Surfing Waves

The new Channel Island website shows attributes like optimal wave-type for their boards, I asked them how this works. I like to share their answer with u, maybe u can add and/or correct?

"I try to understand the Wave info u give for the boards, more in particular the Break Type: Point, Reef, Beachbreak. I know what they are in general but what i would like to learn is what attributes u assign to them in relationship to optimal shape-characteristics of the boards? What makes a board more suited for Point, Reef or Beachbreak?"

CI:

Thank you very much for your interest in CI Surfboards! It looks like you had quite a few questions, so we’ll try and address all of them here.

Most all of our boards will perform and work very well in a wide variety of conditions. There are a number of subtle design characteristics that allow certain models to excel in specific types of waves.

In general, boards geared towards reefs will have more aggressive rocker to help fit the curve of the wave. Beach breaks typically require a board to be able to make very quick transitions. A board with plently of down the line speed will be favorable in point breaks.

Flat-rockered boards are going to prefer flatter faced, weak, more lined up waves. The flatness allows the board to plain easier across the surface of the water; increasing the speed of the board at the cost of some control and maneuverability.

Boards with more nose and tail rocker, or a continuous rocker curve, will be more suitable for steep, powerful, punchy surf. The increased rocker reduces the efficiency with which the board will travel through the water, so these boards prefer waves that already have plenty of push behind them.

A wider tail will be more suitable in smaller, mushy surf to help provide glide and release when turning; whereas a narrower tail will help hold and provide grip when the waves get a bit more serious and steep.

That's good that they got back to you with a real answer rather than just copied and pasted off their website. Good answer too - although I'm sure you could add a million "yes, but what about..." variations

Yes, I was surprised with the quality of the answer, I learned a lot. Only question remaining for me is about:

Beach breaks typically require a board to be able to make very quick transitions.

Why do beachbreaks require quick(er) transitions?
What shape characteristics make a board do quick transitions?

Didn't wanted to border CI again, maybe you guys can help me out?

As Duke Kahanamoku said " ride the wave, not the board ". If you learn the wave and the motion of the ocean, you'll be able to ride any size board, with what ever rocker, what ever tail, made with what ever material/construction. My 9'0" longboard can be ridden in ankle high waves to 15 foot Pipe, beach breaks, point breaks, reef breaks. If you don't know the difference between a beachbreak wave and a point break wave, how will you decide what board you want to get ? The response you got from CI is good basic info. But more info doesnt make for more understanding. Probably more questions. The other factor besides the board is the rider...... YOU. Stop trying to find an arrow that flies straight, improve the archer.

waikikikichan wrote:But more info doesnt make for more understanding.

I tend to disagree

Also I'm not looking for a new board right now, quite happy with the ones I've got. But I always want to learn about boards. There's so much on offer in the shops, I just try to understand the differences in shapes.

Tudeo wrote:Why do beachbreaks require quick(er) transitions?
What shape characteristics make a board do quick transitions?

When they're talking about beachbreaks, they're talking about those fast barrelling waves that you see in the photographs, and not the mellow 2ft beachbreaks that we all love.

Waves like that go from nothing... nothing... nothing... JACK UP! PEAK BREAKS! DOWN THE LINE! CLOSE OUT! DRILLED INTO THE SAND!!
So everything happens very fast and you have to transition very fast from one moment to the next - both as you catch the wave and then once you're on it.

A board designed for beachbreaks would usually be quite short, not too wide, and would have a fair amount of rocker front and back, plus hard rails and a narrow-ish tail. Not an easy board to ride, but neither is the wave.

Tudeo.....think Dreamland inside section....groms getting barreled and hammered yesterday.

drowningbitbybit wrote:
When they're talking about beachbreaks, they're talking about those fast barrelling waves that you see in the photographs, and not the mellow 2ft beachbreaks that we all love.

This goes for a lot if breaks here Tudeo.....reef and beach....only abnormally small swells will yield a mellow 2 ft beachie....Kuta is a beginners paradise relative to other breaks on island, but is still fast and the jacking waves have a punch to them....makes hem easy to catch if you are quick.........we are living the photos DBBB is referring to.....up and downsides of being a world class surfing destination.

You should go by the CI shop on Sunset; expensive but beautiful layout and outlay....he cats in there don't have a lot to do and will discuss all you wish to talk about face to face.

