Question 1. Over the last 3 years since i decided, long ago it seems, too make a board, I’ve become quite nerdy about surfboard design. How the subtlest change can change the performance of a board and so on. Any of you guys know of any books on the subject? I’ve found all sorts of books on ‘surf culture’ but nothing on the boards we’ve ridden thru the years.
Question 2. This one came up over a few beers… Has anyone on here shaped a board suited for the differences of surfing both ways? I surf totally different on my backhand to my front, it’s all down the line speed, drawn out turns, yet on my front, i get more snap in my turns and surf harder. I think we all do, so has anyone here shaped a board with two totally different shapes suited to surfing both ways?
I remember seeing a guy in Lanzarote on a pipedreams board that wassort of this way, the tail was cut on a 45° angle so it was more pinny on his backhand yet more squash tail on his forehand.
Carl Ekstrom, of La Jolla, Windansea. He marketed the design as the ‘‘Asymmetrical’’. As far as I know, the design concept originated in Australia in the 1960/62 time frame. I saw a Surfboards Australia version, on the north shore, in 1963. Carl certainly put the design on the map though. It’s not a design for everyone, but many guys swear by them.
Every once in a while I see this guy on an asymetrical board where I surf. Board looks fun… It’s probably around 6’0" with a single fin… The tail seems to do the opposite of what you wanted… pinny on his forehand, and squashy on his backhand. I think I’d want it that way too, but whenever I get to thinking about that I figure the only reason it’s attractive to me is because my backhand surfing is poor…
