Hi all, Thinking about shaping (or having somebody shape) a roundpin stinger inspired by an old Carl Hayward that my buddy has. (at least I think you’d call it a stinger, maybe somebody can clarify on that point). Specs on my buddy’s board are as follows: 7’8" x 17 5/8 x 22 x 13 x 3 Bump wings (stings?) at 17" from the tail Wide point seems to be about 8 inches forward of center. Subtle vee in the rear third of the board. Subtle concave in the nose, great for cheater fives My buddy surfed this board in its original, single fin state for quite a while, but when the fin box got busted up he put a tri-fin setup on it just to see what that would do. (The board was already suntanned and beat to hell.) It’s pure magic – almost. Needless to say it’ll catch anything, it’s a log. But it works suprisingly well in more solid surf – up to a couple feet over head, medium power. Holds in and turns great once it’s up to speed. Big, swooping, carving turns, really fun to work it from the middle of the board, also performs pretty well off the tail. The only major drawback is that it can be a little klutzy trying to set rail right off the drop. Wants to spin out a little. Say on waves that don’t allow a full bottom turn off the drop. Also I’d like to be able to turn it in a more pivotal fashion. So naturally, I want to try to remedy the klutziness and enhance pivot in my design. I think better fin placement will help the klutziness quite a bit. My buddy placed the rear fin too far forward. I won’t do that. Thinking I’ll probaly do a 2+1 finbox setup to be able to experiment. But my burning question (and thanks for reading this far) is where to put the wide point. I’m thinkin’ if I move it back some I gain a tighter curve in the rear half of the board which could enhance pivot. But do I risk losing the groovy stand-in-the-middle-and-swoop-around thing? Could the nose riding also suffer? (Not as crucial, but nice to have.) I’ve drawn two mock templates. The dims on both are pretty similar to the Hayward, except for the placement of the wide point. Here they are: Option A: 7’8" x 17 x 22 x 13.5 x 3 – wide point 3" forward of center Option B: 7’8" x 17 x 21.75 x 13.5 x 3 – wide point at center Oh yeah, there’s also a hypothetical option C, which might look something like this: 7’6 or 7’5 x 17 x 21.75 x 13.5 x 3 – wide point 2 or 3 inches forward of center. This is basically option B, but with 2 or 3 inches of length taken out of the front portion of the board. Does one of these three options stand out as a clear choice to gain pivot but not lose the other desired attributes? Do any (or all) of them look like a bad idea? If so, why? Any other options worth considering? Anybody had good luck with a stinger that has the wide point at center? Any general reaction to the roundpin stinger (winger?) design? Also, what aside from fin placement (or of course rider ability level) could be contributing to the klutziness when setting rail? Any other suggested remedies for that? Could the wings be getting in the way? Better to remove the wings and have a smooth hip instead? The rails are domed down in the rear fourth of the board, and are hard up to and including the wing tips. (stings?) Thanks!
I like the “C” option best (mostly because I like having boards in increments of 6"). I’ve been placing the wide points on most of my boards (longboards, eggs, fishes) at center for the last few years with good results. I would suggest drawing out the three separate outlines on the ground with chalk maybe, and see which one appeals to you the best. In my experiences, if it looks good, it usually rides good. Sounds like an interesting shape…good luck.
Thanks for the encouragement, foamdust. Yeah, I think the 7’6" could be fun. Less mass up front might help bring the nose around a little quicker. I like your idea of drawing mockups in chalk on the ground. Very earth friendly and amusing for the neighbors. I live in the Pacific Northwest, though, so I’d need to wait for those rare dry days this time of year. (Like yesterday!) I’ve been drawing mockups on a roll of corrogated cardboard that I bummed off an old roommate. Not sure where she got the stuff, but it works great. Three feet wide, flat on one side, quite ridgid side-to-side, rolls up nice lengthwise for easy storage. If I see the magic template on there, I’m thinkin’ I could get away with cutting it out and using it.