Big H wrote:You should go by the CI shop on Sunset; expensive but beautiful layout and outlay....he cats in there don't have a lot to do and will discuss all you wish to talk about face to face.

Been there, done that

Also surfed all the beachies from Kuta till Seminyak, just looking for the theories so they can click with my experiences. Like:

The increased rocker reduces the efficiency with which the board will travel through the water

I had this nice ride on my fully rockered 6'10" in Nusa Dua, the biggie at Geger. Although it was an overhead reef the ride was smooth as butter and surprisingly controllable. Clearly it was the rocker. If I would have been on my flat rockered and wide tailed 606 Dominator it would have been a whole different story..

Still never got properly barreled, well maybe one time my behind did on a small day at Keramas

It's a good wave....I see it every day!

Big H wrote:...we are living the photos DBBB is referring to.....up and downsides of being a world class surfing destination.

It's not, you know, totally rubbish where I am

One thing I would say is that surfing a lot of different boards requires that you spend more time in the water. It takes time to get used to different boards/fin configurations. You need to surf often enough to make it worthwhile otherwise picking a inbetween board and just using it all the time regardless of wave type is probably better. You get more in tune with that board. I think in my case I don't surf enough to do that. It takes too long for me to get used to another board and by then I may not be so used to the older board. I was thinking when I first read this thread that someone was going to say the relationship is this "If I pick my mushy sloppy small surf board it's going to be big clean fast tubes"

I found my flat, virtually no-rocker Avg Joe worked beautifully on small Kuta and Seminyak days with mellower waves. A real joy to surf. but when it got up to 5-6 feet, fast and steep on the bigger days, the board was useless. To me that is. For an inexperienced surfer like myself, changing to a 7'6 or 8' board on those days was better and made it possible to have fun. I'm sure with enough time (what like a year ? I could master the joe on the bigger days, but for me the choice was easy - surf another board more suitable for bigger and steeper waves on the bigger days.

Agree with the above post about the CI shop on sunset - super friendly guys who appreciate your business and will help you out.

I just bought a 7'6" board with lots of floatation and no rocker. Must be the oldmanoutofshapeoverwieght version of the average joe. I haven't tried it on big days yet but did try it with waves of up to 10 foot faces and it seemed fine. Some little quirks but it could be because I have the fins set as a thruster and I have been using a quad for the last 3 years.

I can't say much of my own experience, since I've only tried 2 boards so far. Both similar sizes (6'1" and 5'10"). Both had some good rocker, but the later was wider and thicker. Felt a little more stable and easier to paddle. I finished fixing a 6'0" wider and thicker than my board, looking forward to try it!

Good to see CI took the time to answer your questions!

By the way, we can't expect the board to ride for us, the surfer is the most important feature on the surfboard, but we can (and I believe should) understand which boards are better for each condition, and maybe even use that for our benefit.

There are books on the subject. I read one, I think is titled the Surfboard Book....maybe. It is interesting and goes over the basic designs and theories but I guess what matters is how it works for you. I have been surfing an 8 foot fungun round pin quad with lots of rocker. It is a very easy board to catch waves with and I have surfed knee high to double overhead with it. It is not so good at knee high unless it is tubing. I find it works really well at head high or bigger but the tail rocker makes for a bumpy ride in big choppy surf. But I find that surfing small surf with that board helps me to use it better in larger surf too. I am still perfecting my standard maneuvers so it just seems to me that changing boards complicates things. I think if you surf a lot then multiple boards become more of a usefull thing and also if you are skilled enough then the changes from board to board will be easier to know it's the board and not the rider or the waves responsible for the outcome. I recently switched to a 7'6" wide thick fungun blunt tail thruster with no rocker. I thought this board will handle much differently. But so far that hasn't been the case. It's a little easier on small mushy surf but seems quite similar in other surf so far and I am using it as a thruster. The one notable difference is it is slightly harder to takeoff on bigger waves. I still don't feel I know it's full potential yet. I think there is what you are used to and what in theory helps but to really know how it will work for you takes time using a board.

Video on shapes and waves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCTqA_ov8RA

jaffa1949 wrote:Video on shapes and waves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCTqA_ov8RA

Message received....it's the rider not the board.

Still I think the Guitar case was better suited for that wave then the Door was..

J.O.B is so crazy funny or funny crazy...whatever he cracks me up