I’ve searched the archives for info and have found some guidelines for bonzers up to 7ft, but no info on bigger boards.
“side runners set at minimum 18 to 22 degrees, and they work together with the double concave going into a vee that runs off the tail. They are also set about 11” up for the rear side runners (on an under 7 foot board) and about 16"+ for the front runners."
This board is our interpretation of John Mellors “mojomatic”
John generously provided us with his outline and rocker dims. Paul Gross, Ambrose and Paul Jensen have also shared there wealth of knowledge.
The board is almost done, we just need to know were the side runners go so we can shape the double concave. Should we go with the above mentioned positioning even on a board this size?
Sami, I have a 10’, and an 11’ bonzer, shaped by ACE when he was working for Mike Eaton. These are both 3 fin boards which I would advice for your 11’6 glider/bonzer also. The reason I say this is at 11’6 you are not going to want the board to be skatey, which you will end up with if you make it a 4 fin board. My side fins are set with the tip of the fins being 25 inches forward of the tail and 3 inch in from the rail. The front tip of the fin points right at the center of the stringer on the nose, not sure about the angle that they set at as I do not have a way of checking that. Hope this helps.
Did the the concaves on those big 10 and 11 bonzers run all the way out the tail like on Malcolms bonzers? I’ve received some recommendations about going flat in the tail, ending just behind the sidefins.
Was initially just going to surf it as a single, maybe Greenough 4C or a big cutaway, but read a review of a Jim Accardi version of a glider/eagle that had been retrofitted(lokbox) and it surfed well as a 5fin bonzer even without the deep concaves.
The bonzer setup could be useful on bigger days or at a few very shallow spots. Will post some shots of the retrofitted Accardi as soon as my computers is willing to cooperate again.
On the Eaton Bonzers the concave run all the way out the tail. Making the tail of the board look a seagull in flight if you get what I mean. I quit riding the bonzers because they are too fast for my waves unless it gets real big. I’m working on nose riding so the speed of the bonzers works against me. You must remember on thing an 11’6 inch board needs to paddle fast, if you get in trouble you have to be able to paddle out of it other wise that board is going to take you into places you don’t want to be. Good luck
Never surfed a board that was too fast, speed is what I’m after for making closouts and connecting sections and early entry for setting up little zippers or big rollers. I should also be able to comfortable kneepaddle this board after two years of shoulder rehab hell.
Here are some shots of the retrofitted Accardi, no deep concaves on this board, owner still seemed pretty happy with how it surfed.
Very sweet looking board. I’m on the other end my knee is shot so I can no longer knee paddle. Yes this new one should be fast I know both mine are. I surf mostly point/reef breaks and mostly the smaller stuff any more, so too much speed can take away from a lot of fun. Post Pics when you get her done.
Here are some shots of my “Hessian” board shaped by Matti Finnholm for his “Chopsticks” label, it’s his eight board I think. Still have some tweaking to do, but I cant wait too get this thing in the water after two yeras of matsurfing.
The huge chunk of foam we cut and clued to blank out of weighed close to 80kg, will post some more pics later.
After weeks of putting the finishing touches to the board, matti likes to shape a little bit at atime to avoid going “snowblind”, were going to glass the hessian on Friday/Saturday. The 15’ finbox is still in transit but I hope it will get here soon.
Regarding the bonzer setup I already have a trueames 7’5 bonzer fin, But I haven’t purchased a single yet. There are so many options out there trueames, rainbow, fiberglas fin co and finsunlimited.
Was initially thinking of getting a True ames Greenough 4c,
But after doing some research a shorter fin might be the ticket.
What have you guys been using in your gliders and section connectors?
Here are some options:
Wilderness 7’6
Starfin
What kind of fins have you guys been using in your gliders/section connectors?
Wil post some more pics of the board before glassing, Cheers
Of the fins you show the 4C would be the best I think. If the board has Bonzer concaves it will, by nature be somewhat tracky so you want a center fin with nice release. Some flex can be a good thing. Don’t over fin it with a big center and run the fin a little forward of where you might put it on a board without Bonzer runners.
Isn’t the 4C on the big side at 9.5" or were you making reference to some other aspect of a fin’s characteristic being “big.”?
Just asking because I think the 4C only comes in 9.5", at least that’s what True Ames shows on the website. Otherwise, I would have picked up one of these long ago if I could find a smaller one.
Rich is right a 9.5 is not too big for a 11’6 board bonzer. I use a cut away fin on my bonzer’s I normaly run 1 inch per foot then take one inch away so even a 10" if it were a cut away would not be to much fin for that board.
Just to clear things up, the board has concaves but not as deep as on Malcolms bonzers. The concaves fade after the fins and only run 1/3 up along the board.
We are going to install a removable finsystem for the 4 bonzer runners, not keels. Haven’t seen removable bonzer keels yet, only glassed on. I have a 7’5 trueames bonzer fin for this setup.
I’m going to use one of the above mentioned fins or any other that you can recomend, when surfing it as a single, without the runners.
Still needs a gloss coat and a sanded finish, but the hessian is almost done. These crappy cellphone pictures don’t do mattis work justice, it’s his eigth board ever. Paddling out to unsurfed reefs islands,catching unbroken swell, connecting big rollers and milking tiny zippers. It has single to double concave in the last third but no lokboxes for the bonzer runners yet, just a big finsunlimited box and a greenough 4C.
More pictures and a full review when we get some waves.
