You asked for guidance and you got it, fuck that, make and ride what you think is right and fine tune it as you progress, and make more and progress, we can only lead, it is up to you to find that magic board that gets the panties wet. Swaylocks is just a tool to bring out the best in us
Tom
John, although I said take what I wrote with a pinch of salt I think there are a number of us who think that its rail volume not overall volume that has more to do with the way the board behaves. I too am of the belief that 6' fish don't catch waves like a longboard. Although I said I change my beliefs every few years its going to take a lot of persuading to change that one!
[quote="$1"]
I'm 10kg+ lighter than i was 12 months ago, and at 77kg, im not heavy at all, but i LOVE foam. There, i said it, my secrets out haha. My 7'10'' x 22 x 3 midlength, my 6'6'' x 21 x 2 3/4 bat tail quad fish, and my 6'3'' x 20.5 x 3 ( and super chunky ) twinny are all fat, wide and f&cken fun. A "shortboard" to suit me would be roughly 6'10''-7' x 21-21 1/2 wide x 2 3/4 thick, and im not scared to admit it. [/quote]
thats not heavy at all. Your new PridMore looks good http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/new-board-66-not-fish in the same sort of class of board as my mate's Webber Pulse. He is very experienced and competent and is a bit lighter than you and 6' 6" is his choice.
i haven’t even finished shaping my first board and you guys already got me thinking about boards 2 and 3.
you never stop thinking about the ‘next’ board, well, hopefully not.
I think Mr. J Nailed it for a long term surfer: change it up! - If you’ve surfed a while (32 years in my case), try something new! Revisit something old! Get out there and have fun!! Try a Hull in some long point break waves. Get a step up short board out in something thick & thumpy. Try a retro single with a forward stance in the barrel. Grab an old board out of the rafters! Jump on the bandwagon and try a fish (“Fish” definition aside!) - go have fun!
If you don’t have it - get some depth in your quiver! Try EVERYTHING twice!
IMHO - almost every board has it’s wave / style - not every surfer can adapt / appreciate that. ( MOST do not have the ability to appreciate anything other than what is currently under their feet)
I Don’t know about you guys, but I’m not paid to surf - so it had better
be fun! 8^)
"The Constant Push for Less Volume - Where Does It End?"
When did it start ???
Do you surf on the weekends? You want less volume....good ...I get more waves....
This thread is funny.....
I'm shaping 5'8" fish / eggs for friends and they complain about "longboarders"....funny stuff....
And to add to the fun....Longboarders say my 8 footer is short!!! Ha ha.....
It never ends........go surfing ...have fun...
Ray
cheers, Lockedin! at age 49 I'm not getting better, but what I can do is adapt to a different shape every so often. For me adaptation should not take too long - maybe 5 sessions or so. I don't believe in surfboard snobbery, whatever my belief system happens to be it must be that my current shape is suitable for me and that I am not struggling in any way to cope with it. One year ago my magic board was the Flyer II, but not any more. I'm thoroughly enjoying revisiting where I was in the late 80s and early 90s - the HPSB - except this time the boards are better thanks to the concave and most importantly my belief in the concave. My belief is such that I don't believe I am compromising wave count or ability to make sections in any way. As mentioned I'm achieving it with a HPSB which has a high volume to weight ratio for me, I [u]believe[/u] it is right for me.
My mate with the 6' 6" Webber knows a select few reef breaks very well and gets heaps of waves and no one is dropping in on him coz they think he is on a board too big for him. Lucky bastard lives right next to the surf. I should say that right now if my post seems to be all over the place its coz I'm posting this from his house and that I'm insanely happy due to just having a great surf on my oversize HPSB, did a floater on my first wave :) but its not always like this, sometimes I have a terrible surf, but I try not to take things too seriously and not let it bother me unduly
Hello Mr J
...I like you...
You're a Surf Snob...you just don't know it.....Look around.....What are your peers riding?
I have a few friends that ride small surfboards.....Most of my peers ride longboards.....
...over 40...shorter board...flexable....no leash...ha ...ha ....you Aussies Rip!!!!!
Heck,...I'm happy if I can stand up on an ankle slapper......
Ray, for your and NoLeash’s interest I’ve just done that. Of the bunch of mates I go surfing with only one of them truly rips. He is the youngest at about 40, but its not just being more youthful, talent is involved too. All my mates however are very competent and grew up in this surfing region and make intelligent equipment choices. Some of them are frequently changing the design of their equipment and between them all there is quite an eclectic collection of shapes. At least half of them use a custom shaper to achieve this.
The oldest two use longboards (one HP the other traditional). Three of them use boards that could be approximated as fun guns - one with a rounded nose the others pointed noses - about 7’ 6" long, big boy shortboard width, but with tails narrow enough to handle juice. Another has changed from a traditional longboard, to funboard and back up to HP longboard in the space of about a year. One alternates between a fish with a traditional front end and rocker, but narrower tail and a HPSB. Another is on a big boy shortboard (and made a successful stepdown from longboard via a big fish). There is also a kneeboarder.
So there can’t be any type of peer pressure on riding style with such a varied bunch of equipment, although we do generally encourage each other as well as have to compete with a crowd.
