My latest Simmons outline: 10-4 X 23 x3 1/2 X 19" Tail. It is magic in small point surf and works great in overhead point waves also, but at 33lbs. I am scared to death if it gets away from me it could cause grave damage. With all the tail it feels like a motor back there. I been using a 9" Greenough Stage 4 fin. It slides out occasionally when belly riding, but standing up it has never broke loose on me. Some of my mates at Malibu have ridden it and when they stop grinnin’ remark how fun and fast it is.
I don’t remember the glassing schedule, I’d have to check with Paul. I’m thinkin that with that much foam you need the weight to keep it from being corky. The biggest problem is not the weight in the water… but the weight out of the water!
I generally walk back to the top of the point after a long one. With the Big Bob, I been paddling back.
I’ll hazard to say that when bellyriding it, you’re trimming farther forward; when standing, you’re farther back (relatively); thus it may slide ass unless you’re standing.
But why wouldn’t you stand on something this large? BTW what a pig at 33 pounds.
yeah it’s heavy(relatively) but once in the water it iseems weightless-and it really flies. i know ‘cause i rode it when it was spankin’ new.As for the curves, it’s kind of an illusion-you got about 8" of dead straight rails-Paul connected the nose and tail with a perfectly straight line!
got my Simmons out three times last week in super small 1’-2’ surf but had a total blast - it really feels like there’s an engine built in the tail!
As for the weight I liked my simmons way better with the additional weight put on with a later added deckpatch. It’s for one thing the added momentum of a heavier board but it also makes the hull sit deeper in the water and therefore pick up the energy of the wave better. As Simmons postulated the board should barely float the rider. They have a super thin bladed balsa Simmons up in the rafters at a surf shop right down at the Hermosa beach pier - it’s probably the nicest Simmons I have seen so far, you guys really should check it out!
Shaper Paul Gross used two Walker Blanks offset cut by 4". They glued the wide pieces together and that is what it took to get the width in the tail. The 19" measurement is @ 1 foot back from end of tail. The photo of the board makes it look like there is a wider hip toward the back. but that is not the case. The 23" width runs straight and true for a long way. A young guy at Malibu the other day called it a tongue depressor… apt description. He looked a little depressed later on when I flew by him on a 3’ wave like he was standing still!! There is a post somewhere (posted the same day as my initial post) that shows what became of the rest of the 2 blanks as well as my first Simmon’s outline.
