I recently started riding a fish again that was sitting gathering dust in my barn. I’m 53 years young and in good shape (6’ 170lbs)
I have had so much fun riding it that I started to rethink how I wanted my surfboard quiver to be. I want boards that have glide and drive out of turns.
Boards that go fast and pump down the line. I don’t give a damn about getting air! I want to make sections , do big cut backs, position for the barrel and go super fast!
So here’s my question- Can anyone recommend a shaper that understands where a 50 year old guy guys ike me is coming from.
I want my short boards to have their wide point forward of center! I like the drive and glide it gives.
I am sick of the conventional style board where the volume is all back loaded behind the wide point!
Short boards from 6’3" (fish style/ twin fin) to a 6’7" length could be a quad or thruster.
More width at the wide point. I could be interested in a board that could be up to 21" wide.
I want the boards to be light weight! Interested in epoxy perhaps. They float onto of the water.
my dad is 56 and he has been getting a board or two from rusty now and then just like you described. They work really well for him, they have the epoxy down. I think he orders them custom through rustys del mar shop.
All good calls ~ best to look a shaper’s work and decide from there. Someone will appeal to you most. Oh and let’s not forget Mark Goin and Michel Junod.
I used to ride Stub Vectors. What I find interesting today is the trend that’s taking place with shorter wider boards. I think Kelly slater started this going. He moved the wide point forward past center on the small board he rode at Pipe. What I thinks is happening is more and more shapers are at least trying this concept of pushing the wide point forward of center. I was at the sacred Craftsmen Expo and was seeing boards like this. Most of these boards were sub 6 foot. Will that indirectly effect older surfer’s who crave for that glide and drive when you put your weight on the front foot? Will shapers be able to enlarge these templates for older surfers that want a 6’3" to 6’8" board? I’m hopeful we are entering that period.
It's very common place to move the the center point forward. I have been doing it for the last 6 years for older surfers. Just recently Kelly Slater's Pipeline Performance put it on the map for younger surfers. I just maded a board for Brett Simpson with the wide point moved 3" foward of centered and 5" shorter than his standard board. Normally the wide point is 1" back of center. Now quivers are becoming more diverse which is making things a lot more fun these than just popping out the same shortboard matrix over and over.
