Tired of the logs, need something high performance about a 9’2"
what US blank? want something light
bottom contour?
rails?
rocker?
2+1?
thanks
I will pm you a plan to avoid hate mail.
Just yesterday I saw an original Weber Performer at Larry Pope’s place (in for some repairs). In it’s day,
it must have been a radical design, and it looked amazingly like a ‘‘modern’’ performance longboard. Lots
more nose flip than I would have thought, very thin rails, thin nose and tail. Rocker and thickness profile
almost identical to what’s used today. If it had more ‘‘down’’ rails and flatter bottom it could pass for a
new board. I didn’t ask LP who owns it, but somebody has a nice piece…
Sorry for the kinda hijack, but it’s related.
Well…I would give you some design ideas…but mine would probably be so much like the one surfding is giving you I won’t even bother.
Go with surfding…I have seen, and actually have one of his designs.
He’s got sharp, solid, HPLB shapes from what I’ve seen.
Just my 1.874 cents
Thanks for the Love Todd!
Coda shaped by Steve Forstall, 9’0" x 22.5" x 2.75" EPS/Epoxy 2 + 1., best board I’ve ever owned. Works from thigh high to as big as you can paddle into, will go anywhere on a wave you want it to, and turns better than any LB I’ve ever had.
My first winter in Florida in '66-'67, Weber Performers were the Shehat, Mike Tabeling was the top team rider and friends of mine rode them.
One day at 4th Street south in Cocoa Beach after a session, I took out my pals Super Scoop Performer, everytime I tried to go to the nose, it came to a stop from the rocker, a real water pusher
My current longboard is 9’1" x 22" x 17 1/4" x 14 3/8" x 2 7/8". Rocker is 5 5/8" in the nose and 3 5/8" in the tail. It’s also a quad which beats the pants of a 2 + 1 in my experience. As for contours, check out the Bob Simmons influence thread for some inspiration on displacement and planing.
Hey Jim, righto on the water pushing off that nose rocker. That’s what kinda surprised me when
I saw the board. If was definitely an ‘‘alternative’’ design in it’s day. The transition from the nose-
riding era had begun.
What seems to work (if you want to combine a little nose riding with a performance LB shape) is
moving the bend back a bit and keeping the last 18’‘-24’’ of the nose straighter. I remember seeing
you do this about 1980, when ‘‘modern’’ longboards were just getting started.
Mike, this was one of those things that Kurt Wilson and I did not agree on, he thought the rocker should continue to increase the closer to the tip of the nose it got.
I found once the rocker broke it did not need to gain more curve as it went on, keep it a little straighter and gain some planing, rather than push water.
This was somewhat of the 6’7" D and the 7’1" D, a lifted tip, but the bottom carrying closer to the nose before lifting.
When Kech, you, GL started doing the sanded in tip rocker, I didn’t understand the concept at first, my thought was the tip never got any higher, but the bottom of the nose didn’t get lifted back under the board, only near the tip.
Kelly brought one of the boards that Kech had shaped him to Channin, Balsa Bill was steering Kelly to have his and Seans boards done at Channin.
Rick Hammon was the shaper and did 2 boards, without the sanded in tip flip, said the boards would work fine without it.
Kelly rode the boards, hated them, went on to Al Merrick, the rest is history
Different ways to skin the cat
We could easily do whole seperate threads about Kurt’s late 70s-early 80s boards AND the
spread of the flip-tip around 1990. Have you ever talked much on here about Kurt’s boards?
Do you have any pics?
I don’t have shit for pics of those early flip-tips, but that’s one case where I was there for the
party and at least have a viewpoint on the history.
Then we could return this thread to it’s regularly scheduled programming…
This is Ryan Sugihara about 4 years ago on a 4-fin - 3-fin 9’ x 21 3/4" x 2 5/8" board i made him, i have posted this before
He won his division at Chinas contest that year on this board riding it as a thruster and a 4-fin
I was gonna suggest that you might know a thing or two about performance LBs
but then Jim and I started hijackin’. I remember those pics from when you posted
them before. When I used to get over there every winter, I saw some amazing LB
surfing at Makaha. I think you shaped a lot of the boards I saw, most were T&C.
I did make alot of LBs for there
I am mostly focusing on my shortboards now
Looks and sounds like it performs amazing. If you could, any chance elaborating on some off the nose and tail dims including rocker/ type of tail / fin layout, placement / whew!
If not I understand. I’m in the same boat as the original post. I’ve ridden the same long board since days… and now that I know what I want, I really have been trying to dial in
a HPLB and a blunted nose single fin nose rider.
Thanks!
hey there moku,
i am in the same situation, just take this as hobyist shaper advice from a dutch surfer.
from what i gathered from different people:
thinner rails
well defined tucked under edge.
more down rails than 50/50, apex in front 18 inches more upwards
Quad+1set up [=tri too]
for the nose, i am just doing it flat, because i am a lousy shaper [but what i was thinking would be fun was some channels with a concave in between, real light, long and shallow]
very light bevels where the rails are in the middle, helping you to thin rails out too, zero bevek before front fins.
i will go with minmal Vee [1.5mm] starting from 3 feet forward going to flat tail behind front side fins, it should help you to change direction more quickly.
i just bought an off the rack rocker epx blank from jeffrey swartwood at atua cores in france.
p.s. mine is going to be a composite sandwich with caramel sidepressed bamboo on top and bottom,
some reinforcing pvc foam on deck side and on the rails
4wfs with pvc reinforcements
mckee 4-fins set up, plus single fin box.
regards
wouter
Hi Mike, looks like a popular thread! Any chance of the planshape as well?? Have just redesigned my longboard with my head and it won’t do for much longer. Also if it happens again I’d like something lighter!!
Rik
Moku, I’d use either the 9’4"B or the 9’5"M from USBlanks. Stock rocker on on either is a good start for some one just starting to play with HP LB designs. Get it in the new Red formula for light weight and good strength. Glass with double 6oz on deck and double 4oz on bottom. 22"-22 1/4" wide, 17 1/2" nose, 14 1/2" tail (round pin), 2 5/8" thick (adjust for your weight). Keep nose and tail thin, rails thin and round with a tucked under edge, softened a bit forward. Bottom contours: flat or light concave nose with 1 1/2" wide bevel leading to tri-plane through the middle of the board, leading to about 3/16" vee peaking at forward fin location, breaking with a nice flip in the rocker to flat at the very end of the tail. Go with 2plus1, as it can be tricky to set up quads for LB–some work fine, others can be disasterous until you’ve settled your overall design to accomodate. I’m sure some would quibble with some of the aspects of this description, but after hundreds of these shaped with excellent feed-back, I feel you can’t go wrong with this as a general starting point. Good luck!
.
Being somewhat new to this I admit to not understanding some of your terms, I wonder if you would mind explaining?
“1 1/2” wide bevel leading to tri-plane through the middle of the board, leading to about 3/16" vee peaking at forward fin location, breaking with a nice flip in the rocker to flat at the very end of the tail."
What does this mean? Understand if you have no time for the question but it sounds SO interesting as I begin a new board for myself…
Cheers
Rik
Any chance you could PM me the HPLB dims as well? I’m in the same boat. I have been reeling to set up a HPLB with a similar box install that of the Bing Synchronizer, using ProBox’s as well.
Thanks!