I’m interested in others thoughts, design theories, on traditional vs non-traditional length and width of longboards. On one end of the spectrum is Harbour Sufboards which recommends the same length board for a given surfer weight for nearly any longboard including the HP boards, while at the other end of the spectrum the Stewart Redline is 9’ long and the thickness is adjusted for surfer weight and the width is adjusted for surfer height. The idea in both cases is to adjust board volume to suit the rider but what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each? For example a very tall rider would need a Redline so wide it may not fit under the arm. Would a 25" wide 9’ long board handle in steeper waves? Or, what about a smaller female surfer who may not need a full 9’ of length?
I have made a few longboards, and ridden a few more, but not really a “longboarder” per se.
I don’t put a lot of stock in brand name website board recommendations, which seem to me to be a selling tool more than anything. That said, I know a lot of people do really believe in volume parameters for their “ideal” boards. But not me, my board volumes are all over the charts, and they all seem to work good for me.
I think a lot of “volume optimizing” is kind of a substitute for a truly custom surfboard. i.e., the brand has certain “models”, which they can tweak on the computer before having them cut. Not really the same as a shaper making a custom shape, but something like, and makes the consumer feel like they are getting a board customized just for them, which in a way, I guess they are.
In my opinion, you need to find what is working well for you at the spots you frequent, and make your customizations based on that as your starting point.
To get some more specific pointers from the knowledgable posters here, its usually a good idea to give specific info - like your size and weight, the waves you surf, your experience level, and maybe some pictures and descriptions of the boards you ride, and your likes / dislikes regarding those boards. Then guys can make recommendations based on something more than just a wild guess what will work for you.
You’ll find a capable shaper will have all kinds of options in their bag of tricks, beyond just adjusting width or length.
Hope that helps get the ball rolling with your thread! :-)
IMO a large percentage of buyers at the big longboard labels are low-skill, low information buyers. The height/weight recommendations that are aimed at them won’t apply to an experienced surfer.
If you have an average level of skill, are under-50 and don’t weigh more than 220# or have shoulder/back issues then any 9ft longboard with an appropriate rocker for the conditions will have ample volume and ample surface area to get you into a wave. It’s just a question of how hard you’re willing to work at it.
There’s a big difference between choosing more length and/or volume to enable the actual surfing (trimming, noseriding, etc) you’re trying to do vs choosing more length and volume just to get more waves with less effort.
For a longboarder my advice is to figure out how you want to surf the wave and choose your board based on those considerations, not on the weapons-of-mass-wavecount factor. Having at least an average level of skill and judgment will be the bigger factor for that anyway.
And BTW, Stewart’s board comes with the feminine 14" rounded pintail with some vee. No matter how weak and unskilled that 6-6 x 240# surfer is at turning they’re never going to have a problem leveraging that tail around, regardless of the 24" width in the middle. Their bigger challenge is going to be having the skill it takes to get their rear foot anywhere near their fin cluster.
Any longboard is going to have the necessary volume. It all comes down to surfing style and type of wave surfed. Experience will be your guide.
Noserider, glider, high performance. Single fin, multi fin.
So many variables besides dimensions. Bottom contour, rail profiles, rocker.
That was always my thought. How could a longboard not have enough volume?
That being said, I recently shaped myself a longboard. I’m a shortboarder and skateboarder and this is my first one ever. But… It’s been very flat and the only two swells as of recent were days I couldn’t make it. So while I have zero longboard experience currently, I made myself an 8’x20.5"x3" single to flat to v round pin thing. Wide point back, hips, single fin. I don’t care if that’s technicially a “longboard” or not. It’s long enough for me. I’m also 5’5" and 120lbs, and used to boards around my height. So we’ll see. I don’t know that I need a 9’ board to noseride. Honestly right now I’d love to be proven wrong cause it’d mean I’d actually get to test this thing. It’s been done for this whole month pretty much and it’s killing me…
Thanks for the info guys, it sounds like I should be more specific. I’m looking to build my tenth board. I usually surf a 10’ noserider with soft rails all the way to the tail, a little tail flip, and a big hatchet fin. I love that board but when it gets to be a steeper wave or over about chest high it is not really a good choice. I Have tried a few boards for the bigger days we get up here in Oregon that I can still handle. The spot I surf on these days is called Yaquina Head and at around 6-7 feet of swell from the right direction in develops into more of a point type wave with fast solid waves that are quicker than I am used to. The closest surf I can compare it to is Steamer Lane in the center peak. the problem is the experience of surfing there is demanding for me. It is around a rocky point where you can’t see the sand and there is no landing. You are committed out there in the currents, shifty waves etc. so lots of paddling. The board I have found that works well there is a 9’ Pearson Arrow called the Matt Tanner. It’s a 2+1 setup with very narrow online and thin. It’s 21" wide, under 3" thick, and has a narrow tail. The rocker is more HP but not overly so. The problem is I am 6’6" and weight about 210, then add in the 5mm wetsuit. I can only catch a couple waves on a good day when the conditions are like this and some days let perfect waves go up ridden because I can’t get the speed up to catch these waves. I do a lot of training and have no problem catching other waves on almost any longboard.
