Why don't I get along with this board?.... and what should I do about it!

 

Hello all,

As i'm sure happens to everyone on here (if not everyone who surfs) my house has over the years slowly begun to fill with surfboards (most of which I bought cheap on ebay and fixed up - though more recently two of my own) and alas my better ½  is starting to notice. So I’ve had a quick look through the quiver for boards that I can find good homes for.

Amongst the early contenders are the shortboards that I’ve "outgrown" and also an 8'1 mal that I bought cheap with a couple of soon repaired dings as I had a free weekend, thought it looked nice and I didn’t have anything between 7' &9'.

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170106_zpsf51be67a.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170106_zpsf51be67a.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170122_zpsf6b62789.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170122_zpsf6b62789.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170142_zps5c57ba1f.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170142_zps5c57ba1f.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170233_zps8754e1a4.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170233_zps8754e1a4.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170239_zps17c09c2c.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170239_zps17c09c2c.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170250_zps1a36eb0d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170250_zps1a36eb0d.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s879.photobucket.com/user/shandyout/media/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170303_zpsf5039c92.jpg.html][IMG]http://i879.photobucket.com/albums/ab354/shandyout/Yellow%20Triple%20stringer%20Longboard/20130425_170303_zpsf5039c92.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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I don’t know a great deal about the origins of this board the artwork/righting would suggest its from Lanzarote. What I do know is that (whilst I’m a firm believer that their is no such thing as a bad surfboard) it and I do not get along, I hardly catch any waves and the ones that I do catch don’t go well (it stresses me out just thinking about it!)

So what I’m looking for from this thread is any advice you can offer as to why this board does not suit me so that I can make the ones I shape more agreeable and if possible quick fixes that I could use to mitagate this e.g. harder rails, a quad setup etc.

Cheers

Ryan

 

some people seem to struggle on midsized boards… but you should be able to catch waves on that… as for “not going well” i’d suggest:

  1. try a normal fin

  2. move the fin back in the box

  3. don’t leave the fin screw sticking out so far

  4. if that doesn’t help try adding some side bite fins and see if it makes it work better for you.

You can learn a lot from a board that doesn’t work, if you’re willing to experiment a while.

 

May be the photo or the pint of rather strong cider I’ve just consumed but the rocker from etry forward looks a bit ropey to me. If youre surfing regualr UK slop (bearing in mind its pretty long) you may find a flatter rocker more appropriate. All the boards that have switched me off over time have been primarily down to the rocker.

But please remember the strong cider before you take my comment seriously.

Cheers

Rich

www.thirdshade.com

I like your dog!

I can’t see the whole nose rocker in the side view, but it looks like a lot of kick in the nose & that would make it push water and harder to catch waves. I think Keith is right in changing that fin, I had one of those turbo fins and it made a good board suck so bad I tossed it. (the fin not the board)

Your mini-mal looks like a decent enough shape.  It might take years of therapy, or you could do as Keith suggests....

Drop in some sidebite plugs or boxes.  Maybe just glass some on?  Perhaps with trailing edges  around 13"-14" up from tail?

With practically any set of sidebites you'll have a starting point and can begin experimenting with center fin design and placement.  Something around 5" - 6" with sidebites will give the board an entirely different feel. 

Maybe still not your cup of tea but can't blame you for trying. 

 

 

Maybe there’s lens distortion, but I see too much nose rocker in that one… Not a good thing for paddling speed. It looks a lot like my current board, mine being a lot flatter in front. Maybe that shape is more of a “big wave mini mal” and you are trying it in weak waves. I second Keith’s suggestion about the fin, but am not sure about sidebites helping in this case. Maybe a long, raked (flexy?) fin would do the trick.

I agree that there may too much nose rocker. Kinda depends on how big you are and where you are when paddling. What happens if you scoot up a little more? What kind of waves do you normall ride? Smooth rollers that build gently or waves that jump up and pitch out? You have to approach each type of wave differently. Where you sit and when you start paddling all make a difference.

The fin choice and that screw have to go. Stick in a normal flat fin and use a standard screw that will lay flat

I don’t know what you maen when you say don’t go well, so I can’t give any advice. If you could get someone to video you surfing, it would be so much easier to help.

Funny thing , first thing I noticed was the nose rocker , to much !! The whole rocker profile looks like a wave sailing windsurfer board! Hm Chinook fin box (windsurfer box) makes me wounder if the shaper was a wind surf board shaper !! Fin box should be the other way around for a windsurfer. Tab on front of fin (windsurfer) ! Shaper was smokeing something funny ! I think we were trying turbo fins on windsurf boards in the mid 1990s. Ditch that fin its working against the nose rocker ! put a real surfboard fin in it with the tab on back and move it back in the box as far as you can.

Maybe it’s the tube fin? I like your dog, too.  But, I like everyones dogs.  Cant help it.  Interesting yard.  Very skinny. I say, “dump the bitch” for another board that appreciates you for who you are and not always trying to change you ie. build another one.  Mike

Ok.  I looked a little closer.  It’s definately the fin.  I can tell from your dog.  He/she is staring at the fin with a big old sticky tear coming out of its eye.  Gotta listen to your dog.  Mike

peel the glass off and shape a fish out of the flattest part of the blank ( hard on that one )

The fin is the 'Dog'.  But, I'd get rid of 'em all amd start kissin' the "better half" s a$$. 

So in a nutshell it boils down to a heap of crap fin and too much nose rocker.  There isn’t a great deal that I can do about the rocker and if its a poor design i'd be reluctant to sell it on to some other sucker so I guess i'll try something with fins and steeper waves.

The fin box is a bit messed up and I had to modify the fin a bit to make it fit so I’m thinking of trying a quad setup, do you think this could work + any suggestions on placement?

NB your right about my dog he is not a fan of the turbo tunnel or single fins in general tbh I think he prefers progressive longboards.

 

so the box is somewhat hosed?  find a fin that’s supposed to go in a box, but the tab for the screw is broken off.  most everybody has one of these laying around somewhere… ask your buddies if they have one.

get rid of the crappy turbo fin.

then put the fin with the busted tab in the box, use some spray glue or 3 minute expoxy (but just enough to tack it in there)

go surf the board.  see what you think.  if you don’t like it, pry the fin out and glue it in another place (further back)

if all that fails, THEN think about a) routing the box out and putting a good one in, or b) converting it to a quad… if the latter I’d suggest doing glass ons, it’s good practice and if the board is already a dog you aren’t risking much.

PS if you really think the board has too much nose rocker?  saw it off , glass it over, and have a square nosed board.  Then  surf it and find out if the nose rocker was an impediment…

 

Life is too short to deal with bad surfboards.  if it sucks, get rid of it.

 

Keep the dog, but I think he has an eye booger.

 

 

It’s Simple.

Evil spirits!

get some ti leaf and salt

or cedar and sweetgrass

or a catholic priest

and conduct a clensing

then an exorcism 

The Catholic rite for a formal exorcism,

called a “Major Exorcism”, is given in Section 13 of the Rituale Romanum.[4] 

Or you could just donate the board to the church and take the full deduction

from your tax bill.Ask the nuns to sign the reciept.

Yes it was Father Flanagan who said:

‘There is now such thing as a bad boy’,

right before he said: 'there is no such thing as a bad board,

but there is pilot error’

…ambrose…

You could change fins add fins deduct fins rearrange fins in the end you will just  have a Dog with different spots. 

It’s the rocker. It is just fundamentally wrong.  

Heres an idea to try. Reverse the rocker. Place fins on now what is the nose and see how it changes anything.

sell it and get a new one or make a new one

...........Done Deal....off to the landfill.................