i am a new shaper who only shapes for my self and close friends. i’ve shaped a couple of long boards and i have a fish on the way. i would like to shape a gun but i dont know completely the theories behind what make a gun a gun(ie.entry rocker, tail rocker and widths). i want it to be for head to double over head size waves. i would be super stoked on any tips that any one can throw my way and if anyone knows of a good blank option for a 8’ to 8’8".
Look at the Clark foam catalog, they have descriptions all there.
You decide what board size you need, then consult their specs for least shaping.
Their rockers are close enough.
Go right to the source. Go see one in person. Hopefully there is a shop near you that has a few of them and you can take it down and run your hands all ove it to get a feel for the lines.
Drew
Try the 8’1"R or the 8’5" A. Order it with a decent sized stringer, I like 3/8ths cedar… as for theories, put the word “gun” or “semi-gun” into the “search” box above and read away…
I used the 10’4" Clark and made a 10’3" x 21-1/2" x 3-1/8" pintail single fin that I’m scared of… but someone will likely buy it before I have time to use it.
Last gun was from the 9’3" blank, it paddled and got in like a dream but was somehow “dead” when turning and didn’t project well down the wall as I thought/hoped it would. The rocker was very similar to their 9-9 gun blank, dunno where I went wrong. Anyway, only used it twice in head-high waves before it was bought out from under me.
The Clark catalog touts the 9-9 as the “finest” gun blank. How big a board did you have in mind?
I had about the same experiences as you have with my first 7 or so gun boards. Some seemed to work really well, but maybe the waves were better, I was “ON”, or the cosmic convergence just hit at once.
Really hard to predict exactly how the guns are gonna work.
I had a 9’3" yellow Brewer which didn’t project at all, traded it for an 8’9"er that drew 60’ lines, and the 9’3"er became one of the favorites of a bud front foot oriented surfer!
And testing any semi or gun in 8’ waves can be really decieving. Really need minimum of around 12’, and long walled to really get an idea.
Oh… just before I really gave up riding big waves… 1996, I had a 10’3" Brewer that I thought might see the light of day at Mavericks. Scared it’ll take me out there, I sold it to the first buyer. Now basically a museum piece.
an 8’ to 8’8" gun for head to double overhead waves doesn’t seem like the correct comb in my humble opinion… when i take out a gun of that size in waves that small the boards don’t seem to work that well. they kinda feel like slow longboards perhaps having something to do with the small surface area in the tail from the pin and the long area of V throughout the back… i would go for a board in the low 7’ range for waves of that size… but if you do make an 8 footer to give it a try i would personally use a fin system with adjustable fins, like redx or whatever, because what measures out/ looks right for fin placement might not be the case…a few 8’ footers that i have were made from the 8’5’A, a nice not close tolerance blank that gives you plenty of foam to make what you want.
good luck.
You’re right, of course, but it’s alway nice to check out float, paddle, and turning possibilities before you really head out to the real thing.
Some waves double overhead are really slow…not necessarily OceanBeach in Dec.
I’ve had my 9’7" x 19" with a 10.25 tail out in under DOH and if you see Natural Art (also A Sea for Yourself), you wouldn’t think the board was nearly as long as it was. Turning was no problem, climbing up the face under the lip smooth and predictable, and slight pumps and ooches resulted in instant board climbing and dropping inside the tube.
Now same size wave at Pleasure Point, and it would have dug rails and tripped over itself, if it could be persuaded to drop down the mushy face at all.
Quote:
…if you see Natural Art …
Know where I can get a copy…???..
Maybe “Slick Slider” too…???..
Paul