Anybody here have some hours and opinions on a Weber Stylist? I have a chance to pick one up for a really good deal from a friend, he already has another stylist and a performer. I’m 5’8", 160 lbs. The board is 9’6", 24" wide, 3 3/8" thick with an El Gato fin all the way forward. I have ridden it a few times and obviously found a really different board than what i am used to (9’6" Wayne Rich Modern Classic).
The turning is wider and slower and on a foot or so overhead day point break i got worked a few times pretty hard because I couldnt nail the bottom turn. It felt like driving a truck with no power steering.
Is this board too much for me or do I just have to make friends with it?
it’s more of a log than what you’re used to, but if you’re dedicated to learning how to ride, it could be a great board for you. if the price is right, i’d say go for it. if you give it a decent shot and decide it just doesn’t suit you, it shouldn’t be hard to unload without any loss.
That’s a lot of thickness and width for your size. If you like the glide but need a better turn, you might try a 8" or 9" cutaway fin moved to the back (I assume there is a fin box). And if you need to recycle it to another user, I’m sure ther’s some fat old guy like me who would buy it without hesitation.
hahaha, fat old guy I’m an old fart myself. Your exactly right, it felt like alot of board to me, especially when i got worked and wondered where that big SOB was, I knew it was chasing me down about 10 ft away.
I come from a shortboard shorebreak background (the 70’s) and only started with longboards after an accident a few years ago. I have always surfed “performance” longboards so turning and overall handling has been much easier than the tank. Alot of board but alot of fun.
Hey longboardguy-- Is it a classic stylist or a modern one? they can vary greatly especially the modern ones, for intsance when Stu Kenson was doing them they were fairly high performance usually in the 22.25 range. when I took over for Stu I brought the whole line back to a more classic look and feel,with widths in the 23.5 to the 24 inch range and flatter rockers. At the time I was riding one of Dewey’s personal boards lent to me by wife Carrol. It was a 67 super scoop with a 2 inch foam t band, it was 25.5 inches wide with a dialed in bottom by Harolg Iggy, definately the widest l.b. I had eve ridden. Thing was It was an insane noserider and yet turned quite well.
its a Jerry Okeefe shaped board. The width is 24 in Pretty flat rocker, sideways takeoff or you’re pearling, at least I am. The rails are egg shaped and are relatively hard in the rear, soft in the front. Its a beige board with two simple pinstripes down the center and for such bland attire its a thing of beauty. Heavy glass job and you can see the cloth and laps on her, really bitchin. I’ve never had a board tell me how to surf before but this thing is teaching me a few things, it contimually makes fun of me…its like being a kook all over again. I was born in '60 and when I really started surfing was early 70`s so after all these years I have a new found appreciation for the old loggers of days gone by. And some people say a longboard is a longboard is a longboard. I cant drop knee turn yet, Im used to the stand in the back and swing the body around performance type of turning but this board wont have nothing to do with that.
Our surf history sounds the same. I was riding performance long boards, till I bought a 25" wide ‘Con Super Ugly’ .about 8 years ago. No longer could I just pump to get speed, I had learn how to use different parts of the wave to provide the speed and turning. In other words I had to read the waves differently that I did on the performance boards. I still will ride the two plus one fin boards but the glide of the big wide single fin boards is where my heart is.
No worries- Jerry O’keefe seems to have kept up the classic vein maybe going back a little farther to about early 66 or so. try takin it out at a traditional longboad wave say san o or the bu get the hang of it there and the rest will follow-- S.A.
We do the repairs for Weber, and have tried a number of different models. They really don’t have “rack” boards, so all of them vary in thickness and rocker. I have a Quantum which is similar to a Stylist. It is almost the same dimensions as the one you mentioned, and I’m slighly smaller than you. Bottom turns are different with Weber shapes since they are very retro in bottom design and outline as opposed to modern/performance longboards. I had to really try a lot of fin setups to get what I wanted. I’m presently using a 2+1 with a 9" wide base F/U style center. Singles didn’t have the drive for me, and there were other problems. Most people have to get way back on the tail and drop a knee to muscle single fin Weber’s into a turn. For me, more fin area made a huge difference in the way it turned and trimmed. Weber boards are glassed well and will last a long time. They have good resale value, so I’d buy it if the price is right.
It probably the thickness more than the width that’s making it feel like your feet (and control) are removed from the wave. that’s enough thickness for me - I’m 6’2", 215. I would say to really stay back and flex your knees more than usual. You want to ‘load up’ your body & the board and then unweight to swing a turn. Drop knee serves that purpose too, but isn’t necessary, just a stylistic way of doing it. You might want to go down on fin size too. A lot of people think, ‘big board = big fin’, but you actually get so much hold from a big board and soft, soft rails, that you can go down some in fin size. I ride a 10’4" Velzy '63 model with a 9" farberow flex fin centered in the box. Its plenty of fin…
thanks for the information, its everything I wanted/needed to hear. I’m digging the new feel and will buy this board, you’ve made up my mind. I think I will try less fin to loosen it up just a tad, I have several at home I can try from cutaways to greenoughs paddle fin. Good advice Benny, drop knee is a beautiful thing but there are other and easier ways to swing the pork around. weight up and unload. On one occasion we surfed an oily spot just north and by the end of the session I could see where I was planting my feet, they were about as far back as I could go so thats a good thing…I think I can learn to love this board,
thanks again for all the great advice…now if I could figure out how to make the mortgage without working
Its hard to chose who to ride, But I would stay closer to Wayne Rich, his shapes are smooth and flowing and he knows how to foil a board. As far as the Dewey, how old is it and when was it shaped. Where was it made to ride at?
