single fin I wouldn’t go to much further than middle, throw some hips into the last 12 inches (for a pivot point). Put most of the rocker curve from about a foot behind center and accelerate it towards the tail (almost a kick). It’s going to turn great and even nose ride well but on a trim you’ll feel the the thing slow at higher speeds. As an alternative; forget the hips, go with a flatter rocker and put a 1/2 inch dome V just in front of the fin. Flatten it behind the fin. It’ll turn great, nose ride well and it’ll fly in a trim. (not a good board for steep dumpy beach break though). It was the best longboard I ever made or rode and it’s sleeping in some garage in South Carolina. Wish I could get it back… Newbs

Thanks Newbs! OK, with the hips you mean after 12" measurement narrow the tail fairly drasticly, right? On tail measurement, 12’ from tail, does wider help with speed or turning? I know it helps catching a wave. One more, why flatten v out? I looked at a Walden Magic and a CI perfomance LB today and they both had it all the way off the tail. The CI had very little concave in the nose (about 2’) to flat (about 2’)back to concave (about 2’) to v (maybe dbl concave). would the concave in the middle be for pumping from around the tail? Guess that was two more. Thanks

Thanks Newbs!>>> OK, with the hips you mean after 12" measurement narrow the tail > fairly drasticly, right? Yeah, its kinda like recurving the outline. Instead of a sharp wing, you round it out. I wouldn’t make it too drastic because it will narrow the sweet spot. If you don’t combine everything just right, it’ll end up being too squirrely or a spin king.>>> On tail measurement, 12’ from tail, does wider help with speed or turning? > I know it helps catching a wave. Unless you weigh over 200 lbs and have big feet, a wide tail is good for planning (and therefore speed) but bad for control; its harder to change from one edge to another.>>> One more, why flatten v out? I looked at a Walden Magic and a CI > perfomance LB today and they both had it all the way off the tail. The CI > had very little concave in the nose (about 2’) to flat (about 2’)back to > concave (about 2’) to v (maybe dbl concave). would the concave in the > middle be for pumping from around the tail? Guess that was two more. The v’s I made that ran off the tail seemed to require keeping them turning to keep up speed. Once I flattened it out behind the fin, the board trimmed faster. It was like driving with the parking brake on then taking it off. All I can tell you is my experience. If you’ve ridden those other boards and they feel right, go for it…Also, my thing was single fins. Put a cluster on a board changes a lot of things… The v in the middle may be there to loosen the board up going rail to rail. V’s don’t pump like a thruster. You gain acceleration by keeping them weighted through the turn. If you unweight them like a thruster, the v grabs water and slows down. You “pump” a V by rolling (leaning) from one panel (or rail) to the next. No hopping Grasshopper! Newbs

A pig shape is what you want. Make the widest point 6" down from the center. Typical dimensions for a pig shape are; 16" nose, 23"-6" down from center, 15 1/2" tail with a 6" square tail block. ----Michael

A pig shape is what you want. Make the widest point 6" down from the > center. Typical dimensions for a pig shape are; 16" nose, > 23"-6" down from center, 15 1/2" tail with a 6" square > tail block. ----Michael Most of the new crew of shapers have grown up on boards with the wide point ahead of center, not realizing that for many years, 6" behind center was the norm. It wasn’t until tne nose rider craze of the later 60"s that wide points started moving forward. With the wide spot back, it makes for flatter turns or quick rail turns with little drive down the line. When you watch movies of Fain, Dora, Dewey, you notice how on a hard turn they are on the verge of spinning out for that instant they are on the rail.

so what are some advantages & dis-advantages of a wide tail vs. a narrow one?

wider=better float, wave catching, stability, better for mushy waves because you’ve got more planing area and more control. bad for big waves because there is too much area to slide around. right?

hey what’s going JR. any progress on some new tools??

I’ll send you some pics of the new RAIL ROCKET.

I’ll send you some pics of the new RAIL ROCKET. id like to see what you made jr send me some pics