I have just finished uni for the year and I am going to be taking the summer off. I won’t be hitting the books again until March 2011. I plan on devoting my 3 months of summer to shaping and surfing. To date I have shaped 5 boards (3 short boards, 1 fish and 1 minimal) I hope to complete 5 boards to get me to the magic number 10. I have been actively searching sways and online for info on surf board design theory and hydrodynamics, I am SLOWLY learning a lot. I am going to aim to make 2 fish and 2 short boards and then decide what number 10 will be.
I am 6’2" tall and weight around 160lbs, I surf Sydney’s northern beaches (which in summer are not that flash) I am on the lower end of intermediate ability. I want my boards to catch waves well and to have some speed, I like down the line surfing with some small turns.
Here is what I have got so far on the 2 fish I want to make, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Fish 1:
5’8" x 16.5"- 22.5" - 16.25" x 3"
Tail, 12" wide 7" deep
Rocker, nose: 2 7/8" tail: 1/2"
Rails 60/40 turning down hard at the tail
Fins: twin ply keels - 7.5" x 4.5"
Fish 2:
6’0" x 16.25" - 22" - 16" x 2 7/8"
Tail: 10.5" x 6"
Rocker: nose 3.5" tail 1.5"
Rails: ?? (probably same as above)
Fins: quad futures.
Here are some pics of my last fish, I went to bali last month and had a go at some reefs. It went really well, I had a lot of fun.
looks good, dont limit yourself to just fish and shorties, you'll learn more by making a wider variety of designs and especially if you ride as many as you can, ride everything and try to understand what does what and why...feeling it is better than reading it....
Hi...really like your fish. Am aiming to make one myself this summer. I too live on the northern beaches of sydney and I agree the surfs not that much good this time of year.. Why not try making a single fin retro ? Just finished one that is 7ft and 22.5 inches wide and only 2.5 inches thick. Made it with a very flat rocker because I used a second longboard blank from Dion chemicals at Brookvale. It skates along but is very responsive...a totally different feel to other boards. sounds like you are going to have a great uni break ! Goodluck
P.S. threads here on a "fat arsed wombat" quad set up might suit you as well.the board has a funny name but goes well. They make them up at Byron.
The red board looks great and your layouts for the other two boards will surely work. That 5-8 is flaaat, I salute you for committing.
Since you seem to be interested in various forms of fishies, here’s a link to a San Diego area shaper who has a cool variation going that you may or may not find interesting:
The red board looks great, you're a quick learner!
My take on your prospective dims... I'm not sure you need 22''- 22.5'' on width, for those lengths 21.5'' should be plenty for someone your size. If you stick to the ultra-flat rocker on the 5'8, soften the bottom a bit (convex) to allow it roll on a rail; it damn sure won't turn off the rocker. But it's short enough you should be able to push it around.
citysurfer I have been thinking about doing a retro single fin, I really dig the old school 70’s lightning bolts. Similar to the guns rabbit Bartholomew used to ride. Got any pics of your single fin? I am really starting to get into older style boards. I get a much nicer vibe from them compared to some of the newer style boards. I find the way they are surfed and the whole design is a lot more appealing.
I am heavily influenced by guys like Greenough, Skip Frye, Steve Lis, Rich Pavel and Derek Hynd. The 2 fish I am working on are a bit of a mix between Pavel and Hynd.
GDaddy, Derek rides a white fish in Litmus that inspired me to go really flat, hopefully it works out. Cheers for the link, his Hotrod Fish looks really nice! Was thinking of putting some little wings on the quad. Might be a bit much, want to try keep it simple.
Thanks for the advice MikeDaniel, I will play around with the outlines and maybe reduce the width. In regards to your suggestion about the bottom of the 5’8", just want to clarify. When you say soften convex bottom, do you mean like a vee of more rounded? Not sure I fully understand the turning limitation of a flat rocker, is it that it makes it more difficult to sink the rails in a turn?
I grew up riding fishes (daily driver from 72-77), and I've shaped a bunch of them; but I've gotten pretty far from what would be considered a ''mainstream-retro fish'' with my design thoughts. So you may want to ignore me entirely. I think most if not all of the 70s boards can be improved on, that might disqualify me too :)
Design always involves tradeoffs. If you go super-flat on rocker, softening the bottom with a little roll to panel V will give the boards some forgivedness. Re turning it: Maybe with the way you want to surf and the short length of the board it won't be an issue, but to do a rail turn you have to put the board on a rail, and flat rocker doesn't help with rolling the board up to initiate the turn. Roll and/or V does (more so than flat or concave). The rocker curve of rail buried in a turn has role in determining that turn's radius also.
