stumbled across this mandala (at moonlight? surfysurfy? 70percent? - i can’t remember) & began drooling.
i’ve been tossing up between a widowmaker or bonzer for my next project, but after seeing these pics, i’ve settled on this little widow for inspiration. i love the concaves, wings & diamond tail.
i’m going to make a 6’2". anyone got ideas about template, width, thickness, fin placement numbers, etc.?
many thanks in advance.
Oldy,
Check The Swift Movement section on Andrew Kidman’s website at www.litmus.com.au- there’s a beautiful looking board there called a Schnub which is shaped by Neal Purchase Snr. and is in the same vein as this Mandala- might give you some more inspiration!
wow that’s pretty, damn.
Hey Oldy,
I made a widow not that long ago. It’s in the archives. If it suits I’d be happy to send the template to you.
Craig.
consafos: thanks mate yes i’ve checked the schnub. like you say, it’s inspiring.
gill: gday mate. i missed your green hornet the first time it was posted.
http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=1628
how does it go mate? it looks like a lot of fun. is there anything you’d change?
i really like the template. i’d be so stoked if you could share it.
Hi Oldy!
…the aesphetics of a shiny stick might be best with glass ons i know but side fin plugs are worth it, I say this because after my experimentation with widowmakers I’ve found the same boards often feel a bit weird with side fins and much nicer with a single fin. its one of those designs that needs a lot of fine tuning.
Cheers!
Josh.
Oldy, it goes great. Fast and has that single fin feeling but comes off the bottom and top well. I really like it but would maybe make the rails a bit more chunky.
The fin used is my standard 7 1/4 bonzer template.
Send me your address and i’ll post a paper copy of the template and fins.
But do it soon as I just got a teaching promotion to Evans Head and will be packing all my shaping gear, putting the house on the market etc.
Cheers,
Craig.
Hi Oldy , I don’t think this board is a Widow in the Parmenter sense that it is made for large powerful surf. More of a fishy single with some sidebites than a Parmenter set up which has a more spread out fin pod.
Here is how Manny described it at Surfermag BB.
"I’ve been working on a new design that shares a similar volume and template as the fish I shape, but with a tail template and fin set-up which allows for easier surfing off the tail. I wanted a board that could pivot over a center fin, yet be faster than a standard tri-fin:
double-concave through the fin cluster
glass-on 3.25" side-bites
Skip Frye flex fin for speed and drive
I’m happy to offer these boards for those who want a refreshing addition to their fishy quiver…"
here is the thread
I think it might be filling the same space as your quad and you might be better with the parmenter set up if you want it for larger waves.
Whatever you decide to build I really hope you can do a thread about it like you did with the amazing special quad. That is my favorate thread at Sways and would love to see another. I’m trying to find the space to shape my first board here in NYC and will be consulting your quad thread as inspiration.
Here is a beautiful bonzer that has a widow maker feel(the bottom one) the top is a little fishier shaped like the Mandala.
thanks , cap’nn Kirk !
Shaped by Neal Purchase Sr. The “Schnub” is a design combination of MP’s “Morning of the Earth” Kirra shape and the 80’s Occy thruster.
The wide tail and long rail help this board maintain maximum down the line speed, as well as fast responsive manoeuvrability. Ranges in size from 5’8" to 6’4". The ‘Schnub’ is great for paddling into anything up to six feet. It’s modernised features include glassed-on smaller side fins for maintaining hold and drive through turns, and a fin box which comes with a larger back fin for endless experimentation. Note: The Cheyne Horan/Ben Lexen Starfin has been working exceptionally well with this design. For more information on wholesale, custom orders and pricing contact Swift below. American contact: Australian contact: andrewkidman@bigpond.com
And , the “Schnubb” , alongside Gill’s beauty , compared to my dodgy outline stubby single fin [at present …but maybe in the future it may be updated to a ?widowmaker/ “2+1”? conversion?]…
thanks for the feedback gents. i’ll try & respond to each in turn.
…the aesphetics of a shiny stick might be best with glass ons i know but side fin plugs are worth it, I say this because after my experimentation with widowmakers I’ve found the same boards often feel a bit weird with side fins and much nicer with a single fin. its one of those designs that needs a lot of fine tuning.
gday josh. i hear you mate, but i realllllly love glass on fins. they look & feel so organic, like they belong. plus i like to surf a lot without a leash. i’ve had lots of problems with cracked boxes & plugs after losing my board in the shorebreak. i’m even tempted to glass on the centre singlefin in a widow setup. maybe we can meet halfway & i’ll just glass the sidebites! lol.
Oldy, it goes great. Fast and has that single fin feeling but comes off the bottom and top well. I really like it but would maybe make the rails a bit more chunky.
The fin used is my standard 7 1/4 bonzer template.
Send me your address and i’ll post a paper copy of the template and fins.
But do it soon as I just got a teaching promotion to Evans Head and will be packing all my shaping gear, putting the house on the market etc.
Cheers,
Craig.
thanks so much craig. i’ll pm you my address. a promotion? evans head? good for you mate!
