So i am designing my self an over head board that i can still duck dive. Right now im looking at 6’1" X 19 1/2" X 2 5/8" I have the rocker all planned out now im trying to decided what tail to go with and how to do the bottom.
Tails, Round tail vs sqaush vs Half moon,
Bottoms concavs what parts of the deck, do i want to v any of it. Im just looking for the feed back. Ideally im designing this to be able to surf in knee to waist for lower and over head to double over head.
Just wanted to get some opions??
Cheers,
Benjamin
Völcker Boards
Boston, MA
Oh yeah also should i go 5 fin set up or just keep it thruster?
Hello Volcker,
Knowing your weight would help, as well as your ability to paddle, what type of shape you're in, and how often you surf.
That board sounds like it has a solid amount of volume, so it should be able to paddle well though. after all, you can't catch too many waves :)
Vee will help with rail to rail transitions, and will keep your board sitting in the water.
Concaves will provide lift. a double concave will be a bit looser than a single.
Its all personal preferance, but a slight single to double is not a bad way to go. As for tails shape there are two basic types: rounded and cut off. tail shape does not make as much of a difference as many of the other design features that go into a board. Round( pins, round, ect) will surf carvy, and rail surf well. Cut offs(square, squash, swallow, bat, moon, ect) will surf well vertical and pivot well. again, personal preference, but don't get too stressed about it.
you don't surf a board with all five fins in it either. it just allows you to choose between thruster, quad, twin, or twinner setups. so if you want to spend the extra 20 or so bucks on installing two plugs then go for it.
hope this helps
I’m working on getting back into good shape. My weight is around 175-190 depending on the day. I surf weekly if theres waves. I live in boston so yeah. I’m good at paddeling.
If i push the wide point slightly forward of the center point how does that effect the board?
I know you don’t often surf with 5 fins in, i was just trying to get a feel for what people think about using quads in big surf.
This is the rough shape i have since smoothed it out and evened out the lines. But im still thinking about the tail. and pushing the wide point a bit further.
Pushing the wide point forward will give you better paddle power, which I don't think you need based on the dimensions that you gave on your post. It will cause the board to be less maneuverable, but will give a bit more hold in big surf because of the straighter outline in the back half of the board. my suggestion would be to not do it. quads work well in big surf and are frequently used on guns. it is all based on tail width and fin placement. there is a mckee setup and an edge set up. think of it this way, the closer your back fins are to where a center fin is on a thruster, the more it'll surf like a thruster. the closer they are to the rail fins, the more it'll surf like a twin fin. your tail doesn't look super wide, but doesn't look too narrow either, so i'd go with a happy medium between the two setups. Again, it is personal preference, and how you want it to feel:looser or more drivey.
A 6'1 is a little short for a guy your size, but with a 19.5" width, a fuller outline, and a 2 5/8" thick board, you should be fine. Instead of stressing out about a wide point, just leave a bit of foam under the chest in the board's foil. I don't really think that you need to be concerned about the hold and control of this board, becuase you won't be using it in the largest of waves. If you do want it to have more hold though, add a couple inches to the length, and make it about 19 1/4 inches wide. right now it looks more like a groveler, small wave type of shortboard.
Swallow tails work well in big and small surf, but like I said, it doesn't make as big of a difference asmany other elements of design do. I'd be more concerned about tail width, and the outline and rocker of your board in the back 1/3 than the actual shape. It also depends on the wave shape rather than size too.
good luck
Thanks so much this is all really helpful. Im still pretty new on the feel of a thruster vs a quad. Only been surfing for a few years now.
this is my rocker set up is like 4 6/8 in the front and 3 at the tail. does this seem a bit radical?
Yes...."that seems a bit radical"
3" in the tail is alot of rocker on a 6'1" shortboard. I'd go with about 1/2 of your nose rocker or 2 3/8" tail rocker. I know that 5/8" difference doesn't seem like a big deal, but for tail rocker it is. your board would bog a bit too much, so anywhere around 2 3/8 is solid. Also, rocker-wise, it is not all about the two end numbers, so keep in mind that if you tend to drive off your front foot, then keep the rocker under your front foot flatter, and vise-versa.
Also, with the full outline that you have going on, you could put a little "bump" in the tail. Don't go all 80's with it, but if you look at some modernday thrusters with full outlines, they will have a subtle bump where the tail gets narrower right at the rail fins. Don't over do it though. it will help with maneuverability, but still keep the volume that you desire
Good thanks i was feeling like it seemed a bit high i was basing it off of other boards recommended to me. Sketching the outline ect.
Asking a board to be able to surf everything from knee to DOH is a tall order. It can be done but the board is not going to work really well through that whole spectrum. I would go with two boards for this, one for everything up to a hair overhead, and an other for everything from head up to DOH. My current board can surf that whole range, but it isn’t very good under waist high. If it is heavy and more than a foot or two overhead, I really have to be selective on which wave I take. And unless the wave is perfect with an easy take off, I would not surf it in legit DOH. My step-up for a hair overhead- double overhead, can surf the small stuff but it isn’t very good at it.
I guess i’m going for more like waist to a over head. My current board surfs 1’ to 8’ about so just a hair over head, which is the majority of the east coast waves. However my buddy likes to hit up a place that can get a bit bigger than over head, and my dwart is just a bit bigger than i should of gotten so i wanted something to duck dive that was more built for big waves than small ones.
6’2"-6’4"x 19"x 2 1/2" 2 3/8 tail rocker 4 7/8" nose rocker. round tail, 13 7/8"- 14" tail, 11"-11 1/4" nose. thruster. If you really like quads or are super sold on the idea, go on the shorter end and add a little extra width over everything. Quads, I feel, you can change the fins and take them into bigger/heavier waves much easier than you can a thruster, the only problem is if your paddling is up to it.
are the nose and tail dimensions like 6 inches away from the tip?
12'' from nose and tail,
welcome to new england's shaping community, total about 10 people.
HEHEHE. Yeah we’ll luckily my sister lives in the same town as the 5star guys. so i have help.
HEHEHE. Yeah we’ll luckily my sister lives in the same town as the 5star guys. so i have help.
This is what i free drew a while ago and it turned out to be your recommendation
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5star, he has been shaping for a long time. he's has been really busy, i was up there 2 weeks ago.
well i haven’t decided yet, but i might go 5 fin.
