Surfing Waves

So I got my boards preety much wired, as a 43yr old 200lb shortboarder I know what works and what doesn't so, rather thant post about what size to get I want board ideas for the next board in my quiver.

I currently have a 6'5" x 19.5" x 2.5" carbon epoxy board wrapped around an eps blank and love it, but I want a little more performance, so am thinking of going 6'2" x 19 1/2" x 2 1/2" and just asking to keep the nose tail a little fuller to get a little more float. Like all my favorite boards, hard rails in back, rounded pin, not a lot of rocker, single to double concave.

So the questions:

1) Quad or thruster? I own a 6'3" fishy quad, had it copied from the xanady rocky. Love the glide, so in my midn if I get a shortboard as a quad I'll get better glide than a thruster. What do you think?

2) Full carbon wrap or just a carbon deck patch? I don't mistreat my boards, so thinking a deck patch is sufficient for heel dings and such

3) Anything else you think I would like for performance? I don't like a squash, and already own a half moon tail on my fishy board, anything else you think I would like? Let me know...

I love the speed I used to get from my quad. After surfing it for a while my thruster just felt slow in comparison. I think the quad, with deck patch should be fun. Also I have a friend that surfs a stretch quad and thats pretty much all he ever rides. Maybe a bat or type of swallow tail to loosen it up some more would be nice depending on the size of surf you plan on bringing it out in. Are you just looking for a shortboard or just another board for your quiver thats different? I picked up a small Gary Hanel twin keel fin retro fish recently, and I havent had that much fun on a board in while. Its pretty much all I been surfing now. It has a very unique smooth feel to it. Really loose and fast.

My shaper is not at all a computer guy, so asked me sell a board for him, then I started thinking that maybe the same board but to my specs. Anyone try a diamond tail? Never tried one. Here is a pic of the board viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13872

Come in a bit from the 19.5 Try 19 as well if your looking for more performance.
You want performance and a rounded Pin and not a lot of rocker?
Try and pull away from the full rails and go medium, a good shaper can still leave plenty of foam thru the centre of the board.

Two thumbs up for diamond tails too....

ANZAC wrote:Come in a bit from the 19.5 Try 19 as well if your looking for more performance.
You want performance and a rounded Pin and not a lot of rocker?
Try and pull away from the full rails and go medium, a good shaper can still leave plenty of foam thru the centre of the board.

Rounded Tail: Squash or diamond is higher performance, just worried about retaining volume to go down in size. Good point though. I might go with rounded squash instead, thanks

Rocker: Flatter rocker means easier wave catching for me, trial and error findings for my 200lbs body so I'm keeping that one. Preety much it means the same rocker on nose but much less on tail, so still great performance, just a preference for me.

Full Rails: no full rails for this one, good point. My fishie board has full rails, this one won't, I'll have 2 1/2" in middle but will taper to thin rails, my shaper did that for my last board and it works awesome, just as you described.

19": already tried it at 19", my semi gun is 19" wide and I ride it fine, but to go down to 6'2" I'll need to keep the width. I could diet and get a 19" wide board, but I'm a creature of habit so need to compensate for it.

Great input!!!! Keep it coming folks...

Ok, paid my deposit, here is what I went with:

- 6'2" x 19 1/2" x 2 1/2" - I'm 200lbs, need the width and thickness, just know that about my boards.
- Rounded Squash tail - based on the Flyer model, little wider in the back than the Flyer 2
- Hard rails almost to middle
- Thurster, not quad
- Cool Stuff: eps blank with no stringer, double light wrapped epoxy. A foot of carbon fiber will be used on the deck for strenght instead of a stringer, so WAY lighter than usual.
- he is going to cut the carbon cloth asymetrically to make it look cool and original

Should look totally white on the bottom, more or less like this on top:



Will post up when it's done...

By the way, there is a down side to experimenting. Goofed on a couple of boards that I sold almost immediately, at a loss since they had to be sold as used:

1) 6'6" epoxy quad semi gun by Tom Eberly - thought it would be like a thurster that paddled better. It was nowhere near as good as a thurster in heavy steep waves. Ended up getting an epoxy thruster with a little less rocker.

