been watching a lot of older Margo footage and am really liking the look of the longer boards guys were riding as daily drivers around the turn of the century. Was hoping to get some input as to what you would recommend for a more average surfer looking to design a board like this. I have some numbers in my head but was wondering what you guys thought. About me, 6’1"x195lbs fit 34 year old surfing since age 10. Living in southeast North Carolina surfing generally weaker waves in the head high and less range. Occasionally larger but usually softer. Heading to El Salvador next month so this board will be going with me but I’d like to be able to ride it consistently around home as well. Currently have a quiver of sub 6’ small wave boards that all kind of perform the same. Wanting to add some more length without going overboard with volume. I only have self shapes but I’d guess them to be in the 30-32L range.
What would you recommend? I’m thinking 6’4"/6’5" x 19.5"x2.5" squashtail thruster.
My suggestion is to focus on the hole in your quiver that you want to fill and then proceed on the no-compromise basis. If you already have boards covering the low end then stick with those for such conditions. If you have a hole on the upper end of the conditions you surf then that’s where the type of board you’re talking about would fit.
You will want to figure out your blank, first. The glass slipper boards of 20 years were using a lot of rocker compared to what the later Alt designs have been doing, so an agressive rocker on the equivalent of a U.S. Blanks EA might make a good starting point. You might also want to go to 19" with nose widths below 12" and tail widths below 15". Or not.
The dimensions you have stated are essentially the average shortboard of 2001 thru 2005. CI, Sharp Eye,JC etc. I don’t see you gaining any volume with those dimensions. You’re not even going to net the volume you guess your current boards are at.
Thank you guys. I decided to go with a 6’6"DG blank. 4 13/16" nose rocker. Going to get a template sorted out tomorrow, still not 100% on what I want to do and it’s getting late here on the east coast. I’ll sleep on it
Whipped up this in shape3d to get a visual of what I’ll be working with. Will be making my template based off of these nose and tail dimensions. Wide point 1" back from center.
I left myself a little room for error. Does anyone else notice that after truing up their blank and foiling their rails that their finished shape is narrower than the original outline? I sure do.
Don’t even cut out the outline until you have at least leveled the bottom. Some shapers wait until they have shaped the deck as well. Watch the Ben Apia shaping video by Fiberglass Hawaii. Doing the outline late in the process insures that you do not screw the outline up somewhere in the shaping process… You narrowed your outline when you turned your rails. If you don’t have a “Shapers Square”, buy one. Everybody makes one these days. If you’re on the East Coast; Greenlighht and Surf Source both sell them.
What I came up with. 6’4.5"x19"x2 3/8". Next to it is my standard 6’0" shortboard that I ride when it’s good. the dimensions say it’s small but under my arm it feels good. Really straight outline which was the result of me pulling the nose in too much and having to take in the rest of the board to make it look more pleasing to my eye. We’ll see how she goes.
A board like that will definitely work in El Salvador, provided some kind of swell is happening. I would take your new 6’4 and the 6’0 for smaller days. What is the width of the 6’0. My comments about volume are not meant as critical. Just an attempt to point out that one can’t shrink a board and gain volume without substantially changing the shape. I realize that you added 4"s to length. Looks like you lost about 1/2" in width and a bit in thickness. It’s still a very good HPSB for the spots you will surf it. Just comments for in the future. If you lose foam in one place, you have to gain it some where else to maintain volume. I am going to guess that in your case you lost a bit off of the Shape 3D #. Still good though. Key to maintain an outline is cutting it later in the shaping process and check it multiple times with a square. Make sure it’s right on before you turn the rail. Then be sure to maintain the bottom edge of the outline as you turn the rails. Lowel
I know its not really germane to the current direction of this discussion, but I once researched this board, and found out the shaper & dimensions.
The guy surfing, as I recall, was a So Cal transplant living in Bali, before he lost his arm in a driving accident. I don’t recall the dimensions now. The board was huge by modern shortboard standards, but obviously worked well for him.
Ditto on my reply on the HPSB for a fat guy with a double overlap. Loose some friggin’ weight. America; the OBESE nation. You can’t fight Russians if you can’t see them over your Michelin gut.
And I am as guilty as the next guy. Just ask Doctor Craig Brown in Tillamook, OR. But he was impressed a week ago when I went from Type 2 diabetic and back down to PRE-Diabetic a week or so ago. Lost only 2 lbs. but dropped six points in my A1C.
I am not off sugar all together, but am moving toward eliminating refined sugar. Black coffee in th AM. No ice cream in the PM. Less bread and less meat. The Doc says Dairy, Meat and Bread are the big dogs. Gotta knock off Juan Corona. Been my weakness after 4PM for a long time. They gave me a questionnaire to answer last time I was in and I asked the nurses; “Obviously everybody lies when they fill this thing out??” They got that twisted smile of acknowledgement on their face. Less of everything and eliminate the really bad stuff. But realize you are NOT God, but a mere human. You will stumble from time to time. The key is to stick with it long term. I live in a climate that isn’t conducive to outside/outdoor activity. So we have a nice YMCA in nearby Lincoln City. Indoor track, weights, pool etc. Senior rate $250 or so per year. So as the weather gets a little more consistent I will break out the bike and hopefully the longboard I did for myself recently… I got no idea other than these simple recommendations. I was as shocked as the Doc and nurses were by the drop in A1C. Wish you all the very best and a healthy life. I met Woody Brown when I lived on Maui. He surfed until he was 90. He was and is my inspiration. Lowel
