Hi all, I am building a board for a lady friend. She is about 135 pounds and has been surfing (or trying to) for about a year. She’s got a real racey 8’6" which is way too fast for her. I wanted to put together something a little longer 9’0" with a square tail and single fin that would paddle real easy, but would be easy enough to handle in moderate surf. The board would be surfed out in montauk on long mushy summer waves. I’ve only built boards for myself, so I need an idea of thickness and some dimensions that would work for this beginner. Thanks, R.M.
R.M.–I’d go with a 9’0", 18" nose, 22" widepoint a bit forward of center, 14.5 or 15" tail. 3" thick with a slight V. I’d also think about a rounded pin tail or a squash tail with a bit of kick to it so that she can turn it easier from a more forward stance. eggie rails for forgiveness–probably no need to harden them that much in the tail if she’s going to be riding mostly mush. A long entry rocker would also be nice. The 9’1Y blank in a superblue sounds like it would get the job done just fine. Good luck!
That sounds alot like the board I made for my wife. Same blank, nose and tail, but 23" wide. She LOVES it.
Thanks guys, that makes perfect sense. I’ve got that blank on order, so all is well.
Scott and Jamie, what would you recommend for glassing? 6oz deck and 4oz bottom or would you go a little heavier? I want the board to be light, but the place we surf is rocky and very crowded, so it needs to hold up. Thanks!
I usually glass all of my boards with two layers of 6oz. on the deck, and one layer of 6oz. on the bottom. The weight difference between that and a 6X4X6 isn’t that significant when compared to the strength difference. Learned it on Swaylocks, Jamie
Why not glass it with epoxy?
R.M. Am doing a couple of “learner” boards for my neice and a friend in Sag Harbor - one 8’-4" and one 8’-8". Similar dimensions as mentioned above but all aproached with the East End in mind. In the glassing stage right now. Where are you building your’s - maybe we could compare notes.
I would go a little thinner and put v in the tail.
Hey RM, I would go with 6oz all the way for a longboard. Blue or green blank. Check out board #265 in the 9’ to 9’11" catagory in the photo archive.Thats my wife’s stick. She is onley 5’2" tall, so it’s big and heavy to her, but she can carry it and handle it well enough. A board that size for a small rider makes a 8" wall of white water a ridable wave, how cool is that! Good luck and have fun. Scott