Volume of my board

[HenryW]

Hi just wondering roughly what volume my board is, its 6'3 x 20.5 x 2.5 and has quite high performace rails

From comparing to a few other boards online with the same dimensions i'm guessing at around 34L, does that sound about right? I'd like to know as i'm looking to buy a new board soonish and it gives me an idea of the volume range to be looking at.

My Board

Surfboard.jpg (27.06 KiB) Viewed 10039 times

Thanks for your help

[IB_Surfer]

Us surfers don't base it on overall volume, like in cubic inches or liters. When we talk about volume we just mean the dimmensions.

The board you have is good for a begginer or experienced heavier surfer. If you are neither post up your weight and height and your general ability and maybe we can recomend something else.

[HenryW]

Thanks for the reply, I'm 6ft 1 and around 70kg, i'd say i'm begginer/intermediate level; I've dialed bottom turns and am starting to learn turns of the top instead of going straight down the line.

I'll keep the board above as a small wave board but i'm looking to buy a good wave board that I will also use when I go travelling next year, when i'll be surfing in guatemala, Nz, Fiji-coral coast, Indo-bali & south sumutra so i'd like a board for 4-8ft surf mainly good quality reef breaks but thats usable in slightly smaller beachies. I'll be going for 3-4 months probably surfing for 4 hours a day so hope to progress quickly, suggestions for dimensions and shapes would help a lot.

[surfgoth]

Us surfers don't base it on overall volume, like in cubic inches or liters. When we talk about volume we just mean the dimmensions.

forgive me mathteacher, but im gonna correct you here, board volume is not the dimensions. knowing your volume is a good thing. if you look at a board, itll typically give you the length, width at midpoint, and thickness at midpoint. Two different boards could have those dimensions, but have different volume, because every measurement in between could be different. a lot of boards will hide volume throughout the board. the foil might stay thicker throughout the length of a board, or may get thin at the nose and tail.

it isnt something that you will likely pay attention to as a beginner, because youll probably be riding a bigger board. however, as you advance, and possibly want to go shorter (as you go shorter, if thats your choice, volume is much more of a factor than on a longboard), youll eventually dial in a board that is the right float/volume for your weight. so you ask, whats the volume of my board then? short of somehow measuring the amount of water it displaces, it is a figure you would have to get from the board manufacturer. many shapers are now including the volume in cubic liters, along with the dimensions of the board.

take a look at this page
http://www.lostsurfboards.net/surfboards/monkfish/

notice the list of stock dimensions
5’6 19.50 2.25(27.0cl)
5’8 20.00 2.38 (29.9cl)
5’10 20.25 2.44 (31.8cl)

the figure in parentheses is the volume in cubic liters. so lets say you know you love the 5'8. Its the perfect float/paddle for you. You take note of the volume, 29.9cl. Now, if youre looking at another board to buy, how it floats you is no longer a guesstimate. You could mess around with the dimensions, making it wider and shorter, longer and narrower, etc., knowing that as long as your board is around 29.9, itll float you the same.

[surfgoth]

the irony here is that i sucked in math

[IB_Surfer]

Surfgoth: please don't take it the wrong way if I disagree with you. You can't base your board selection on volume. You do it, in all practiality, on the performance you want, you weight and ability. As you mentioned it, as you dial in your board you know what you need more and more, but one voume board will not surf the same as another.

Henry: if you want a board for 8ft waves you will not be going much shorter, but for sure narrower and thinner. If you want to take baby steps, thus enjoying the board right away without frustration, go with a 6'2 x 19 1/4 x 2 3/8, 2 1/2 inches thick if you want something that paddles almost like your old one, but 2 3/8 for something way easier to duckdive. Lastly, if you had a few years of experience I would have recommended 6'0 x 18 4/4 x 2 1/4, but you are not ready for that yet...

[surfgoth]

mathteacher: not taking it the wrong way at all. just saying that there is in fact a difference between dimensions and volume in regards to boards, and manufacturers are now including volume in cL for a reason. again, it isnt something most surfers will have to consider to pick a board. it is however a pretty helpful tool in knowing how a board will float you, sight unseen.

http://www.surfinghandbook.com/2011/02/foam-is-a-big-man%E2%80%99s-best-friend/

“Be realistic about your skills and your size. Some skinny kid will tell you that your board’s a boat, but if you do the math using rider’s lbs vs. volume of the board you will discover that it’s often the same or maybe the bigger rider has a lower weight to volume ratio. Lost Surfboards is now putting the cubic liters (volume) on every board we make.” - matt biolos

http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2027788&an=0&page=0

[surfgoth]

http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/quiver_volume_calc.php

[IB_Surfer]

LOL, I just logged on to the Firewire website and they recommended a volume that only fits a 7'2 board. Guess I've been surfing my 6'2 by mistake LOL

[surfgoth]

yeah i would probably figure out your own baseline by getting the volume on your favorite board as opposed to firewire's calculator. that said, i tried it, and it put me at 26min 29max cL. my 5'8 is around 29 so it was definitely in the ballpark. YMMV.

[IB_Surfer]

I foudn mine, it says 33.9cl for my board