hi, i have a problem when it comes to building wooden skimboards that i was hoping that someone could help me with. I have made several plywood skimboard by steaming and bending the plywood to make a board with rocker on both ends that have worked quite well. I recently have been experimenting in gluing up 3 1/8 inch plys in a mould to create more precise rocker at the nose while keeping the rest of the board flat (i wanted to try a board with rocker only at the front as i have heard that this makes them faster). The boards glue up fine, with the front rocker rising correctly and the rest of the board flat. However when i use the boards i find that they spin to the right when i throw them (before i get on). I cant seem to see any obvious spots that are lower/higher that would cause the board to turn this way though. I was wondering if anyone has had similar problems when making skimboards. Could the problem be caused by the lack of rocker at the back end? does the flat end magnify any imperfections in the flatness of the board? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sangbiel
ps. The glassing and pinlining hints you have provided in the archives have proved invaluable during my board building process, thanks for all the great information!
Your mold may have a little twist in it, so your skimboards will too. Take one of your boards and check it with some winding sticks to see if that’s the problem. Check all along the bottom, just one little twisted bit will likely throw you off.
Don’t put any rocker in the tail. Keep it flat. Skimboards usually turn in some direction after you throw them if you don’t get on immediately. You may just have to adjust your drop.
I don`t like rocker through the back of my skimboards…
but a subtle, rolled vee in the last 12" or so works great
… between 1/8" and 1/4" deep, dead flat through the center. Much faster, helps keep the back end from spinning around before you jump on it, initiates carving turns better. Unless you simply want a platform for launching aerials, thin flextail skimboards are excellent, too. Some forward throw weight is an advantage if you skimboard on windy days.
A skimboard is suppose to glide on top of the water… not a lot of friction up there. Kinda like an air hockey puck… ever see one of those sit still? Chances are there’s a slight bit of twist from the throw, then it’s amplified in the low drag environment. Try throwing it with your left hand and see what happens.
Or maybe it’s Corriolis (sp?). Try going down to Australia and see what happens. That’s a joke, albeit not funny, I don’t need to see any replies of how the Corriolis forces aren’t strong enough… blah blah blah.
actually dale, making the board as light as possible is the best idea, on windy days you kick sand on the bottom of the board and it sticks until it hits the water, thus making the board heavier to drop but lighter in the water.
Ive made light boards, but Ive always preferred the feel of a bit more weight… I reckon that relates back to the weight of my skateboards. The skimboards Ive most enjoyed were primarily used for carving turns... riding out into deeper water and banking off shorebreak and whitewater. But nothing like todays tricks and aerials.
At the time, the only other boards I ever saw were round, 24" to 36" diameter. Headstands, 360 degree spinners, hanging ten, etc. while skimming along in 1/2" deep water, were the ideal.
Here`s two of my old skimboards. Softened low rails in front, down hard and sharp in the tail with slight vee. No rocker. The split tail is made of solid Phillipine mahogany, about 42" long x 17" wide. The other is exterior plywood, about 13" wide. Paint and wax. Designed with enough area for about 90 to 120 lb. riders. These boards were the result of several re-shapes. They date from 1966-67.
looks cool, i like skimboarding a lot especially on the points in santa cruz and in malibu. I live in san diego and the conditions are wind an’ sea and marine street are really good for skimming. Not to mention the sidewash at wipeout beach (peoples wall). Skimboarding is a real blast.
My experience with vee and rolled vee was a much slower glide on the sand. Once I hit the water, it was nice, but the loss of speed was too great. I wouldn’t do it or tail rocker, unless you have a super steep beach with a shore break right on the sand.
You should be dropping it and stepping on, in one quick movement. It shouldn’t have any time to spin. If you are doing that, and it still spins, one more thing to check is the finish on the bottom. If you missed a spot sanding the hotcoat, it might be sticky enough to grab a little and cause the spinning.
