Surfing Waves

I went to seemy local board shop today with my 3 favourite boards and see what the shaper thought about a custom.

I brought in my 5'6 dominator, 5'9 HS love buzz and my 6'1 pintail short board.
My brief along the lines of I want a short (5'6-5'9) board with a widish nose (like the dominator) but with a more performance tail that can handle waves up to 6ft and somewhat hollow. I said that I would still like as much
Volume under the chest for easy paddling as possible and volume to be around the high 28.5-29l mark.
In essence, a hypto krypto on steroids haha.

So the shaper said he would probably take this board as a template but go with the 5'8 option, thin it out in the tail a bit, make it a bit more narrow (19.5") maybe, aim for 2 3/8 rails with a bit of dome in the deck to help with volume distribution, add a bit more conventional rocker, change the concaves to be a bit deeper and go a single to double to decent vee and go with a 4+1 fin configuration.
Price wise looks to be about$1000 Nzd for the epoxy version.

The concept sounds kind of cool. He reckoned that it wouldn't lose too much low end waves spectrum but gain quite a bit top end. My aim
Would probably be to keep
My 7'2 minimal, keep my 5'10 rockhopper and then use this for better or bigger days.

If anyone else has any board shaping experience it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the above idea and plan shape?

http://www.primalsurf.co.nz/product/the-rockhopper/

4+1? Meaning you can ride it as a single if you want? I guess a bonzer would be a 4+1 also.....


I know for me I'm still learning fairly rapidly.....I'm not at the place in my surfing that custom would make sense as I'm still learning how to use the off the rack stuff; wouldn't really know what to ask for in terms of what would enhance my ability yet beyond standard offerings in sizes that suit.....for now the secondhand stuff I use fits me really well (took a few tries but i've found a clutch of boards that work well so now its down to me!)

Like we talked about in the other thread, I want to get that twin fanged gemini....I just don't feel like I'm ready for custom yet.....getting there but just not yet.

Going to upload the gemini pics again because it's awesome.....

Big H wrote:I just don't feel like I'm ready for custom yet.....getting there but just not yet.:

No such thing as 'not ready for custom'.

Big H wrote:I just don't feel like I'm ready for custom yet...

Yes you are. You might not know exactly what board would be best for you, but your shaper will.
A good shaper and some honest discussion will deliver the board that's a world away from a mass-produced board. Do it. Do it now.

benjl wrote:If anyone else has any board shaping experience it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the above idea and plan shape?

That's exactly how it should be - you take your current board(s) in to the shaper, describe what you think should change (usually using some vague hand waving), and the shaper suggesting what needs to happen, and correcting all your misapprehensions about board shaping along the way

Your board plan sounds like fun, although I'd be a bit nervous of a 5'8 board on a 6' wave, and wide and hollow don't necessarily go very well together... but, hey, you're the surfer and he's the shaper so I'm sure the pair of you know better than me!

Maybe.....honestly I don't see how they could be much better all things considered. I have a few boards made by local shapers; they are my favourites....suit the conditions and wave shapes here better than other boards that I've tried (at least they just seem to work better)....they just weren't made for ME.....

I can't really argue it....I never had a custom made for me......and I'm not one to argue for a reason against getting a new board, or at least new for me.... (apparently)

Well.......as one custom virgin to another.....let me (us) know how it works out Benji.....maybe you'll talk me into dropping my pants as well...... I'm picturing a gemini with a General Lee paint job.....

If your shaper doesn't know a heck of a lot more than you about shaping then it's time for another shaper or just do it yourself.

It I us not that....I just think (know) that I will outgrow whatever I get at the moment. Maybe in 6 mos or a year then I won't be buying a temporary board.

Some more musings.......

I know that you all mean well, but even though I surf a lot and am coming up on 2 years doing it this July, I'm still a beginner really (esp. when compared to good riders around here....the bar is high but so is the surf quality and competition) and am still going through things like just one month ago I managed to break the habit of looking down....I don't do it anymore when popping up or riding....used to always sneak a peek at some point and the wave would get away from me almost immediately.....I don't do it now and straightaway I'm catching & riding better and keeping more speed so that I can do more things....I'm also sorting late takeoffs where I can catch the wave with a lot less effort.... last sesh I was getting in with 2 and 3 paddles for the most part; that and my ever improving paddling fitness means lower volume boards that make getting out back in bigger surf so much easier and I can still ride the waves just as well....and bigger surf is on the way with the season knocking on the door....

