All - I saw some thick boards this summer. I think they were made by Garden Isle(land) surfboards, or Kauai (something or other) the logo was an outline of Kauai with a flower over it. These looked like regular shorter boards in the tail section (it was a thruster, and I saw one as a twin, but it had a box for center fin), but were about 3-4+" thick, and looked flat on the deck at the nose, but, due to thickness, had nice entry rocker on the bottom. I spoke with a guy who was ripping on one - he said it was something new they were trying, as I said I had seen a couple of them up north, and the guy up there was ripping too, catching waves w/ease even though the board was less than 6’. The guy I was talking to in the water said it caught waves as easy as a 9’ long board but, as I observed, rode like a short board.
My question is what do any of you know about this, thoughts, opinions, links etc.
Just before the ‘70’s, the guys at Hanalei were riding 5’ long, 21" wide, 4.5" thick bunker board style wave riding vehicles designed for tight pocket placement, easy wave catching, and tight turns.
Some of the ideas drifted to S Sunset Cliffs, where the 6’ x 20 x 3.5" thick all hard turned down rails were regularly ridden.
So, just another rehash of the '70’s.
Didn’t catch waves nearly as easy and early as 9’ers, you still have to wait for the wave to get to the tail of the board, before it picks up and tilts downward, allowing easy wave catching.
Paddling was easy, but slow…short waterline.
Very fin dependent, can easily have the wrong fin and instant spinout.
At repeatable point rights, you don’t need feel, as most waves are similar to others, but at a beachbreak, feel is non existent.
Joey Cabell liked the idea sooo much he started riding a 9’6" x 19" wide by 5" thick gun bunker!
Prolly not the cup of tea for you guys who like to duck dive.
Late '68, a certain LeeD shaped a 9’11" x 19" x 4.5" thick semi gun, colored gold sparkle.
At around 140 lbs., it was not the best board for pushing thru large waves, so after about 10 days of over 12’, he decided to thin the board down to 3.5" thick, a much more manageble float and feel.
the grey ghost shapdby diff was a dead flat to the tail speeder…the duke contest was Cabell’s if Im not mistaken because of this inter scolastic experimental diff/ cabell collaberation. it hang at charly’s shop i hanalei and Vinny brian still makes the real ones with air vents every couple years…the kauai Island outline is Terry Chung’s sticker,the boards sre called “fat Girl” models…ambose…well Riddle in sunset cliffs can make the real Edge boards Bunker/value brothers style
I had one of those Aipa stingers… I hated it…it was like riding on stilts…rode way to high on the water for me. anything thicker than 2-3/4" for me at any length is way to quarky and nonperformance acting.
Well, Ive had some experience in making really thick boards. I shaped a 6 6 x 22 x 3.25 fish for a friend ’ bout a year ago - I must say that it goes very well indeed in anything up to 3 ft - beyond that it becomes out of control. This, however might be because of the width - I dunno - Seems to be that the consensus right now is that thin = good - better sensitivity + easier to bury rails. Personally I don’t mind a bit thicker - but I am a gorilla.
i had the chunka from hell a number of years back ,i hated it …
it came in recently for repair …crew would come in the factory and say “what the hell is that thing”“”
6’-6" x 20 1/2 x 3 1/2 with the thickness left in the rails ,it didnt have enough area for me , it pushed water when i slowed down ,
now im on 6’-4" x 23 1/4 x 1 7/8 , it just goes off in small waves , doesnt push water coz of the extra area im not sinking when im moving , i sink way more when not moving…
thickness is great if you want to bob up and down in the water like a woodduck…
dont get me wrong , my chunka surfed pretty good but wasnt what i expected in real small surf…plus it would cork out when i wasnt expecting it to …
Funny thing…you gotta first find your width and planing requirements, then settle on the amount of float that works best for you…and the feel of the ride, of course.
I mentioned the thicker gun didn’t feel too good, but I was a novice in bigger surf.
About 5 years later, and 60 boards, I made a 3" thick 6’8" x 19 with a 7’11" blank just skinnin the blank, keep all the thickness. Tail width at 12.5, it was magic for slow moving SantaCruz point rights, could catch anything (obviously), and turned really well and quickly off the tail. I"m a rear foot masher.
As I tuned the board thinner and thinner with each successive, it would gain characteristics for frontside, even bigger waves, and bumpier waters, but never regained the magic for 5-7’ Backside point SC type waves.
When it’s glassy, thickness, like concaves, work just fine.
When you have enough, and not too much planing surface, extremely thick boards work fine.
As the surf gets more and more crowded, I hope all you surfers are using 6’ x 18" x 2" thick, chip fish’s. Less waves for you, more for everyone else.
Not me, I don’t surf often enough to soak up any of your leftovers.
I have found that thickness is only a relevant dimension when considered in the context of rail, foil, length, and width, + your weight & height.
I weigh 195 at 6’1" and I ride (7’-7’6") 3" x 18 3/8" boards with very foiled nose and tail and very low rails. these boards don’t feel corky at all to me. they just need to be that much at the thickest point to float me given the foil rail and width I prefer.
I like the low rails for cut into turns and hold in steepness and the foil seems very beneficial for the endless duckdiving required to surf waves of any seriousness at my home beach (obsf)
Who makes your boards, s-dog? I’m with you, that a thick domed deck with pinched rails makes a lot of difference for a bigger guy.
John Schultze at SFSS does a great jop making boards like that - and OB specific too. If I wasn’t making my own now, I’d still be getting my shortboards from him.
I am big believer in mr bob pearson, with years of loyalty to prove it. his tireless assistance, putting up with endless questions, has done so much for me in the area of actually designing my boards for my likes and needs. he will spend an hour in a shaping appointment with the lowliest kook, just trying to get them the best board for their stage of development. i find his opinions always very balanced and fair - he’ll tell you if he thinks something is good or not and why he thinks so but he’ll always give the contrasting p.o.v. a fair shake because we are all different and our boards will reflect that. he often gives me an ‘average guy’ baseline to measure my deviation. the more i measure ride research and take notes the more stoked he is - some guys take this too far and end up tweaking boards by 1/8" here and 1/16" less v etc etc. - but FOR ME, he has never failed to integrate my ideas comments and desires to give me a board that ends up working quite well and really being what i was asking for.
I’m riding one of those thickies right now. It’s 6x6’ 20 x 12x 14.5 x 3" I talk to Cheyne Horan sometimes, he said I should try it. Well it has a modern bottom rocker so it’s loose as can be. It flies in mush. In hollower surf it still works, but I prefer less foam because you already have the speed. So it tends to feel too buoyant to really carve when your going fast on a overhead wave thats pitching. needless to say it is the best paddle machine I’ve owned, paddles right there with the longboarders (almost). When my new board is ready which I went to 2 5/8 I’ll use the thicky when the wave are less than head high and flatter faces. You could make one 3" + and dome the deck so you have a thinner rail for carving feel. If your a big guy. Good luck, DR