I see there’s been a bit written on this in the past. I have a few specific questions I thought Swaylockers might have opinions on.
Small wave board - for competing in 2’ and under, mostly mush (it’s usually howling onshore windswell slop when the swell gets that small here). Often the most important board in the comp quiver.
Shorten it, Flatten the rocker, widen the tail by 2", puff up the flotation. All easy decisions.
Probably go Single concave through the bottom and out the tail and retain a bit of tail kick in the last 3" or go with a wide swallow.
Wide point - my idea is 1-2" back to get “vert” on nothing.
Now:
Stiff or flex?
I’m inclined to go as stiff as I can, so nothing is lost through flex (I know, noting gained, too).
Consequently I’m looking at EPS/Epoxy construction with a stringer.
Twin or thruster? Normally surf thrusters but looking to lose some drag. Either way it will have pretty parallel fins (1/5-2/5" toe-in) canted 8 degrees or more.
Do I need to widen the nose by the same as the tail to stop the width in the tail driving the nose under in turns?
Opinions/ input?
Thanks
Red
Hey, Ii know Roy would have said build it long, build it heavy, but I ain’t that kind of guy.
My friend is an accomplished competitive surfer on the eastcoast of the US so we are used to those really shitty conditions described. he is in love(much to my disappointment) with the 7 “superfish” he rides it with the H2 small fins. Another friend rides a AJW 5’6" “fish”. Both boards absolutly kill it when it is tiny.
My current small wave board is a 6’0 epoxy EPS Quad that I set up as a thruster as well. Rode it on Sunday in onshore 1-2’ slop and couldn’t believe the speed I was getting and the sections I was making.
Gave it to Shayno to ride and when he got back on his board couldn’t make sections and noticed the drop in speed. He’s frothing on it.
The dims are 6’0 x 18 3/4" x 2 1/4" single concave swallow WP 2" back, 35kg/m3 Eps, construction brace ply stringer. ATL epoxy resin 4oz bottom 4+6 deck.
I’ve posted this epoxy board with wood stringer (top) (bottom) a few times before. It’s a 6’2" by 20.5" around 2 3/8" thick that can be ridden as a twin or thruster. For the conditions you describe, I would ride it as a twin. I’m 6’2" and around 210 lbs. Scale to your liking. The rocker is not all that flat (5" to 2"), it has some flat in the middle to a double concave bottom in the back. We folks in Florida know how to grovel. The wide nose, around 16", enables you to easily paddle and catch waves. I can paddle out to the longboarders and sit with them and smile. They hate me for that.
No hips on this one. The nose/tail is symmetric, and pleasing to my eye. This is literally one of the most enjoyable boards I have ridden in 30 years. Another thing is the vector 467’s with the hatchet fin, as I was recommended from another guy who rides one very well, was by far an awakening of performance for this board in the thruster setup. The syntex cloth on the deck is another valuable durability feature.
