I had a slightly alternative design concept knocking around in my head for some time. Putting it together with some scrap plywood, paulownia and XPS I had hanging around was the next logical step.
My aim was to compress a 9’ pig style longboard and it’s associated glide, volume, weight and graceful turning characteristics down into a more manageable 6’. Planshape is basically the 9’ pig with 3’ cut off the nose. 24” wide and a constant 4” thickness from nose to tail. I have used no rocker at all. There is a constant 1” belly (if you include the lower rail profile curve it’s even more) the entire length to compensate for the absence of rocker, and I estimate it’s volume to be around the 70 litre mark (at least), and its weight to be around 12kg (deliberately) when finished.
With the short length, reasonable planshape curve and extreme belly it should still be manoeuvrable enough for what I want, despite having no rocker. When you trace the water path across the bottom of the board at an angle (during turning for example) there is actually quite a generous amount of rocker built into the bottom, but in a straight ahead paddling mode it’s all flat, with just the front 100mm of nose block having any lift shaped into it.
When finished I’m hoping that it will surf like an “invisible” longboard in that you will feel like you’re surfing a longboard but you won’t be able to see any evidence of it in your peripheral vision as you surf it. I was encouraged to do it after spotting an old Swaylocks hotcurl design thread and seeing their super thick rear ends and minimal rocker. So I guess you could also consider it a reduced length, finned hotcurl design of sorts.
Will it work? I can’t be sure, but I needed to find out.
Having always been a fan of thickness in combination with low rockers and belly I’d often wondered how far you could go before it was too far.
Construction was simple. Take a block of foam the thickness you want. Cut the planshape (minus the intended shaped rail width and nose and tail blocks). Mark 25mm offset along each side from the bottom edge upwards. Mark 10mm along each side from the top edge downwards. Shape the bottom belly and your deck roll to these markings. Glue the plywood deck and bottom skins on (easy because there’s no compound curvature). Glue the rail strips on individually (they’re separate top and bottom strips until the final few - so the rails are hollow). Add the nose and tail blocks. Shape the rails, nose and tail blocks and you’re almost done. I will just be sealing with resin and not laminating. Simple.
Interested in your ride reports. I made a few extremely low rockered boards and they all end up feeling like I need rocker. I’ve made a few boards with a lot of belly and I felt like they pushed water instead of cutting through. In certain kinds of waves and water conditions both felt good, but not great. I don’t mind very little rocker, but I’ve never enjoyed a lot of roll in the bottom. I’ve included a clip of the first ride on the board that has almost no rocker (rocker shot). In glassy, small, long waves, this board can be fun. It will glide through the flat spots. The boards with lots of belly need a bit more push in the waves.
Shark Country, that’s an amazing board, I can see why you and your brother look for all the variations to explore rather than settle with the mainstream.
A few times in my life I’ve had perfect waves, surfed till my arms fell off and my back was burnt like pork crackling, exhausted from the physical and emotional pleasure of flawless waves, and then thought to myself…
I’ve had more waves than I deserve, in One day, hundreds of perfect barrels with just my brothers to share the joy of surfing. I’m full for a lifetime of the best surfing experiences. Im done, satisfied for life, I’ve done the epic of surfing several times - Waves, weather, knowledge, and just with family. Nothing can top that experience, can tempt me to try for more.
But there’s always a yearning for something different rather than more of the same. It’s the girl in the bar who isn’t blonde, the car that’s been subtlety customised or the board design that just calls you to ride it.
Rohan’s board is like that, no matter how it rides I have to know, ride it if I can.
The only design “failure” I’ve had with one of my boards was when I put a dead-flat bottom contour with downrails on a singlefin midlength that I intended to surf in slow conditions. Not really a failure as such because it is faster and it does release better than a bottom with some roll but it’s not as smooth, and going fast isn’t really the point with boards that are aimed at slow/mushy conditions.
But I also think a little goes a long way when it comes to bottom contours, so I find that a flat bottom with some roll at the outside 3" and eggy rails is plently smooth for those conditions.
With the board in the OP I’m wondering how you’d get those rails to engage with the wave face.
Below is a 6-0 x 20.5 x 2.5 that I did back in 2010. Actually I reshaped a 6-10 egg that had died and ended up with this. It doesn’t have nearly the volume of the board we’re discussing but it is a short length with a relatively straighter rail line through the middle and a flat rocker. I ran this board as a single for 6 months because I was trying to do the McCoy thing - and it did do that. But I got bored with the limitations and ended up adding side boxes and running it as a quad - the board came alive then.
The volume is under 40 liters so it wasn’t enough to support me out at the nose, but my middle son who was 25# lighter at the time could get a cheater 5 on it without a problem. Rocker was 3.25" at the nose and 1.85" at the tail and the domed bottom w/edge. Curiously, the board liked a beachbreak wave with some push.
I put too much belly in the mid-section of a 9’0 once. It was a very nice looking board so it was easy to sell. And after one session at Sewer Peak and First Point I knew it was For Sale.
I actually prefer that combination for slow weak waves, mainly for the glide it gets. I love the McCoy outline, but I don’t put much belly up front, I keep it flat. I found that with the belly up front, whenever I stepped forward the board would slow down. They ride great from the back half.
I started shaping again back in 2005 after discussions with the guy I was getting boards from to change his version of the McCoy Nugget and make the bottom of the nose flat. He said it wouldn’t work, it does.
The one thing I have been trying to create is the one board quiver that is not a modern longboard, and while I’ve gotten close, I still haven’t done it. I think it lies in a midlength, perhaps the speed egg shape.
I tried to put aside my understanding of how all the individual elements of surfboard design are generally considered to interact with each other, thought about it holistically, and just went with purity of form instead. I must say that I’m a little enamoured with the the curves that have resulted from this approach. I always loved the look of the Greenough “spoon” designs. Maybe the Spoonful would be a better name for this board than the Invisible Longboard.
“The Invisible Longboard” is a perfect marketing name. Look for it in your local surf shop soon.
I’m saddened by your choice of name because it’s so good.
”The” gives it the title of surpassing all others, heralds it as instantly superior.
“Invisible” gives it the air of uncertain allure. What could it actually be ?
and “Longboard” qualifies the first 2 words and encapsulates the reason, function and purpose of the items unique quality.
It is 3 words that state here is The Ultimate board on which old men can compete with the younger stronger crew without looking like an old coot trying to relive his youth on a Longboard. The only time reduced length is a benefit.
I’m thinking maybe the 12” as I’m not sure what fin position would best suit my rubenesque creations proportions and it’s unknown ride characteristics.
Just a little bit of cleaning up to do but it’s all watertight.
It looks ungainly and nonsensical in side view but voluptuous from all other angles.
I’ve got a set of side fin plugs on hand if it proves to needs a few extra “control surfaces”, but I think I’ll surf it first to see if it needs them or not.