I'll get there, but even though I've never had a custom board made, I'd argue the point that it is never too soon to have one made......I think mass produced, secondhand boards are fantastic to learn on.....not expensive, easily passed on when it's time to make a change and while not being tailor made, are certainly good enough to learn how to pop up without looking at your feet or to make a bottom turn without ploughing the nose into the trough....I was at Balangan the other day and caught more waves than anyone else to the point that someone made a comment "I think you are having more fun than any of us".....all the same I can see what is changing and improving and IMO I'm just not to that point that I'm going to get a board that I'll keep for more than a few months at this point....I know that boards are temporary (believe me I know), just seems what I have is more than adequate at this point.....

Tell me if I am wrong but getting a custom board for a learner seems to me like getting a bespoke suit made for a 12 year old.....it might suit him perfectly once made, but not for long.........

Big H wrote:Tell me if I am wrong but getting a custom board for a learner seems to me like getting a bespoke suit made for a 12 year old.....it might suit him perfectly once made, but not for long.........

Yeah, you're wrong

I got my first custom board when I had spent a single summer on a 7'11 mini-mal. It was a 7'4 funboard that I thought was short at the time. I chatted to the shaper for ages, gave him an honest appraisal of my (very limited) skills, told him where I was surfing, how often I was surfing...etc. etc...
The board was absolutely beautiful in every way - it was perfect for the level I was at, and helped me progress pretty quickly considering that at that time I was only surfing every 2 or 3 weeks.

Could I have got something off the shelf that good? Probably - but how would I know what was perfect for me at that point unless I chatted to the shaper of each board? (Or at the very least, had someone with a shaper's knowledge to guide me through the choice) The few lines of blurb on the internet is nothing compared to a shaper's knowledge who can then dial that into a board that is made for you.

I kept that board for years, and progressed a long way on it. I only sold it when I moved to Oz... and then immediately regretted getting rid of it

Now, you're getting along fine with the boards you have, and you're progressing faster on them than I did due to the waves you've got and how often you surf... but... a custom board per year is a reasonable rule of thumb for a lot of surfers*, and you won't out-perform your custom board in that time.

I totally acknowledge that while you're learning (...or ever..?), you don't need a custom board, something off the rack will be absolutely fine... but what's that got to do with it? There's nothing in the world like receiving your brand new custom board after waiting for it for a few weeks, and then the first time you paddle out is just magic...






* Due to buying a house this year, I am well overdue a new custom board... soon...

Unless you are an expert then buying a 'custom' isnt necessary because an off the shelf will probably be 85% as good and you dont use the other 15% anyway

So buying a custom is a want not a need. But its a perfectly valid want, if you can afford it and justify it in your mind.

In Bali you have access to lots of second hand boards of all kinds and you are probably thinking that when you get a custom you are getting your one and only board that you will surf on (or feel that you must surf on) for the next 2 years (which is probably where Benjl is at).

Whereas at the moment you are trying out all these different boards and are getting much better value from buying and selling cheap second hand boards and not really knowing which is the 'one and only' board you will want or whether there is a 'one and only' board for you.

And that is perfectly valid point of view. I and DBB are saying that if you want a new board, a custom is a great option no matter your level (beyond basic beginner). But if you want to switch and swap second hand boards, or feel you have a really good board or two at the moment, then a custom probably doesnt make sense.