Past few days - Chest to slightly OH, hollow, fast waves. Most guys riding in the low 6’ tris, going for turns “off the top”/some tubes - varying levels of success. Most in there 30’s. Me on my 8’ pink quad. Sitting down and out, waiting for sets, going down the line, looking for the tube, doing cut backs, or kick outs as “appropriate.” Few guys ask about my board.
At 46, with a past of chronic shoulder issues, I’m firmly in the camp of “what works for me,” and my “works” I mean: Let’s me paddle around, maybe get in a little early, many of the things mentioned… At this point I’m happy to be able to paddle for a few hours on a good day, and I’m more happy if I can get some fun ones while I’m at it.
I’m working a personal “theory” of “making my own waves,” i.e., even when it looks less than decent, I try to “see” waves I could ride, and then I try to. Often I’m the only guy out, 'cuz it looks “crappy” to many folk around here. In the quest for peace and happiness, if I can catch one, then I’m stoked, and if I can make the drop, make a turn, or two, or… Then it’s “pure frosting.”
Different strokes. I’m all about volume. Length, not so much.
I figured out 10 years ago that FOR ME length is very nearly a separately negotiable variable. I could probably get the volume and surface area I need to paddle into a wave in a 5-0 length if I wanted to make it wide enough and square enough and thick enough. From there it just becomes a matter of how much rail area and rocker I need to control that volume. A 5-0 with sufficient volume to float my fat rear end (@ 190#) would have some very definite control limitations for me, particularly with respect to my use of the rails. That’s why I don’t do lengths that are quite that short. Overall (and in relatively small surf) I consider control to be a bigger limitation than length.
One thing the really short lengths have going for them is that it’s a lot easier to consistently hit the sweet spot to turn a 6-0 board than a 6-10. You don’t need quite as much rocker in the shorter lengths, either.
ding ding ding
I think the thread title is a misnomer…lately, the push has been for less LENGTH, but not necessarily at the expense of volume.
In fact, it seems like volume is en vogue these days…look at the fish and simmons boards people are riding…they are THICK yet short.
I’m 100% focused on GDaddy’s point…going shorter as a means of forcing myself in to the sweet spot on the board which makes for far more predictable performance.
Nice to see a thread like this proceed along with civility; no "I'm right, you're wrong'' bs. I see a substantial variation in volume preference among customers, but I do try to steer them to find the minimum that will work for them if they want to advance their surfing. One person's minimum may be way too much for another guy (same weight), of course.
I have three fishes that are all very close in shape and function, but different thickness/volume. I surf the best on the 2 1/4'' one, so much quicker and sensitive and tossable, and I can overpower it to recover in the whitewater off cutbacks and reentries. But I can only ride it when all my parts are working well. Fitness and minimizing the orthopedic problems are the key. I have the thicker ones for days when I feel my age.
Mike, I know what you mean. That is a frequent technique of mine, or rather I should say it is a tactic for overcoming lack of technique. Thats why I like light boards. Frequently when going for an off the lip in a smallish wave I know I haven’t timed it perfectly to hit the lip when it has fully formed, but with a tossable board I can go for it anyway and pull it off. When I say light, I don’t mean ridiculously light, but approaching 2.5 kg. However the boards I use are both thicker than yours (but maybe narrower at < 19")
A constant push for less volume is a self inflicted situation.
I think we all make choices about what we ride.
Myself, at 48 years old no longer find any need to be “cool” &
ride what i like !! The sheep can ride what they like !!
Fine by me,that means more waves for me, HA ,HA !!
So it really “end’s” with the individual.
You seem to be slowly but surely working your way down to a ''normal'' hpsb, personally I think you should try a 5'10'' x 18 1/4'' x 2 1/8''. You might be surprised.
Don't laugh, I was about about your age when I entered my ''second childhood'' and cut great gobs of length and thickness from my boards.
But, as silverbak said, it's all about the individual. And sometimes it's fun to just relax in the water; I made myself a 7'4'' hull last year and had a blast just coaxing the board into the spots on the wave where it could do its thing. One of these days I'll be back to longboarding as well. Saving that for when I get really old :)
I am 5’8 165 and 26. My every day board is a 5’8 egg but my shortboard is a 5’10 18.25 2.25 and my bud who is a local pro seems to think its huge, LOL. He is my size and rides 5’10 2 18. I am making one that small just to try. He also gets all his boards from Plus one shaper. His boards are so much more dialed than I could hand shape. at the same time I just made a 6’6 egg for myself.
The simple answer to your core question is...when the lower wave count starts to affect your perceived fun. There is nothing more frustrating than to go out in good fun waves and only catch a handfull because the board is too small. Eventually guys riding low volume boards will adjust higher. Its not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
When it comes to performance shapes with real-world volume,,,,of all the 'pop' shapers out there in the mainstream, I look to Rusty designs for some guidance.
5’ 10" x 18 1/4 is I suppose about right for my size, but I look at thickness of 2 1/8" and think what about the ease of paddling. However as you said I need to try it to find the answer and it is an interesting thought and the cheapest way for me to find out is to get a second hand potato chip - there must be heaps on the market with dimensions like that.
John Mellor and myself are of the belief that its rail volume that really matters, nevertheless the potato chip has had plenty of time to evolve down to that wafer thin thickness, so there must be a reason why its gone so thin. Can yourself or someone shed some light on this question?