So, I feel like I would prefer more foam under me in the conditions described but don’t want to give up more performance than necessary. It seems one school of thought is to go bigger in all ways proportionally and another is to go bigger in width and thickness only. I am also making a board for my girlfriend who is a beginner and can’t carry a longboard under her arm. I am thinking of either making one shorter and narrow enough for her to carry or put in one of the SUP handles so she doesn’t struggle with it. I am leaning toward the latter. At her size of about 125 lbs, I don’t feel like a 9’ board is necessary at all.
For the type of waves you’re describing, I think you would be better off getting off a longboard and going to a high volume mid size. You might lose some paddling glide and have to take off a little later and deeper, but once up you would be on a board much better suited to the conditions.
Just out of curiosity, when you do catch one of those waves on the Arrow how do you surf it? Do you set a rail and cross step up to the nose? Are you squaring off your turns and getting the board vertical to hack the lip? Straight on takeoff for the big bottom turn or diagonal down the face to take the high line? Do you surf it more on rail in the pocket or more flat and smooth out on the shoulder?
You could be right phebus. I haven’t had much success on midsize boards to date. I made an 8’ fun board with a thruster but didn’t give it enugh volume to overcome the drag or rocker to handle steeper drops. Back to the drawing board.
Gdaddy, honestly I’m pretty gripped on that wave so I get to about mid board and outrun the wave to the shoulder then cutback where it is less steep, fearing a pearl if I turn sooner or getting in the soup and getting pushed too close to the rocks. I would love to be out there cross stepping to the nose but so far it’s just a bit too much for me to want to risk it. So, noseriding probably isn’t a priority there. This is all sounding like a bigger medium volume board, I supose I could go with a single fin or 2+1 fin setup in one of those.
the board pictured above would probably work well for your conditions, 9’ by 22" by 2 5/8", you can read the thread here http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2294583#Post2294583 If you read it, you will note the rocker comment: “2” at 1’ back from the tip then kicked to 4.75" at the tip, 3 3/8" in the tail. Way less than most . Its how its arranged . 
"
I also like Ace’s Smooth-E and the McTavish Speed Shape (8-8 by 21 1/2 by 2 7/8), I think both would do well in the conditions described.
In Wingnut’s video, he talks about longboards for bigger waves, and hollower waves, touching on rocker, rails, and fins.
and here’s a McTavish “performance longboard” called the Vuelo http://www.mctavish.com.au/surfboard/vuelo
I’ll try to do this again if I can remember what I wrote the first time I attempted to post and the page wouldn’t load. The problem with most longboards today isn’t whether or not they have enough volumne, but rather how that volumne is distributed. No volumne “formula” can distribute the volumne thru a blank in such a way as to make that board both paddle and ride well. Most of what you see in shops these days will do one or the other, but not both.
I’m 5’10", around 150 lbs and my noserider is 8’. Oh, and I’m one week shy of turning 65
Hell, I’m a week shy of turning 65, weigh about 150, and I catch waves with one stroke on an 8’0". Sometimes, no strokes at all.
I don’t see how turning 50 should make a difference, unless you are out of shape to begin with.
I think technically a longboard is 3 feet longer than the height of the rider.
Well Sammy, happy birthday you old fart!
You could probably get away riding something like the Pearson, but just thicker and wider. Dropping down to a 9 footer, is a whole foot shorter than you usually ride. If you’re looking for numbers I’ll throw these out, but they’re just my opinion. Width, 22"-23", thickness 3" or thicker. You could always taper the rails on a thicker board to make it responsive. As I’ve gotten older (I’ll be 60 next month) I’ve favored boards a bit thicker than what most guys my height/weight ride without any major shortcomings other than not being able to dip through waves, although the 7’6" hybrid I usually ride would be difficult to dip no matter how thin I made it. I guess what I’m trying to get at is to not lose too much volume as compared to your noserider so you can still catches waves without too much or any difficulty. My motto is "you gotta catch the wave first before you can ride it ".