I hear some guys like footwells - those dents in the deck from your feet. Say they make a board fit like an old comfortable baseball glove. Regardless of wave conditions, do you find that your feet always end up in pretty much the same place? Do you have or like footwells in your deck? Just curious.
if it helps with performance then it is good, if you feel more comfortable, confident then its gotta be a plus...or glass em super light and in a few surfs theres some sinkage anyway ( especially if you dont have the patience to wait for curing )....
I think every decision should be based on performance, appearance and resale second.....
I hate em. Only for aesthetic reasons. My OCD is fixing my own dings asap. I like to think my feet always hit the same area, but I think it depends a lot on fatigue for me. As the session wears on I get lazier in my pop up. Tryin to work on that.
Love them. My feet usually fall in the same 6". It is a good feeling knowing exactly where the sweet spot is on the board.
Back in the days, I had made a board with a foot-block shaped in the tail so that my back foot would have more power.
Great design.
(Unfortunately, it never worked because I had positioned it way too far back…)
Have to say… all my boards have them, but the only time I notice them is when I’m waxing up.
Honesty… I can’t imagine how people can feel them when they’re up and riding. My focus is totally elsewhere.
haha! Searching on Yahoo, I found a link to this swaylocks comment posted: October 4, 2008
"Re the footwells: ...most good surfers I know LIKE footwells, it locates the stance and puts your feet closer to the control surfaces...
Hey! I know that guy you quoted!
I asked mike if he would shape them into my boards, he said no, let them come from riding. It is actually one reason I love getting a pro’s used sticks, footwells are already there in the perfect location.
I wanted you to put them in yourself, it's like wearing in a shoe. Sometimes a used board would have them in the right place for you, sometimes they might not.
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I hear some guys like footwells - those dents in the deck from your feet. Say they make a board fit like an old comfortable baseball glove. Regardless of wave conditions, do you find that your feet always end up in pretty much the same place? Do you have or like footwells in your deck? Just curious.
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Huck , Huck , Huck.........
Guys like you and me just don't surf at that level.......it just doesn't matter for you and me.....we're over the hill my friend.
No foot wells on my boards....major compress on the rails from duck diving.....
Keep up the good work........
Ray
The guy whose used boards I used to get was a goofy foot and the heel dents became great for being able to pull a board under your self.
Gotta love footwells i got some really deep ones on the board im rideing now...feels so great to just be locked in the same spot more or less
Taj has them shaped in all his boards these days....
Footwells on a surfboard is like breaking in a new pair of shoes.Lets see I don’t think that you will ever get footwells on a surftech maybe thats why they kind of suck.Just my opinion.
Maybe I just don’t notice them… maybe I’m just not that good of a surfer…
maybe it’s just one of those things you don’t notice until they’re not there… but then again, all new boards feel different after a few surfs in good waves.
Maybe it’s just part of that “broken in” feeling… or more likely a comfortable familiarity with a board?
Do you feel footwells under a traction pad? Do you feel them under the front foot only?
My foot wells are under the front foot, and just ahead of my traction pad… with a few dents on either side, along the tail rails.
but the biggest one is where my knee plants on a duckdive.
I guess you guys think all footwelds are an accident or after thought. Due to heel dents in decks that are underglassed. Ron Cunningham a San Diego shaper was carving footwelds into his shapes in 1968 and "70 etc. Twins and Singles. I know. I had a 6'10 single fin and a 5'2 twin shaped by Ron, both with footwelds.
I certainly don't think they're an afterthought. Inspired by some mag photo, I shaped a rear footwell into my first (laughable) attempt at making a board in 1971.
I really like the foot dents....all my board have it and if I ride a board that is too hard and dont have any dent I feel less confident to put the board on the limit....when hard turning is good to fell my foot ´´inside´´ the foam :)
IMHO Footwells are part of the “Breaking in” process and most likely won’t be noticed by the original owner (other than visually) that put them there, because that’s where their feet go anyway. Someone they lend that board to might notice them, but most likely associate them as being the sweet spot on that board.