… What do you want
from your boards ?
from your fins ?
from your surfing ?
give it a bit of thought , before answering … it relates in part to … where you surf , how you surf , your age / fitness …
cheers
ben
I’m and old fart, closing in on 60, and I surf very crowded / competitive point break waves in L.A. and Ventura - the kind of spots where guys are already calling you off the wave before they even caught it themselves. I don’t generally stay out long, just paddle out for an hour or two, then off to other stuff. So I have to have a board that paddles really really well, number one priority. Otherwise I could sit in the crowd for hours and not get a wave (yes I have)! I’m not a total longboarder, ‘tho I do have a couple. But my other boards are still pretty big, 7’4" to 8’, and thick.
A lot of guys hate the term “funboard”, but that kind of sums up most my boards - not too serious or high performance, just fun for a recreational surfer like me. I’m moving to longer boards as time goes on. Never made a board (for myself) over 9’, but when I see kids less than half my age riding 9’-6"ers, I can tell you the day is coming!
I like my boards a bit on the heavy side, and I like them strong. Glassing with epoxy and bit of extra glass, my boards seldom get dings that need repairing. Mostly just a bit of compression on the deck where my feet stand, especially my back foot.
Since I make my own boards, I like them to be somewhat of an artistic statement. And I like them to be a little out of the ordinary - most of my boards don’t resemble anything on the rack. That’s part of the fun of making your own, to me. Custom with a capital C, so to speak. Color-wise, I don’t think I could ever make a plain vanilla surfboard, but maybe I should try, just to bask in the virtue of self-denial, haha!
Fins, I’m pretty ignorant of. I like drive. I just go mainstream on fins, nothing experimental yet. I’m trying to figure out surfboard design before I move on to fin design! I like single finners and quads.
Surfing, I’m definitely a “down the line” surfer, nothing vertical going on here. Old school I guess, I like to see how far I can get on one wave. The further, the better. Surfing as a mode of transportation.
Boards and fins:
Strong - I need the board to take a beating run aground, jumped on banged up in my car or on my racks, I’m not gentle with my stuff, I don’t want take “care” of it. Impact properties are important.
Light - stays on my feet better. lighter the better and still meet the above.
Fast - early to plane and continues to accelerate, as a rider I have many more options to slow down a fast board than to speed up a slow one.
Manueverable. easily turned…and resposnive to my weight shifts. Prefer a bit twitchy over locked in stability.
Flexibility, haven’t totally decided but generally find I’ve preferred the thinner more flexible boards.
From my surfing I want better waves and more of them :)
End up surfing lake swell. most often times wind generated usually with a kite.
I’ll be 46 in a couple months. I’m on the downside. I build my personal boards to try and keep me performing as close to where I was the year before. I’m building them for increased paddling and wave catching.
A one board quiver. I want the glide of a twin keel fish & the turning of a hpsb. A board that work from knee to ceiling high. A board with glass on marine ply fins & a cutLap with resin tint. A board that’s as eye pleasing as it is to surf. I’m working on A speed dialer inspired surf craft as an attempt to meet these desires. I’m 29 & still in good surfing shape, I grew up on a HPSB. So I still wanna surf aggressively with more glide.
yes! I’ll bite;
I want to go fast down the line, rail to rail
the spot I find myself at 8 out of 10 go-outs is pretty kelpy and has a real broad take-off spot, so I want to paddle in as early as possible (so longer, wider, thicker, wide tail), and I’m liking keels as they seem to bump over the kelp a little better
from my surfing? I’m 48, and after all, I just need a few good ones to get happy, however, like I said, rail to rail, and down the line to make the sections every time
… thanks for your replies so far , guys !
keep them coming eh …
cheers
ben
My work schedule allows time to surf for hours every work day and i have three days off per week. I have a small factory on the side of my house. I have some good boards made from other shapers and a lot made by me. I had a few lingering injuries that I’ve recovered from and am in the process of building my body so they will not ever happen again. I’m stronger that I’ve ever been at the moment and I’m now focused to losing 20 pounds to be at my fighting weight. I have some nice templates and the knowlege to apply them to foam and fiberglass. I know my weaknesses and how to address them. So all I have to put down is that I already have what i want. I’m sure in five years what I have now will be tweaked to what I will desire then but for now I’m content.
