First off, I searched plenty in the archives but I still feel I needed to start a thread for some help.
My goal is to create a longboard that surfs as much like a shortboard as possible. I am really running into an information overload on where to begin and what to do. So what I need some are some ideas and input on the subject from people that have experience with this. From contour, rails, rocker, etc. What works, what doesn’t. I’m not looking for best of both worlds (traditional longboard/performance), I’m looking for a longboard that rips and the attributes to incoroporate into my shape to make it so.
Make it as light as possible so you can huck it around. Healthy tail rocker to keep it loose. Not too much nose rocker so you don’t push water. Flat or subtle concave nose, vee in the rear of the belly, flatten out towards tail to help you get from edge to edge without being sticky. Soft rails in front so it doesn’t hang up in turns. Hard rails from the sidefins back to give it some bite. Make sure the tail isn’t too narrow unless you want it to surf like a gun. Not too thick. Light glass job. No gloss coat. Set it up like a thruster or 2+1 with a small center fin that’s moved forward.
I think it’s in the rails and the tail rocker. chime rail or is it chine rail
I picked up a damaged Walden Magic for cheap. I fixed it and put it up for sale. Lots of interest until potental buyers found out that the board was 10 feet long and 2 3/4 thick. For some reason the general public thinks longboards have to be 3" thick. Why???
flat in the nose , single to double concave , thruster fin setup ,hard edge in the last third and make it light. personally I like area rounded pins 9’1"x22.5"x2.75" nose 18" tail 14".
Thanks for all the info guys. So is there a tail that would best fit this project? I’ve only really done a squash on a longboard. Curious what would perform better, rounded pin i bet.
You might want to try 5oz glass instead of six ounce. I’ve tried it in my longboard and no problems so far, though I must admit I’ve only surfed it a dozen times. You could also try 5oz plus a deck patch on the deck, (single layer bottom) to go even lighter. I wouldn’t try 4oz though unless it’s for a competition and that’s all.
yep rounded pins in a performance board .I don’t think a squash completes a high speed cutback as well. rounded pins feel like they hold speed through the turn to allow the classic foam climb and complete the figure eight smoothly and with speed. really comes down to what you feel most confident with because then you’ll really push it.
Then again nearly any design in the hands of a ripper can make any theory look good … or.
A diamond tail also works quite nice - shortens the rail. FWIW, I have an older Harbour Simms “Slimmer” model which is a narrower version of what is now called ths “diamond tail” model. 9-0 x 16 3/4 x 21 1/4 x 13 1/2 x 2 3/4
This board surfs pretty well off the tail in a shortboard type manner and the narrowish nose means less weight up front to swing around. If you’re going to surf headhigh or bigger on it, you could down to like 15 1/2" on the nose easily. Like the profile of the Harbour Habanero, for example.
If you want it to surf like a shortboard then give it a shortboard rocker. . . plenty of noselift and flatter in the tail, NOT the flat entry rocker and tail kick as suggested by others.