“a Parmenter set up which has a more spread out fin pod.”
hi Tim !
do you have any shots of Parmenter widowmaker fin setups , and the measurements please ?
I just assumed [perhaps wrongly eh?] that the close together fin pod as shown by Neal Purchase jnr on the swift site , and in the movie glass love , was based on / ?identical? to Dave’s widowmaker setup , based on what Andrew Kidman said in his commentaries .
Are Dave’s SIDE fins further forward , or his back fin further back , perhaps ?
Does he use a back fin box in his Widowmakers ?
cheers for any help !
ben
Hi Oldy , I don’t think this board is a Widow in the Parmenter sense that it is made for large powerful surf. More of a fishy single with some sidebites than a Parmenter set up which has a more spread out fin pod.
Here is how Manny described it at Surfermag BB.
"I’ve been working on a new design that shares a similar volume and template as the fish I shape, but with a tail template and fin set-up which allows for easier surfing off the tail. I wanted a board that could pivot over a center fin, yet be faster than a standard tri-fin:
double-concave through the fin cluster
glass-on 3.25" side-bites
Skip Frye flex fin for speed and drive
I’m happy to offer these boards for those who want a refreshing addition to their fishy quiver…"
here is the thread
http://forum.surfermag.com/…rch=true#Post1098000
I think it might be filling the same space as your quad and you might be better with the parmenter set up if you want it for larger waves.
Whatever you decide to build I really hope you can do a thread about it like you did with the amazing special quad. That is my favorate thread at Sways and would love to see another. I’m trying to find the space to shape my first board here in NYC and will be consulting your quad thread as inspiration.
lesider: thanks for your post. there’s lots to consider here.
i do remember now seeing the thread at surfer. in many ways i think you’re right. it’s not a true widowmaker, more a singlefin with sidebites. a widowmaker in the parmenter/purchase sense of the word is a lot more of a drawn out template, but still with a forward widepoint. also, as you suggest, it won’t cover any ground that my quad doesn’t. & that’s where i feel a bit torn. life is too short. i’d love to have the time to make & ride every kind of board in one-inch increments, from say a 5’ bellyboard to a 14’ paddleboard, but i don’t. i guess i need to consider what i really need rather than what i really want in my quiver.
thanks for your feedback about the journey of a quad thread. i appreciate it. moreover, i’m so stoked if it inspires you in some way to make your first board. go for it mate. you’ll never regret it.
ps: thanks for the pic of the bonzer. now you have really got me thinking. i’m torn between a bonzer & a widow. like i said, life really is too short!
hey Ben,
I don’t have any photos of a Parmenter Widowmaker but they are very similar to the first purchase you posted with the box coming up to the rear of the two sidebites where as the Mandala has the box coming up to almost the front of the
sidebites I’m sure the placement is similar and I’ll call my friend to see if he still has his parmenter to get some measurements.
Oldy,
Sorry to be a pain the ass but here’s a another one for you with nice fin pics! Go to 70percent.org, find the september posts and there’s a slide show called Festivus Photos- pics 13 and 14 are some ape holding a Neil Purchase Jnr. ‘Fantasea’ model widowmaker. There’s also pics of the fins on my board, which are glassed on, in the other widow thread- I can repost them if you want. I’m also trying to find the photos I have of Parmenter’s boards, but the ‘archive’ is a couple of fedex boxs full of photos and negs. I am most definitely NOT a photographer! I too like the glass ons and was in a loving them phase when I got the Matt Moore board, and as his glasser did Parmenter’s boards, I figured I was OK trusting him to get it right. Still, a fin box in the middle is more usual and as you slide that fin up and down you get quite different feels.
here is a little more widow info
“…Dave’s focus at the time was on a tri-fin gun design he called the “Widowmaker”, a wickedly pointed pintail with a standard single and two small side fins, the template adapted from a 1976 Tom Parish “Free Ride” pin. The main concept was to move the width up from center to facilitate turning from further forward-as happens often on late great drops and eliminated the thruster’s tyranny of tail turning. In the year to follow, Parmenter Widowmakers would be seen on no less than five international magazine covers under the enlightened feet of the Two Toms-Carroll and Curren-riding awesome barrels in Indonesia. Both loved the design and would have ordered more had Dave remained on that particular light wave. But by then he was already on a different path.”-Sam George
consafos: arrrgh! what are you trying to do to me man! another beautiful surfboard. such a lovely template.
i met neil about six months or so ago. he loves his widows, rides them almost exclusively. i was just about to start making my quad at the time & he was trying to talk me out of it & into a widowmaker instead. lol.
Yep, I’m with him all the way- the fish when it’s smaller, widow when it’s bigger and I’m a very happy fella- the other boards hardly get a look in, but are fun to break out for a change. I’d say you can’t go wrong making something on the very basic lines of a widow- wide point forward, one big and two trailing fins. Whether you go more trad/gunny like a Parmenter or fool around with something in the Schnub/Mandala range, it’ll be fun. Just make sure you post pics for Ben!