New board shaped by David Levy here in RI. I wanted something as a
sort of inbetween board between my 5’6 retro fish and my 6’0 standard
shortboard to be used in weaker waves around NE. I’ll aslo be bringing
it to CA when I go out there this summer/fall. Picked it up a couple
days ago and it came out
exactly as I’d envisioned it. Stoked! 5’8 x 19 3/4 Convertible setup
for a quad or thruster configuration (also have fins to set it up with
larger twin fins and a small trailer fin). Eskimo blank, glassed 6x4
on the top and 4 on the bottom if I remember correctly… but that
might be really wrong.
That’s where the shape of the rail becomes critical. This was suggested in the rail volume vs. shape thread from not too long ago. Down rails on fish are key for tuberiding. The rail curve becomes harder around to the bottom of the board, and thinner overall. Fuller/boxier rails on radically short, low rockered boards are problematic on steeper faces. Low apex, angular, hard turned rails are infinately better. I like them without edges except in the back.
That’s really nice glasswork of the sevensurfboards site. It goes beyond the typical resin color work that most glassing factories do. I like the functionality of the shapes quite a bit, too, particularly for cold water conditions where you’re always wearing rubber.
From the looks of the variety of shapes I have little doubt you’ll be able to get your shape from them. Just do yourself a favor and get something down on paper BEFORE you go in. Maybe take in a couple boards that have rocker or rail configurations that you like. That way you’ll cut down on the amount of interpretation the shaper has to do between what you’re saying and what he’s hearing.
The main reason I started shaping my own was because I was frustrated one time too many after getting a custom from a shaper who was giving my what he thought I needed rather than what I told him I wanted. And I ain’t talking about a 1/4" here or there, either.
That's too bad you couldn't find shapers that would work to agreement on design, assuming you didn't want something ridiculous. Sometimes customers request sets of dims that just won't work, but usually adjustments can be agreed upon. The ''modelization'' of design has a role in your problem also.
hey jamie i rode the board all day yesterday in head and half to the doh set. it was reasonably big 15 second period and offshore. the wave was breaking over partially exposed reef at times and rocks sticking up. kinda barreling at times but more almond shape. it was a fast wave on my backhand. the board did well. could do hard turns at any speed and controled floaters over pretty big sections.it was stable and fluid. i have to say that this design lends itself to bigger waves in place of minigun style boards. it performed better then any longer board i ridden in these condtitions. as soon as the wave was powerful enough to not need to pump the board for speed it went off. so thicker rails seemed to be the go for this sort of wave. will test it in solid righthand barrels at nearest opportunity. ive decided i will keep the board for the big days and build a narrower shorter one with thinner rails and rounded square tail like my old board.
this board doesnt work as well as id like in small fat waves, so unlike a fish its definately not a smalll wave design.
thin railed thrusters with hard rails and a fair bit of fin cant is the go for small fat waves. i wouldnt go wider then 19 3/4 for small waves at this point
10 years ago just about nobody was doing what we consider to be alt shapes, which were what I was after. Most shapers were still locked into variations of the Kelly boards, which is what I wasn’t after. The fact that I wasn’t conversant enough about what I was looking for only made things worse.
That’s okay, though. There’s something to be said for having complete control over the end product.
I'm just looking for something that can catch waves and turn. It's really just silly to have a shortboard up here in the north.The water is cold, and dense.The currents are heavy. We're wearing 5/4's. I want anything but a longboard. This is my only choice.Now I'm finding that having a wider board doesn,t mean you can't turn.It just means you turn a bit slower.Who really cares about that? Not me.
Well it's winter again and I haven't forgotten this post.I found my winterfish, or whatever you want to call it. Have'nt surfed it yet.Any opinions on how it might surf? The dims are 6'7" x 21" x 2 3/4.
Not sure I would call it a Fish But hey it's your board so call it whatever you want. Old School would call that a winged swallowtail. whatever Maybe it's Swallow Quad, Whatever It looks like a nice board I like the full outline.
Hey Ekim, just came across this post, really interesting. So after all of the debate and theories, what happened? How did the board work for ya this last winter? I have a santa cruz board with a similar shape, that i got down at cleanline a few years ago and its been a favorite ever since! Dims 6'4" x 20" x 2.5".
