9' x 32" 7.1 kg & 8'2" x 31" 6.2 kg

Beautiful Dean.. I can see my name on one of those.. Can't wait... Mmmm Nobby rash yellow.. .. Stand by for heaps of pics..

DJ

WOW....How long does it take to knock one of those puppies up?

Very nice!
Dean, did you still go the 1 layer of 6oz on the bottom? Does it still seem to be holding up alright on your board?

DJ, are you sure your's isn't the PSH Red one?

husq2100 said...

look awesome.

a few q's

what determins the size for you...especially the width?

are all the boards you make single fin? and does that change the shape of the board?

Serg

Body weight determines inital board size.
Many people.....if not most, ride a board too long & way too narrow, they are under the impression wide is a step backwards, & short is unstable, I can assure you it is not.
The width determines the level of "comfort" or stability.
A fat board has always been associated with low performance or a slug, but thats not true with SUP. There is something else that can make them turn lightning fast.
ALL production board makers are yet to catch on.
I use a large single fin, many people have a different view here, but the proof is in the pudding, many riders make the job harder & less efficient buy using multi small fins.
There certainly is a use for multi fin, but not for waves that the average punter rides. We dont get to ride "A" waves grade often.
I have recently tested small multi fin set ups & concluded, if you want to loose basic roll stability, increase yaw in paddling, slow your board, increase slide, & most importantly reduce speed out of turns or thrust off the fin......use tri or quads etc
Take a look at the guys "flat" sliding cutbacks in the video of the Aussie titles posted recently, what fin setup do they have....little fins?....no god dam drive off the fins...I hate that, they could be wackin full round house with more speed/thrust by using larger fins on those waves.

Take a look at the guys "flat" sliding cutbacks in the video of the Aussie titles posted recently, what fin setup do they have....little fins?....no god dam drive off the fins...I hate that, they could be wackin full round house with more speed/thrust by using larger fins on those waves.

I would agree with that , i think larger fins allow you to surf with more power.

LSD, excellent looking boards. Dean I think I'm with you on fins. I swapped the 7" single fin on my 8'2" x 26.75" to my old 9" fin . I didn't think it would do anything but it powered . I did a bottom turn on it and had that much drive I flew off the back of the wave before I had a chance to think, hit the water so hard ( luckily I used my balls to cushion my fall). I think my next board will be wider only because it will allow me to reduce the thickness and therefore the rail thickness. I recon rail thickness is the key, the thicker the rail the more sketchy and vague the board becomes. Maybe we have to think that maximum rail thickness is say 3" and then calculate the the thickness from there. So if I'm 90kg and I want to surf a 9' board then I need 31" but If I'm 60kg then I can surf a 27" wide. What I'm trying to say is that thick rail is the enemy and instead width should be added to get enough float. The Whopper and DJ's new Mana seem to be an example here( wide boards with fine rails)that both seem to be great surfers. LSD, Goaty whatya think . feel free to kick the crap out of this .

Firstly, Kelly carves buckets as good as anyone. The slides he does are on off the lip type manoevures.

Secondly I reckon the 'slidy' turns the boys were doing at the aussies were a result of the waves being really gutless plus they were trying to fit in very tight turns and that was a conscious choice. I don't think the board design (or fin set up) was the reason. Personally I prefer a carving turn if at all possible.

Re thruster vs single, I think old Simon A was onto something back in the 80s, but hey what would he know

Fin Size? Whatever feels best for the individual. Heavier guys tend to use larger fins. However I reckon if you feel the need to go massive it could be the board design that is not giving you the drive.

Looking at all the 'latest' designs coming out of Naish, PSH and even the Aussie custom manufacturers - I would say that the designs are headed towards being more narrow - along with finer rails. Look at the new Naish 8'10" everyone is raving about - 28" or the 8'0 - 26 1/4. The new PSH rippers are narrow and the Lagoonas are very narrow as well. Of course the trade off is stability but the rider standard will keep improving so that boards that were once thought impossible to stand on will be the norm.

IMO narrower but thicker under the feet will be were SUP design will head. Wide boards would be harder to get on a rail and therefore - wait for it - more slidy. Look at those Maui videos of guys on rice bubbles slidin all over the place. Fins have got SFA to do with the slidiness of a board unless you are running mini me fins.

Anyway, hope I haven't upset too many people, this is a really interesting topic and I don't think there is any 'right' design - whatever feels like fun is good

Goat Man Said
Firstly I reckon the 'slidy' turns the boys were doing at the aussies were a result of the waves being really gutless plus they were trying to fit in very tight turns and that was a conscious choice. I don't think the board design (or fin set up) was the reason. Personally I prefer a carving turn if at all possible.

Yeah i think the crap waves had a lot to with it those guys would have been carving big turns with a decent wave , but wasn't the guy who won it on a longer board , with possibly bigger fins?I gues in comps you have to have the right board for the conditions.

