Hey Bill T. and others who know -
From what I’ve read, it seems a square tailed gun would be a little faster and looser. Am I on track?
My thoughts are: 10’+ gun, edge finned quad, tail @ 11" +/-. w/the square tail @ 3" =/- wide.
TaylorO,
You ARE on the right track. Speed makes all things possible. In the mid sixties, I ''broke the rules'' by making some custom guns for a friend in Hawaii. How does 10' 6'' x 23'' x 14'' N x 13'' T to a 5 1/2'' sq tail sound? Sounds all wrong, eh? He rode big Sunset, big Waimea, big Laniakea, and I have a photo of him rocketing across a 30 foot Makaha wall during that epic Dec. 1969 swell. It was his ''go to board'' when the beach was shaking. I point this out, because I think your tail dimensions seem a little extreme to me. Some reduction of tail area is appropriate in gun designs, more reduction is not necessarily better. A common error is to go too extreme in narrowing a gun planshape.
In the early days (late '50’s. early 60’s), the big three gun innovators were Brewer, Pat Curren, and Mike Diffenderfer. “Diff” made quite a few, sorry, wish I could tell you why. 3" to 4" is my guess.
sickdog
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Hey Bill T. and others who know -
From what I've read, it seems a square tailed gun would be a little faster and looser. Am I on track?
My thoughts are: 10'+ gun, edge finned quad, tail @ 11" +/-. w/the square tail @ 3" =/- wide.
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Are "faster" or "looser" desirable qualities in a gun?
I’ve seen several pictures of vintage Pat Curren waimea guns that had a small narrow squaretail.
Here’s one :
I’m not a big wave rider but I’d tend to agree with noleash’s comment above : where I surf, when it gets a bit big, I don’t need more speed and looseness but instead I want some stability and control. But then, better surfers than me would do radical turns when I’m drawing long curves …
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Hey Bill T. and others who know -
From what I've read, it seems a square tailed gun would be a little faster and looser. Am I on track?
My thoughts are: 10'+ gun, edge finned quad, tail @ 11" +/-. w/the square tail @ 3" =/- wide.
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Are "faster" or "looser" desirable qualities in a gun?
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You can never be too fast. Too loose, or ''looser'' is another matter. Very subjective. On the other hand, a fast, or slow board, lets you know very quickly what you are dealing with.
I use to think I wanted control/looseness - and by looseness I mean the ability to do as tight of turns as I can when the conditions warrant/allow - Clean, smooth enough to cut back when it’s 3xOH+. In part 'cuz it’s fun, and it part it may allow me to make/make more, of a wave - I always figured I had all the speed I needed…
But then I started riding my guns as quads and realized the extra speed I was getting (I’ve blabbed about all this before, so forgive me if it’s too much/little info…) allowed me to make waves I wouldn’t have made when the same boards were tris.
I still like do turns if possible, so maybe “loose” is the wrong term, but as opposed to a “stiff” board… I do not think loose/easier turning and control are mutually exclusive. And, as I said, it sounds like the square tail would let the same board basically turn a little “easier.”
Hope this clears up my thinking a bit - Still…
Sounds like Bill T. is suggesting I’m on the right track re. speed… The other “easier turning,” not so sure…
Thanks -
Two identical semi-guns, one with a round pin, the other a 3" squash tail. The round pin was looser, the squash tail was faster. There were some drops I couldn’t make on the round pins- went to the squash tail and I made the drops.
Take a look at what Stretch has been up to. Same lines as a bigger board but smaller.
is that yours Ian?
That one is not mine but I did pick up this MM 10’10" longboard for a $100 . It needs some tlc but is mostly solid. You can try it out next season.
wow, that MM looks like a score! thanks for the offer, i'll take you up on it.
i've been checking craigslist regularly for one... haven't seen any deals like that though.
there was a stretch a while back (10'6" i believe) for $400 but i don't have those kind of funds righ now.
saving my pennies
Diamond-tails (or swallows) on your guns will bring to you the best of both worlds…
Right on you guys!!!
Bill - I know it may sound extreme, but I find I like narrow tails in all but my smallest/mush wave “grovler.”
Ian - I’ve thought about Stretch tails - and the notion I read about width in the tail to the foot back over the fins… How wide is that board, and the tail? I’ve been thinking about the same issue(s) - I’m gonna work something out and post a drawing late in the summer.
Patrick and Balsa - Nice input. I’ve been disusing the diamond tail with my ex-pro buddy… One of his favorites, and a square tail he had…
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Bill - I know it may sound extreme, but I find I like narrow tails in all but my smallest/mush wave "grovler."
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No sin there, ALWAYS go with what works best for your skill level, and style of surfing.
Bill - I think it’s more about my lack of toe strength… Or??? I went to hard shell snowboard boots because, among other things, I was blowing my self up on toe side traverses.
All other things - say with a 3-4" square tail - being equal, what are people’s thoughts on gun tail rocker? Classic compromise to me: More control/more speed…