Photo by Juanita
I’m 23 and a long time skateboarder, so unsurprisingly, I want my board/fins to feel like a skateboard. I mainly want that easy and powerful acceleration you can get out of pumping a bowl. You have tons of grip. But you can still push it to slide the wheels. I want the super quick pump action you get from loose trucks, which maintain the ability to do a longer turn with control from the rider. Short length is a must. Has to be very loose and reactive, like a skateboard with loose trucks.
Am I looking for a keel fish? Going fast down the line and blowing all the speed in one slide or air is the best and those seem to do that. I’ve never owned or ridden one, only seen others ride them.
Out of my surfing? Fun. I want to do my best, though. I want to impress myself. I’m young and fit, so I might as well use that while I can. I have the most fun when i’m performing, not just cruising around. Even on my 8’ board I want to do something, not just cruise. Riding a wave is super fun, but I have the most fun when I am on my game and land all my stuff, skateboard or surfboard under my feet.
hiya insane cutty / ben !
what length , width , thickness are you riding nowadays ?
mostly thrusters , or some quads , too ?
interestingly , I received this as a series of text messages on my phone this week , in reply to a similar question to a friend …
" I’m not surfing as much , a bit more selective you might say 
.
Standard stuff as you get older [he is 49] . The spirit is willing , but the flesh is very weak . Slow to get to feet makes it tricky in waves of any consequence. back weakness. getting fussy . good surfs are few and far between, so the surf fitness level drops. Vicious circle . :)
**I mostly ride my fun board 6’4 x 21 x 3" beachies and mellow reefs. When I go to Pipe , or any wave with a step / steep , I use my yellow 6’6 x 19 x 2 1/2 ". **
And I’m using my 6’10 'gun’when it’s a long paddle or I need somewhere to run "
…Well… I’m guessing that info / experience would apply to a LOT of sways guys , over 45 , who have had an accumulation of injuries and time out of the water , during their surfing life eh ?!
“** about 75-80kgs **” was his answer , when I asked him his weight [he is around my height … 178cms [about 5’10"]
cheers !
ben
‘dr. zoidberg’…enjoy your younger days and shorter boards . And stretch a lot [ daily] … your body will thank you for it , over the next 50 years or so !
Good info fins.
I am 37 and about 180lb
I want two boards, I like a nice shortboard under 6’ , for surfing fast reef break, not more then head and a half. Anything much longer and it feels kind of silly on the wave. I also find it easier to surf a closeout with less foam. I have boards that do this.
The board I want next is an “uncle board”. These are the type of boards you see uncles riding when it is small, and when it gets big. But mainly you see them when it gets big ride these boards and effortlessly get in early, and go down the line. It is looks like a cross between a longboard, and an egg? not sure how to describe it besides, 8’6-9’6 easy paddler flattish bottom, not a lot of rocker, but can still get in. Not really a HPLB. anybody have pictures of what I am describing?
Cool topic.
Board: I need minimum 3 for conditions here. One super groveler for waist high days. Mini simmons for me. One daily driver for my normal flat beach breaks/points. One good wave board for OH days or surfing punchy spots. My boards all have to be fast and responsive without sliding out. Hate that. After 10 years, I’m finally content with my boards I’m making myself.
Fins: I’m on a twinzer kick right now. They seem like they’re the fastest most responsive set up, but if done right, they still hold in on a frontside cutty, which is what I like to do most. I rode quads for a few years, grew up on thrusters, but I don’t miss them at all.
Surfing: I’m 40, so I don’t feel like I need to improve. I just need to slow the decline. Want to stay decent enough to throw in a solid turn and hit the lip, blow the fins out the back on an oncoming section. I’m still the same weight as I was in college, so not feeling a physical decline, yet. Biding my time until my sons are older and we can surf together everyday after school. The fun is just beginning…