high all,
i'm packing my bags and heading to central america for my winter surf trip and i've been thinking a lot about what boards i pack.
due to size constraints i usually leave my nose rider behind. i tend to lean towards more 'performance' type surfing and want to bring what short boards i can, but i really miss that 'glide' on the small days.
so i've been wondering about how small a nose riding board can get...
is it possible to get that long board nose riding glide feel from something under 7' in length?
i weigh 150lbs, stand 5'11" tall, and surf both short and long boards.
any suggestions?
thanks,
-jar
Bear wombat?
They come in bout the 6ft mark i think
Heavy, parallel, flat, super soft rails should do it.
Make the only nose rocker the thickness coming out - if your board is 3" thick in the middle and 1/2" thick at the tip: boom. 2.5" nose rocker 
Dimensions like 20-23-17 and 7" square across the tail. Big pivot fin. Volan glass. 50/50 rails. Smooth bottom - no concaves, vee, belly, etc to slow you down or make it twitchy…
Don’t give in to the temptation to make it more egg-like or ‘versatile’. Don’t put in a little kick of nose rocker or a little edge on the rails or boxes for side fins…that kind of compromise makes boards ok at lots of things, but really good at nothing. Stick to the plan & it would be fine.
John Mellor sent me a copy of a Clark catalog from 1983 or so. All the blanks that said “good noserider” (mostly Takayama & Velzy plugs) were 8’0", 8’2"…I think the longest was 8’6". So yeah - no problem. Just stick to the plan.
thanks pockets…
any pic’s?
-jar
thanks benny,
sounds like a fine ride.
i’m looking forward to giving this a try, but it may have to wait until my next trip.
do any of you have photos to share of these types of boards?
pura vida time…
-jar
i made a board a few years ago called the “shlong board’ (short longboard). it’s a longboard plan shape, cut down to 6’6”, with an overall flat rocker, full rails, flat bottom, and single fin only. the guy i made it for loves it…it instantly became his new “go to” board over his 9’1" pintail longboard and 6’2" Moss Research “Spacecake”. i rode it a few weeks ago in some slow, but walled up rib-high surf, and stuck a long cheater 5. the board is very fast. even up at the nose, a shortyboarder dropped in ahead of me and i passed him without ever getting off the nose.
There is a dude in Aus who makes boards at 7’ that he reckons you can hang 10 on…
warning - the following website contains some political commentary, and an anti-epoxy vibe
http://www.waterskatesurfboards.com/powerglide.aspx
Now i haven’t ridden one, but the nose concave is the interesting part, its not blended at all. It looks like those aliens who make the crop circles have attacked the bottom of the board. There is a pic in the galleries section of the bottom of the board, but it doesn’t show much detail.
hey soulstice,
so what you’r saying is that you have a short shlong?
brave man.
it really does sound like a fun board. do you think an extra 6" might get me 10 off the nose?
how does it turn from up there?
and pics?
thanks-jar
thanks for the link dontbuyarabbit,
you were right about the photos… not enough there to really see all those bottom contours they’re talking about.
it sounds quite interesting, but wouldn’t all that turbulence cost something in speed, or does it turn into lift that far forward?
anyone?
thanks,
-jar
I'd take a look at Steve Brom's Stepchild:
Coque.
I found this in http://shop.yumetenpo.jp/…0maroon/index.shtml#
STEVE BROM STEPCHILD (Coque’s post): 6’10" x 22" x 2+5/8"
I recently made this one for a girl surfing the Mediterranée (where waves are rather small and not very powerful). It’s 6’6" and it has been reported to do the job quite finely.
It’s not a new idea. Take alok at this old 6’0" GREG NOLL
From www.surfnhula.com:
“This is a rare 1969 Greg Noll Blob (we think it is) length 6’ nose 20” width 23 1/4" tail 20" tail tip 14" and 3" thick."
Very greenough like fin.
Is it more like when they were trying to ride his spoon as stand up boards instead of a nose rider?
You dont know when its from?
My guess is 1969.
Sorry, sick with the flu, heads not working right at all
i can’t hang ten on the shlongboard because the tail won’t hold. the guy i made it for is more of a tail-riding kinda guy, and he’s running a 7" wingnut cutaway fin in it. i’m sure i could make a trip to the tip with more fin at the back.
i had never seen the Steve Brom “Stepchild” before…but the shlong board looks just like it. i swear i designed it all by myself…honest!
anyhow, here’s the shlong board in action (being ridden by the guy i made it for)…
http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=1646
http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=1655&d=1
Hi Jar,
I was experimenting with the same idea, works good for cheater 5 in the barrel, hang ten needs a lot of weight on the tail to keep the nose on sea level.
Very interested what you can make of the same idea, should become a new kind of board, not short or long.
Greetz Soul
This board also has me interested. I was thinking of making two (a bigger one for me and a smaller one for my son’s Doho board). I found this line drawing that might help.