Yeah, I guess it's a bit unique here with the sheer volume of good quality second hand boards available.....secondhand boards are really cheap to buy and easy to sell again....people spend their vacation here then don't want the cost of carrying the board back with them and let them go for sometimes really attractive prices....there is enough choice that it is pretty easy to find the kind of shape, length and volume that you're looking for at a given time in a few different choices...... Like DBBB said, I didn't know what to buy so I just bought everything ....I've gone through a fair amount of trial and error which I find fun but for others might be seen as a waste of time and have been able to shape what I like and don't via that process (probably the total I've gone through is somewhere around 25 - honestly can't remember)....at the moment I have one board for good waves/all a rounder, one for smaller waves, one for mushier fat waves, a step up for bigger waves, a mini mal, a big single fin and the longboard all of which I really like and fit....I have a few others that for one reason or another didn't quite fit or are good but not quite as good for me as another board that I have that for a similar condition and are going up for sale again and a couple that the jury is still out on but were a good deal and I though that I might like if not now in the near future.......I've gone through a fair amount but for the most part have kept a longboard and a mini mal at the core and just gotten smaller in length and volume in relatively small steps so that it was pretty painless (4in step downs more or less)....for me it's fun to try different boards and has helped me in practical experience find out what I like ....shape, length, volume, width......lots of trial and error and I'm sure going to a shaper would have saved time, but in the end I did wind up with a spec that I like that is echoed throughout my quiver and more importantly for me, with the inquiring mind, I now know what the actual/practical differences are between a longer board vs a shorter board of similar volumes, wider vs narrower, big fat groveller vs big guy shortboard at the same volume, wide tail vs narrow tail, single fin vs thruster vs quad......all those questions newbies ask here all the time I went out and found the answers myself and while I might not be as knowledgeable as a shaper, I kept what I liked and sold what I didn't and am pretty happy at the moment....I've tried enough to know that I'm not going to be blown away by any revelations (other than the twin fanged general lee gemini whenever I decide to go for that!)

I am not going to pretend as long as I live here and surf as much as I do at different breaks and different conditions that there exists a one board quiver or that I'm looking for the "perfect" single board when I go to the shaper.....I just want one that I'm going to use longer than 3 months is all and in terms of shortboards, the specs of what I like and what works keep changing. It's levelling off more now so maybe soon.....of all the boards I mentioned I only had one of them a year ago, so if I were to hold onto a custom for a year I suppose that would be a fair test.....

drowningbitbybit wrote:

benjl wrote:If anyone else has any board shaping experience it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the above idea and plan shape?

Your board plan sounds like fun, although I'd be a bit nervous of a 5'8 board on a 6' wave, and wide and hollow don't necessarily go very well together... but, hey, you're the surfer and he's the shaper so I'm sure the pair of you know better than me!

haha- Yeah i did also contemplate the ideas of either a really good wave board (more narrow and longer) or trying to make a more high performance hypto that could be everyday + when it gets bigger.
I thought that if the hypto can do a claimed 8ft wave in stock flat rocker and 19.5" wide stance, then a modified version with a bit more rocker, 2" length and more defined concaves should work even better.
So far even on my 5'6 dominator with a fat tail, i've been able to take off pretty late and be ok just because of the sheer-shortness of it.
The fin set up is called 4+1 but would really just be a 5-fin set up for thruster or quad.

I also meant to say, the firewire mini Driver which is a renowned tube-smasher for big and hollow stuff has vaguely similar dimensions to what i'm building.
My 5'8 will likely be the same but 19 1/2 wide and a more full nose with about 29l volume.

5' 10" 19 1/4" 2 3/8" round 27.8L

So here's what the shaper has proposed- it's interesting to see it.
Fairy wide nose and tail is in between my dominator and a short board tail. He's had to beef up the thickness a tad but thinks he can still add performance rails and curve.

Rocker is in between a flat hypto and a short board.

I'm tied as to whether I should increase the length an inch or two so that the tail could be a touch thinner and maybe overall a touch thinner.
Looks like a fairly fast design?

benjl wrote:Looks like a fairly fast design?

Still looks pretty skatey to me

The rail is curved throughout, so might not hold the face very well. Nothing wrong with a skatey board (...I like skatey boards...), but I'm still not convinced something that short and curved will be the best choice for a wave of significance, which is what you wanted?

I think I'd be pushing the length out a bit with a straighter rail through the mid-section of the board.

...but I'd also trust your shaper more than me, as long as he understands exactly what you want the board to do.

I always thought your name was 'benji', and I've only just realised it's 'benjl'

Hahahaha.....I thought it was benji all along too!