Hey guys,
Just wanted to pick a few brains about a board I've been asked to make for a friends son. He's 8 years old and can certainly stand okay and is ready to goto the next level.
I want something he can begin to throw around and duckdive okay while trying to keep the floatation up. I was thinking aound 5,8 x 17 1/2 x 2'...Or maybe I should make it a little wider through the middle to help with the who paddle thing?
Any ideas would be appreciated. Specially nose and tail widths.
Thanks
Mick
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/cainsqf59002.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/cainsqf59013.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/cainsqf59011.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/cainsqf59009.jpg[/IMG]
stumbled across your thread and I justdid my 11 yr old son a new sled...this one is a Quadfather design which is slightly fuller template thru-out and less rocker ( very smooth and gradual rocker ) , bit more volume than usual for great paddling but still a lowish rail so he can sink them, only had a few surfs on it but he loves it and it is doing the job for him very nicely.... I wouldnt go too fine or too narrow too early, at this age they need to get alot of waves I think, that way they progress quicker, then you can throw em on something more Hi-per , thats me anyway......plus the quad seems to give him plenty of drive and hold which he is lovin.....
dims are 5'9" x 18 3/4" x 2 7/16"...doesnt feel that thick or that wide really....
Did he do the artwork Mark?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/minimega/sets/72157622686736808/show/
just did a 4’9 x 171/8 x 2 for a 9 year old who is pretty experienced already…his board before this, which he really got his chops on was a 5’2x17x1 7/8’s and it was pretty long for him. Kids can surf pretty small boards especially if you keep volume in it. the link above has some pics or you can see it finished on our blog we just started…woo hoo. 
stvns!
Nice work on Noah's board mate! Loved the pics etc. I'd really like to work on kids boards. I'm sick of them being sucked into spending hundreds of dollars on a Mick Fanning Copy (No offence Mick, you rip son) when they're not ready for them. You've got to get the kids loving it and smashing the basics before they are ready to ride toothpicks. My biggest problem is working out nose and tail widths. I suppose to start with it would be to just keep a nice line from my centre width and work from there.
Keep inspiring!
Hello Marsh,
8 years old and getting the hang of it sounds great I think your height measurement will work but should go a little wider and much thicker.
Your thickness should be 2 1/2 but foil the rails so he can get his hands around the rails when duck diving. This higher volume well keep his wave count high and also more stable for him so that he may progress faster and if you would like to have board able to throw around then thin out the tail and nose like the rails and should be good.
happy to help with dims if needed mate ...maybe PM again if any questions...heres another board I did a few weeks ago, it is for a little ripper I do boards for, this one is pretty refined and not suited to your 8 yr old customer....
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/Quinns52001.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/Quinns52004.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/pridmore73/D20091007_Quinn-125.jpg[/IMG]
dims are 5'2" x 16 7/8" 1 7/8"...
Yeah Cain did the artwork BF, not bad hey, ?, might have to pay him soon.....
Illustrator!
I've been tossing up if I should buy that program or not. Bloody expensive but it looks like a real powerful program for doing all sort of graphic works, specially would be good for decal designs etc. So you actually draw out your boards to scale with illustrator and then print them out? I assume it's pretty accurate otherwise you wouldn't use it. I suppose I could use Aku shaper and just worry about the shape and not about the finer details such as rocker and concaves. I can just do them by eye once I print out the template. Thanks for all your advice. I've emailed the young fella's mum for more info on his surfing skills and then I'll take it from there.
Watch this space!
Hey Pridmore.
LOVIN' the EH.
I've always wanted to rebuild an EH wagon but got no money, space or time to do it.
Maybe one day.
Cheers
Hey ledge71
Just finished shaping a 5'10 x 173/4 x 21/4 for a 9 YO.
He is an intermediate surfer who wants to get of his dads 6'2" and ride his own board.
Will take some pics tomorrow and post them for you.
Cheers
thanks ledge. yeah, I am pretty stoked on the grom boards. theres nothing like making a board for a kid. a see it as a privilege for sure. My first board I made for my nephew, noah was a fish prob about 4’ even and made by stripping the glass off an old board and reshaping and glassing. he used it as a little kid to splash around on, then when he started getting pushed in he used something else, once he learned enough to catch little ones himself he went back to the fish and it was pretty cool to see the progression on what to me was pretty much just a toy for him. he has a little bro now too and it really is a stoke r to c them going for it, learning. But what I have seen is once they can catch a wave themselves and turn they need a board that will catch waves but still be loose, think of swing weight and these groms who weigh hardly anything on thin long boards, its tough to turn. make them short, hide some volume and give them a good rocker and they can start to do some scaled down real turns…
pridmore I really like that 5’2. cool stuff.
ledge I have pretty solid dims for the lost 5’2 sd2 grom board if you want them. the basics length width thickness, width thickness and rocker at 12" and rocker at the tips. fin placements…I would do that size and add some thickness if the 8yr old is still getting the hang of it…glad to help. hi 5 to all the guys making boards for the kids!
also I use adobe illustrator to make my templates so for noahs I set the middle width and drew out what looked right then double checked it against his last board, the lost. I think the key is short enough to turn, thick enough to catch them with an outline that will make it easy, not too straight, plenty of curve and a good little kick out the tail, not too much concave.
yeah, my EH is a ripper but rust is getting bad, needs some tlc and money, but not enough dosh to restore her, but hoping to make shitloads this summer so I can extend her life.....
Hey Ledge71
Took some photos for you, but when I rotated them so you didn't have to lay sidways to view them, it streched them out of proportion.
Will take some more tomorrow.
Cheers
yeah aku works just as good as illustrator. I have illustrator already so I just use that unless I want to do rail slices and all that
Hey MDS, no worries mate.
I'm on the laptop so I will just have to turn it sideways!
Looking forward to seeing them,
MW
Hey Ledge71
Sorry for the delay post these pics.
My wife decided she wanted to re-paint our family room. (the room with our computer in it)
When I got home from work, every thing had been disconected and move out.
Should be done painting today so I will get em up as soon as everything is back to normal.
On my work computer at the moment.
Cheers
4'11" x 16 7/8" x 1 7/8" Squash Thruster for a 9 year old in HB is pretty common.
Make a lot of grom boards.
The DAD's come in and tell me I want a 6'0 x 18 1/8" x 2 1/4" for my kid. I kindly tell the Dad let me talk to your kid for a second. The kid say's I want a 4'9" x 1 1/2" the Dad looks puzzled and the 65 pound kid glaze up for some kind of approval and I say to him, "look your growing and what may be good today may not work tomorrow!" The Dad looks at me thinking I'right I got my way and I turn to him and say, "let's make it bigger than he needs right now but not too big that he can bury enough rail on a bottom turn and duck dive!" The kid get's his 4'11" x 16 7/8" x 1 7/8" Squash Thruster and I take a pair of glasson fins and cut 3/8" off them and glass the fins on.
Kids stoked out of his mind! The Dad is now trusting and letting me be the shaper. This kid has an older brother and surfs a few day a week as he live down the street from the HB pier. Every case is different. Talent level is always a factor and this formula doesn't work for every kid. If the kid is more average in his abilities It might be better to do a 5'4" x 17 3/8" x 2" and adjust on his next board based on how much water time he's getting in. Shorter boards actually work better for the groms as the smaller boards fit in the pocket of the size waves that they would ride.
The way I approch it is not the only way of course it's just my method that works for the kids I work with. So please no need to freak out and tell me I hate fun boards. For some kids it can be better to just buy them a soft top and call it a day. Throw him in the white water and he's having fun. Like I said it depends on the kid!
Surfding