I am SORRY if this has already been posted before. I searched “volume liters” “volume small wave board” “volume cubic feet” etc. and had no luck finding any results, even though I am sure I have seen threads on this. I just can’t seem to find them.
So on to the question.
I am 5’11" 155-165 lbs. I ride a 5’10" x 18 1/8" x 2 1/8" high performance shortboard for waves in the chest high to 2 foot overhead range. I would ESTIMATE the volume to be around 22-23 liters. I got this estimation by using Aku Shaper, doing a rough estimate of the rails/concaves of the board, and got about 22.4 liters as the volume.
I am looking to get a small wave board. How much volume, in liters, should I be adding to my small wave boards for float, if any? I would be using it in small beach break under chest high. Should I go 25 liters? 24 liters? Or should I just keep the same volume as my standard high performance shortboard and displace the volume in a different manner?
I think you might be overthinking it a little. I’m the same size as you and my groveller is 5’8x19x2.25. I think if you take 2 inches off the length and add 1/2" to the width the volume will stay about the same, everything else being equal… but I don’t think you need to calculate the liters to figure out a good small waves shortboard.
Who are you getting it from? Anything based on the …Lost sub-scorcher, JS Blak Box, etc style board will probably be fun. 19" is a pretty good width for me for small waves boards. I have a 5’9x 18 3/8 that works pretty good too, but if you ride your shortboard down to chest high you may as well get something wide enough for the really crappy days.
You are right on what I advise for hpsb volume; .50cuft per 100 lbs of body weight. Most guys will go up a little for a dedicated small wave board. Ten percent is an average # for good surfers.
Well here’s how this thread came about. I bought a 5’6" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4" Dumpster Diver used (great deal, but that’s an unrelated side note). 25.3 liters is the volume of this board…
It feels a little bit too floaty and big. I can’t decide if it’s just because of the overall characteristics of the design, or if it’s simply too high volume. It’s not quite as maneuverable/sensitive as my standard go-to shortboard. I can’t come straight off the bottom as easily compared to my go-to 5’10". It has a lot of speed down the line, and I can really get leverage in turns on weaker parts of the wave, but it just feels a LITTLE bit too unresponsive.
I’m trying to figure out whether or not it’s just my personal preference, or if the board is in fact too high volume.
John, listen to Mike. He has been dealing with actual volume numbers longer than a lot of people and shapes enough boards that he has a pretty solid idea on it. Mike, John basically rides my boards. The .72 cu. ft was a good volume for him. I want to venture a guess as to why the DD sucks: the shape. Volume can and does effect performance, but so does rocker, template etc. The DD if it was a pretty much stock board, it is probably like most Merricks in that it is designed for the Average Man, not the guy who is used to riding aneroxic hpsbs. Work with a shaper or shape one yourself.
Just to clarify a few things. My standard shortboard is .79 cubic feet since I weigh 10-15 pounds more than Kyle (riderofwaves) and I surf at a particular spot that is usually big and gnarly, so the extra volume is helpful in doing power carves at high speed. It gives me a little bit extra flotation to push against. Anything smaller than that, and I’m skittering around the face due to lack of control on waves in the head high+ range.
The Dumpster Diver doesn’t suck. It’s actually a really good board. But I think I’m in denial of the fact that I bought this board impulsively and it’s simply too big. I bet the 5’4" in stock dimensions would be ideal in waves chest high and below. Maybe I’ll just buy a new lower volume one…not necessarily a DD though, just something along the same lines of it. If I were to go to another shaper, I’d give him creative freedom/interpretation over the design.