shaping an interesting log

General Discussion
1

im about to make my first board, and although it WONT come out anywhere near what i want because im a clutz, here is what i have in mind.

i love traditional longboarding but the conditions need to be perfect and traditional logs just arent as versatile as i require.

i also love moder longboards, they are the most versatile surfboards ever built and its amazing ot have a board that works from 2 feet to 12 feet, no matter waht the waves or wind are like. if there are waves, it works.

im thinking about taking contemporary longboard rocker, medium in the nose so it works for noseriding and tuberiding and fairly heavy in the tail for turning. ill glass it fairly light with 2 6oz deck and 1 bottom, with a deck patch for knee paddling. no volan.

ill keep it true to traditional longboard design with a rolled bottom in the tail and pinched 50/50 rails. what do you think?

ive been thinking of this shape for almost 2 years and apart from the Wingnut 2 and maybe the alex knost model surfboard, they just don’t exist.

feedback??

thanks all of you.

2

Mate, I saw a 9’6" Gordon Woods board, single fin, circa 1970 with everything you just described (rolled bottom, pinched rails, minimal rocker etc) being restored at my local glassers. Spoke to Scam, the guy restoring it, he reckons they were dogs back then when compared to the modern longboard. Problem is this thing weighs a bit (3 1/2" thick at centre tapering to 1" thick 1" in from rails) so with modern construction materials and a bit more thought re fin placement etc you might improve on an old design.

Paul

3

I had a modern longboard for about 6 years, and gave up and traded it for a fish, because the last time I tried to ride it I took it to LA and went out at Malibu with a 2ft swell and it wouldn’t catch a single wave. It would get going fine prone, but as soon as I tried to stand the wave would just roll on by as I sank, and I only weigh about 145-150lbs ( about 65kilos?). It needed at least a waist high wave to get going, and I don’t get a lot of those on the rare occasion I can drive the 2 1/2-3hrs to my closest beaches.

If you watch the old Bruce Brown movies, you will see guys riding anything from

knee high to almost double overhead on balsa boards with only about three inches of rocker at either end. And if you watch Phil Edwards he turns one of those things on a dime.

4

Sounds like you’ll end up with a shape thats somewhere between a modern and traditional longboard. What you might want to consider is dropping the rail line just a bit if not through the whole board, maybe just in the last third. That lower rail line (a 60/40) should make the board a little more responsive and probably a little more versatile. I have a 9’0" that has a slightly less than 50/50 rail that I kind of left a very slight edge on the bottom bevel that gives the board both a traditional feel, but that little edge there gives it a little more bite on turns.

5

landlocked, if you cant catch a waist high wave on a longboard its your fault, not the boards. people can ride waist high waves in potato chips, and you couldnt do it on a longboard? maybe you just dont have enough water time or something, i dont know, but waist high waves are good for loggin…

6

“im about to make my first board, and although it WONT come out anywhere near what i want because im a clutz…”

well, it wont if you think it wont. give yourself some credit, do take it too seriously, and just take your time. it took me ALL day to shape my first board, and it was only 6’0". the hardest part was standing there with the planer, looking at the ‘perfect’ blank , putting the power tool on the foam, and pulling the trigger… just go for it.

what is that you like about the modern boards? more rocker? or the outline? i used to ride a 10’ velzy , with a 10" pretty square pivot style fin, 50/50 alll the way nose to tail, everywhere from OB in SD to Steamer Lane. knee high, to over head, choppy or glassy. it was heavy, pretty flat and definately traditional. i found that the extra weight, and flatter rocker made it better for more conditions, than a rocking chair styled modern board.

are you wanting a more aggressive board, ie hitting the lip? or do you want to glide? tyler h. surfs heavy older stuff very agressively. the point i am trying, rather feebly, is that if you like tradional loggin, make one.

and what is traditional anyway? only walking, and noseriding? what about 360s, floaters etc? logs can do all this, just watch tudor, or herbie fletcher’s old photos. i have seen guys like skip frye paddle out when it is bloody huge on a 11’ log, and rip, while i am scrambling for the sholder on a shorty.

if you are as possesed with the board you describe, you should make it. why not? if it doesnt work, you have learned, if it does you have learned. its a win win. who knows you might get as addict as the rest of us…

good luck

7

i think my main goal is versatility. i like a board that i know will work because there are waves, and only because there are waves. not because its small so ill use this board or its big so ill use that board or its choppy so ill use that one. one of the reasons i lov elongboarding so much is because the boards are so versatile. most longboards work pretty good from 1 foot to 15+ feet. you can surf sunset, makaha, and sloppy east coast beachbreak with the same board.

you can turn, or you can noseride. theres much more to keep me busy. i want the same versatility applied to traditional design. and i travel a lot, so the board can’t be too heavy.