Here is an interesting fact, I have seen many weber’s made on a shaping machine here in the south bay and have read their articles saying that every shape is done by hand…(don’t think so)…
Both boards will ride, you have to chose which one to take out in the morning, its one of those life decisions.
thanks for the reply. The weber was made in 03. I am not sure where it was meant to be surfed but you do not see too many between Ventura and Gaviota. The board picks up slow rollers i.e Mandos, Deveraux really well and is a fun board to about chest high, than it starts freakin me out a little. It could be the board style was not meant for bigger steeper surf, not sure thats why for all the testicle questions I come here. I know there are many surfers out there that could play with this board in any size surf but I’m not one of them. The biggest board I had been on until 3 years ago was a 7’10" Bushman when an oilfield accident changed the way my body behaved from the waist down, so my longboard career started.
Wayne makes a nice product, his modern classic will always be one of my favorite boards and Clyde was a mentor when I was surfing Silverstrand back in the early 70’s.
If the volume is there I wouldnt be surprised by anyone using a machine but I kind of like it when a shaper tells me he started falling asleep on the right rail and the glasser trapped a fly in the glass job
i bought one in new in '99- looked like a great board with the classic weber red-white colored glass job. rode it at C-street and Topanga. it’s slow, and those pinched rails dig every time you make a pivot turn or agressive turn off the bottom. it is quite stable on the nose. doesn’t slide out. best for chest high days at a point. i think there are better retro models that are superior in almost every regard to the stylist. after all, it is a classic longboard. this is only one person’s opinion. i sold mine 3years ago. i’m sure someone’s havin a better time on it than me.
man, thats exactly how I feel this board rides, you explained it perfectly. I felt like no matter where i was on the board I couldnt get it moving or get it turning, especially on the initial drop and bottom turn. Twice i was swallowed up because I couldnt burn the section. First and second time out I tried it at Deveraux Point (poo poo water at home) and I got chewed up, not on all waves but alot more than the normal day. Thats when i decided to take it to a more familiar place, C-St and faired no better. I was able to get it going well on slower mushy waves like at Mandos and inside the point at Deveraux, I think they call it Cactus? But the faster waves I got worked pretty good.
Its alot different than my other boards so it has been interesting.
thanks for the reply and description, fits perfect.
I have a board I believe is similar to yours. It is a mid 60’s 9’6" Hansen Superlight. It has pinched 50-50 rails with a very rounded bottom and relatively flat continuous rocker. It is one of my all-time favorite boards.
It is ridden much differently than contemporary longboards. You should not think about pivoting the board from the tail on a relatively flat plane. Instead, you should think about rolling the board onto its’ rail around its’ longitudinal axis. You do this by placing your foot on the inside rail and shifting your weight to initiate the turn. I rarely make a bottom turn from the tail. Instead I am usually standing closer to the middle of the board. By turning at this point I put the curviest portion of the bottom into the wave. If you stay at that point the trajectory will continue up the face of the wave. You then unweight and step forward into trim position, which is usually 2/3 up from the tail. That’s when the fun begins. These boards are meant to be ridden from the forward trim position. From there you can utilize the curvey bottom to climb and drop on a wave by shifting your weight from the inside rail to the outside rail and back. It is best to avoid muscling you way through the turns. Finesse and timiming are the key.
The proper fin is also important. My Hansen originally had a molded plastic greenough type fin with a lot of flex. I quickly realized that flex was important to the board’s performance. When it wore out I replaced it with a Fins Unlimited 9.5" egg fin that was similar to the original. That improved the performance even more. A stiff barn door type fin will spin out without warning when the board is pushed too hard on the rail.
Although this type of board rides much differently than modern boards it can be incredibly fun once you understand how it works. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the reply man. Good advice. I think that is key, learning how to surf this partuicular board, Im always up for a challenge. It is definately in the turning, when I have tried a rail to rail from mid board, it feels as though the rail is biting and wont give, I can see the faceplant coming. I am going to try to slow the turn down.
I have experienced in a faster wave that no matter where I got on the board I couldnt get it going fast enough even if I was up on the front 1/3 of the board. More than likely I was on the wrong part of the wave and had the board pointing too much to the beach? I cant say Im a noserider, I can get up there and get back, not always the prettiest so this summer I will really work at it.
Now if this runoff would just lighten up, sick of this rain.
Hello lngbrdguy- If you think you may be pointing your board toward the beach too much, you probably are. Once you are in trim you want to focus you weight on the inside rail and keep the board paralell to the wave as much as possible. That is when you will start to build up speed. Even though I surf in Florida I have rarely had a problem making a wave unless it is closing out.And I have surfed it in head high or better waves. Once you are at trim speed you don’t have to do too much. It should find it’s own speed and then you just have to make minor trim adjustments to stay there. too far up on the nose is really a stall manuver, the same as being too far back on the tail.
Read some posts in the archives about displacement hulls. A lot of the descriptions about their performance seems to apply to these type of boards. Hope this helps.
I’m an old fart myself. Your exactly right, it felt like alot of board to me, especially when i got worked and wondered where that big SOB was, I knew it was chasing me down about 10 ft away.