Dave, thanks for that. I follow Clutch on Instagram and his work is amazing. I have wondered how he did those loops by was a fraud to ask for details.
All the best
and I’ll bet you don’t get any “tombstoning” with that set up. nice.
all the best
exactly!
I call this the Kite Tail leash attachment because it offers minimum resistance when caught in a wave, similar to the way a kite will not offer enough resistance to continue flying if held by the tail.
Great info! Thanks everyone
How did you attach it to the foam, epoxy? Did you put a layer of cloth around all the wood?
Yes and yes
Leash Loops are always interesting and I have seen some pretty ingenious and artsy ones in recent years. The first ones I saw years ago were intended to to just be practical. Not necessarily works of art. First time I saw one done, it was done with a waxed pencil. Then later a plastic straw. Which for you guys in Calif. can be a problem since I heard your GQ Governor outlawed them.
Most places still have 'em… you just have to beg a little.
Huck’s leash attachments facinated me, and I incorporated something similar in my last HWS.
With the leash string exiting the very tip of the tail of the round pintail, there is much less tendency to tombstone and drag me underwater, but it is hardly gone completely. The string I am using is retasked , I am not sure its strength nor the strength of my connection at the board, but I tend to overkill everything so I chose to believe both are within margins, and so far have proved to be. Some bigger days I let the board suck me into the malestrom when i could have just swam away from it underwater and really stretched my leash and put both cord and attachment method to the ultimate test,.
I worried about the reports that the board comes shooting back at rider underwater with such a leash plug location, but this has not been an issue with an 8’ ‘big’ wave leash on my 15Lb board. It does seem to find its own way back to the surface much quicker and I can retreive it faster, compared to a leash loop farther up the deck.
What has been an issue is that the leash sinks under the board much easier, and likes to wrap itself around the fins whether I go from sitting to paddling or paddling to sitting to swing the board and using its bouyancy to assist the take off with less paddling. I am always having to pay attention to my leash and keep it over my shoulder when sitting and throw it to the side when I go prone and paddle. The late swing under the hook, and there is a solid chance the leash is wrapping around a high aspect ratio fin from which it does not easily release. This has ruined many a wave.
I am going to incorporate more floatation to the rail saver and the urethane cord, nearest the rail saver, and if this proves to not mitigate the issue, I might then do a resin leash loop farther away from the perimeter of the tail. Wide and lowest possible profile in an X pattern about 1.5 inches from the tail perimeter.
You could buy a floating leash from dakine .
1 Like
I was not aware that floating leashes existed. Thanks. I’ll consider getting one.
Dont know why, but I’ve been using my setup for years, haven’t had any more issues than any other system. I didn’t know about floating leashes either. Live and learn!
Huck,
I’ve always like your leash loop/plug concept.
Why not just use a piece of G10 cut to the same shape — with maybe a little less profile? Any color available.
Maybe even sheet PVC for lighter weight. G10 may be more durable in UV light.
Thnx. In most cases, G10 wouldn’t really accomplish the same thing, because in most cases I am using the original stringer to anchor the leash, just reinforcing it a bit. For the old longboard with the big D fin, the fin and leash and last foot or so of stringer are one integral component, although its hard to tell by looking at the finished product. The wooden leash bump built separate is an unusual approach for me, a one time effort to do something a little different. But again, it was designed so that a little piece anchored into the board by mortising into the stringer, unlike the resin/glass leash loops that are just surface mounted.
I really just threw those last few pics up because I wanted to see if anyone out there who is building boards is curious or interested enough to have a conversation - I don’t come here all that often anymore, and it seems so quiet at times, I just wanted to test the water.
Leash attachment is one area that is simple enough to allow some creativity in making a little custom detail, for that reason I like this thread topic.
1 Like