Just curious. I’d say 98% of longboards here are of the “paddle pop stick” shape. Almost never see a log/pig outline. Im not much of a longboarder ( though I love mine greatly ), but the pig shape seems a much more usable shape in the beachies I surf.
I would like to know the answer to that question too. Most HP longboards have noses over 18" and have the wider nose narrow tail outline. Other people around here who ride “traditional” logs (not many) ride a Nuuhiwa style log. Although I do see some of the young loggers in videos: Knost, Simpkins, Kegal riding modern versions of piggish templates…
Just my observations from living in Hawaii.
Around the mid 80’s guys in town (Ala Moana, not Waikiki) were split between old school longboards and short boards. Many of the longboarders didn’t make the move to shortboards, or went back to older style longboards by then. A new group of younger surfers were starting to ride longer short boards. They were stretched out shortboards, and a guy named Froggie, who worked at the HIC shop was making them for some of the guys at Courts and Ala Moana Park. Jay Richardson and Ben Aipa started making the boards. One of the first guys I saw moving to this type of board was Lance Hookano. He was one of Ben’s protege’s and then he moved to J. Richardson boards. Lance likes to catch a lot of waves, like every wave that comes in. The longer boards gave him the extra paddling power to catch waves well before anyone else, even the longboard guys. Lance started tearing it up on his long shortboard and then more of the guys that wanted to catch every wave were trying these stretched out shortboards and it just took off. I think they settled for 9’ because the longboard contests like Buffalo’s and China’s specified a minimum of 9’.
If you look at the modern High Performance longboard, you’ll see the tail of a thruster, and a rocker that is suited for surfing from the tail. When these boards first appeared they had pulled in noses like older short boards, not the needle noses, but not a full round nose. Now they are more rounded and guys can ride the tip or turn off the tail. They have the best of both worlds.
These HPLBs are designed for carving and not cruising. They are being ridden in all sizes of waves, not just the small days like the older longboards. The guys riding them can do just about anything most shortboarders can do, and ride them in the biggest surf. An older style pig longboard can’t rip it up in big North Shore surf.
They are short boards for the guys that “need” to catch more waves. They aren’t for the kind of surfing you use a Log or as we said Tanker for. Many of these guys here are now riding SUPs.
On a side note, several of the older guys, and more than a few have passed away, started riding full on rhino chasers instead of their old style longboards on big days in town. Many of those were BK boards, and a lot of them were designed for riding Makaha. These guys weren’t the wave hogs but the old timers, and it was cool seeing them rding these guns in town.
This is just my take on the little bit I saw living next to Ala Moana Park in the 80’s and 90’s. Guys in Waikiki, Makaha or the North Shore may have a different story.
…hello Sharkcountry, only to say that you have explained very well the development of certain platform and the surf conditions for it use.
i think that the big tankers or some gliders and pigs only work on waves with “advance” with projection not in the average beach break conditions that normally are kind of hollow and fast with not so perfect sections.
I do kind of a mix between a glider and a performance that works pretty good in average conditions under 5 Ft or up to 6 if it s a point break.