It stands to reason a thinner rail , suits long sweeping carving turns though.

But i dont know s**t so posts like this are great to learn from.

Goatman,
Just a point about rails & board width.
The lower or thinner a rail is made the more likely it is going to catch when coming off the top in small waves. With a short board they do bugger all in regards to grip in steep/ hollow waves. And further, they reduce important secondary stablity, need to catch that steep/hollow wave in the first place.
The narrower a board is the less fun a rider will have in less than smooth conditions, so reducing their overall fun.
Narrow boards do absolutley nothing in regards to performance for the average punter on average waves, but reduce their fun level.
If I was riding last years narrow boards, 9' x 28", this winter.......well, I wouldnt have got out much, way too unstable in the windy big stuf.
At 80 kg I am comfortable on 8'2" x 30 1/2" in 25knts and large chop running up the face of solid 6'+
If manufactures are silly enough to make boards with low rails & narrow width they may sell a few to the turkeys who know no better.
I make boards for my mates & taylor to their weight/ability. Most waves we ride are in the range of 1' to 6' or so, mostly "B" grade waves.
The 8'2"x31" board below is a good example, made for Glenn at 94kg an ex short board only rider. He is a very capable surfer, done very well in comps, years gone by.
The board is 1/2 the weight of his old 9' 6" x 30" (with low rails)
The first thing he said after riding a few waves today was....IT RIDES LIKE A SHORT BOARD!
I do tell people that......but till they ride one.... they dont know.(And they have full rails 80%) I make boards that work for us & our location.
With the range that some of the name brands have now, they usualy will have a board to suit anyone.
And that is the problem, some people have not tried enough boards, INTELIGENTLY, ignoring the "hype" & sales crap, to know what they really need 7 will do well on.



I rode the hollow waves below for 2 1/2 hours yesterday on my fat railed 8' 2".
The fastest nose rides in my life.
Rode the same waves many times last winter on a low railed board, this latest board is far better, so thin rails for edge holding is rubbish in this situation, something else does the job.....but I'm not wasting my time trying to explain what.....I'M GOING FOR ANOTHER SURF, SEE YA

Bells Rincon is a very fast wave @ mid tide, stay high go fast...edge holding is a must.....didn't have a slide out, so why bother with unstable low rails Goatboy?

LSD, you realy do make a nice board. I like the pin stripes it set it off.

BP

The boards do look nice in the pics, hopefully there will be one at the Mambo I can try. Will be interesting to see all the different styles of boards and try a few.

BTW here in Sydney some of the reefs are sucky death drops like Express point on Phillip Island so we have a good testing ground for the 'fat rails' to see if they hold or not. Love to see one of the rice bubbles take on DY point on a decent day

i might add my humble opinion. i was surfing with 7', 8" fins. i had people telling me go small around and as lsd said - no drive, so i gave it away. hilly said try the smallies, but don't put it where you put your large fin, slap it right down the back of the box. that's were i went wrong, you can't position a small fin where your large fin goes. i surf a dc8' 10" x 29"(it more of a fish style board ) and the naish 8' 10' x 28( it has a curvy rocker and narrow-ish tail) and it works well on both boards. handles better and surfs better imo.i put og sup onto it and he also was pleased with the fins
cheers

I've just purchased a Starboard Pocket Rocket 8' 5'', quad fin setup.

LSD, or anyone else - would you suggest a couple of larger fins at the back?

Interested since this board doesn't have a centre fin option, and like you I don't like the look of Sups bouncing and sliding all over the place. Also I'd amagine this would aid stability?

Great topic.

Cheers

Hey Green0,
I'e had the pocket rocket since about Feb, sweet board, I've been using Simon Anderson L quad fins and lately I've neen using smaller rear fins (stabilizers out of MR twin fin set) maybe equivalent to 3's, they make the board less stable but thats not an issue given how easy it is to ride. I don't mind the feel of the tail of the board feeling a bit loose and slippery (horses for courses) so they are the go for me, I would try the fins you've got, as LSD said you know till you try! be good to have something to compare to if you do try larger rear fins.

lsd if you think a big thick fat rail surfs better then a low profile thin rail thats too funny i guess if you ride a mal or surf like you used to ride one hey fair enough! I totally agree with goatman 100% but i guess it really comes down to the ability of the rider and the surfing he or she wants to be doing as if you wanna curse around have fun and dont really care about pushing your surfing thicken up those rails baby but if you wanna push yourself and your surfing and dont mind being a bit tippy sometimes thin those rails out and i am 100% if you shape 2 boards the same excatly in lenght and width , but one with thick rails one with thin ,surfing wise (repeat SURFING WISE) the thiner rails will win everytime. Hey why do the think that after shortboard progession and design over the last decade has come from single fins with thick rails to modern day boards with super low rails and the proformance speaks for its self there do you really wanna go backwards to the 70s.
But once again it really depends on the surfer and the way they wanna surf