2) High performance fish by Addict Surfboards- had Micah throw out the fish book and had him build one with a lot of rocker. Felt like a big shortboard that did not paddle as good as a fish, and a fish that did not perform like a shortboard. It was a great board for a big surfer, sold it to a 250lb surfer who loved it. Ordered the exact same thing with a flatter rocker and harder rails, thinner, in epoxy, which is now my favorite fish, great for tinny days but holds up nicely in big surf if I switch the back fins, had it in 2ft overhead peelers in baja.

3) Takayam tuflite 10'2' woodie - thought it would paddle better than my 9'6" PU. The epoxy felt slower even though the board was longer. Nothing wrong with the board, but since I wanted an advantage I did not get I sold it right away too.

4) Wood fin retro by Addict Surfboards - love this board, total wave hog, if you are looking for a board that catches everything get one. Micah made the fins by hand, sanded them down from cedar planks. I had to take too wide an arching turn, just not my style of surfing. Sold it to my brother in law and he loves it cause he does more soul surfing than ripping, borrow it once in a while since I still like it.

Expensive trial and error, but worth the performance gains when I'm right.

Hi themasterteacher

well i am just a little over half your age but have been in the water for more than 10 years on a shortboard and surf competitively so hope my 10c worth helps.

the board you are getting sounds SICK!

I would only have gone down to 19' and not 19 1/2"! for your 200lbs I'll say you definitely need the thickness as you said but not the with so much, I weigh just under 200lbs [I'm tall dude] and I ride a 6'3, 18", 2 1/4". the with is just stability and by the sound of it you pretty much have that part down.

The thruster is defiantly the better option in my opinion so is the squash tail and hard rails.

Let us know what the outcome of your first ride is!!
Check out this post and give me some feed back on this set up as this is something new I experimented with and you sound like a knowledgeable guy!
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=13970
thanks

Just posted on your thread, hope it helps.

Update on surfboard: It's shapped and the carbon fiber is glassed on. In case you are wondering how this is done, he taped the board and applied the carbon and a thin layer of resin, then cut off the tape after it cures overnight, thus the carbon is now on the blank. After he will wrap it on both sides with double 4oz cloth, thus the carbon is the stringer.

However, the shaper called and asked to use a light coat of paint, going with a light gray/blue paint. Apparently there has been yellowing noticed on EPS blanks after time, not that bad but enough that now he is recommeding all boards be painted before glassing. So, almost done!!!

By the way, in case you want to check out some of his designs... http://www.surfingsd.com/ad_spots/board ... rdroom.htm

Stopped by to visit Micah at Addict Surfboards. My board was taped and drying, but he peeled back the paper to show me what the carbon looks like. On the picture the tape marks can be seen, so picture the inside as black carbon and outside in light gray. Sorry for the poor picture, best my cell phone could do at night

man that loooks sick is that all carbon. how much is cost you

The top cut-away is carbon, I orderd a no-stringer blank and the carbon will act like the stringer, at almost no weight at all. The Carbon is expensive, but it comes in 6ft widtch, and since the deck patch is only about a foot wide it wasn't that much.

This isn't a hollow board, so pretty much the cost of a board $400, +epoxy resin which is more $60, +cost of a foot of carbon $40. I think I'm spending about $500 or so.

Oh, he is going to pitch in a pin line where the carbon meets the regular cloth, so as to hide any freying

Ok, here is the board you helped me build. Thanks for the help everyone.

Also, has anyone tried the DHD fins? Never tried them so decided to buy them, they kinda look cool...

Very slick board man

Hey, found a matching deck pad:

Tried it today, spent most of the morning on my fish with the daughter so by the time I got it out there the surf died to chest high at best. Took me a wave to get used to the change from fish to shortboard.

Cught three mush waves, it actually was easy to get into, thought I would need more wave for this board. Fun and super responsive, and so light on the wave compared to my 6'5". Great all around, totally pleased.

On a side note the DHD's are a little too small for the setup, felt a little loose, but they glide nicely, gonna put them on my other shortie to loosen it up.

Tried it again the next day, similar conditions but no daughter, switched out the fins.

Super easy to snap the turns. Required less vertical direction for cutbacks, could preety much throw one anywhere. I felt the lack of glide on the small mushy waves but that was expected.

So, all around super pleased, will have to try it on a big day to see if I can paddle it into the wave or if I will have to go back to the semi gun for more paddle.

Stoked either way

dude that traction pad was meant for that board, ha. What are the odds. How you liking the hard rails on it?