thoughts on shaping a finned skimboard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ_yZ9F9DKw
this makes it sound amazing(although oddly like an advert) https://www.surfonly.com/blog/2017/4/28/review-a-surfboard-no-one-else-can-ride
-how the rails would affect the perfomance?
-what condtions would it be good for?
-finless?
Maybe definitions differ but to me, a skimboard is meant to be ridden by starting with slide on sand. Add fins and it’s just a tiny, super hard to paddle/catch waves, surfboard.
Other than the fact Curren was frothing over them for a while a couple years ago I don’t really see the attraction unless it’s the challenge; which for him was minimal…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcIF0Wgcd8c
Im especially interested in the finless stuff and using it like a normal skimboard
skimboards have several advantages… low area means low drag, it’s got all the area you need, no fins means no drag. You can beach-launch all day if you’ve got the stamina (I don’t), and there’s a huge amount of beach from which to do it. Any shorebreak just adds majorly to the opportunities.
the disadvantages are equally easily listed… mainly that low flotation limits the waves you can get into, and if no fins your body control becomes more important when turning
what some peeps don’t realize (or accept) is that a skimboard, more than a “normal” surfboard, is just a planing surface. This means that there’s no effect of “soft” or “hard” rails, moreso b/c there’s no thickness with which to make different rails. And that’s good: you want hard rails for definite release. Poor water release will suck the energy right out of your ride, or at least slow you down, and none of us want that.
Im Talking about wave not flatland skimboards
My local spot is plagued with sub 10 second wind swells could you still skim this
The rails on skimboards and on finless boards (I’m saying this never having skimboarded) seem to behave completely differently. The bladedness (and if you look at alaias with similar rail concept but a kind of inverted flex - which seems to have a role in how alaias hold) seem almost unrelated or opposite. Often a fat, boxy, round rail seems hold-friendly on a finless, while the proven design of skimboard raiils sort of speaks to the tried & true design for those. I’ve been meaning to try and make a hybrid - -a surfboard with skimboard-ish rails in volumes more parallel to shortboards. Someone must have attempted this before but I haven’t seen it
Brent Edwards— Maui Skimmers-- Kahului,Maui; Been doing this stuff since the 80’s. Shapes a mean high performance short surfboard too. When he wants to. mauiskimmers.com.
If i end up doing it i will attempt to post the result
Well you’ve got my encouragement. I hope you do it. I’d like to see the result and what you thought about the process of shaping such a thing. Some old Dogs (me being one) can learn from what others do. Especially when they discuss it honestly. Brent Edwards is a really nice guy and likes to talk shop. I bet he would correspond with you if you reached out to him. Lowel. PS It has been discussed previously on Sways, but I forgot about Tom Curren surfing Skimboards. There are YouTube videos of him .
Thank you.