Hey,

I have started negotiations with a custom board builder in my country.
I would have some questions, or get some tips.

Since I have conditions for surfing that give not that big waves and a lot of times choppy conditions, I have decided to go for a freewave board (being able to learn basic freestyle as well as ride some smaller waves). I also request early planning (end speed doesn't mean that much to me).

I have a 90-95 litre board in mind, but since it would be a custom board, I thought I might give my desires to the builder in order to make a board that would suit my needs.

what would be the best rocker, for a bit more freestyle tries than wave riding (remember it would be a second board for a bit more powered and messy conditions, I have a larger board for flat and underpowered stuff).

I was thinking: - nose rocker 17-18cm (to high to low?)
- tail rocker about 6mm

I planned dimentions something like: 232cm , 63cm with a round nose and pin tail.

I also thought about twin fin version...

Any comments (wanna check some things before we sit down and talk about shape, so I know what I can expect from the product)?

actually, we're making a deal the boardbuilder likes the aluminum rims on my car, I hate em cause the tire is only 40mm thick on my car and I can't really drive to most spots with tires like this :)
I had a flat tire a month ago and it is the same price to get 4 new 15" tires with steel rims or buy 2 new 18" 40mm tires for 1 axis (according to law I can't have 1 new and 1 used tire on same axis), so that's almost like a free custom board for me :D

That's why custom board is a good deal in my situation...

hm... 90 - 95 liters? Freeride/ Freestyle/ small waves? Sounds to me you are trying to recreate a JP Freestyle wave. My recommendation would be just buy the JP 92 Freestyle wave and be done with it. The pro edition version is pretty solid and weights almost nothing. I can't see how a custom board would be any better.

There are a number of people on the PWA that sail production boards simply because they don't have the time to work with someone to develop custom boards for them. It takes a lot of luck but more like several boards before you arrive at what you want. And don't forget the resale value of custom boards pretty bad.

barn said...
The reason the freestylers on the tour use productions is because the freestyle tour is production board only format.. Some of the Pros used productions before this but the boards never lasted long. Its hard to imagine just how much windsurfing these guys do. Let alone how hard they sail..

I was actually talking about wave sailing.

^^^ +1

maybe you just havent been to WA since then

crap, I would have to pay some extra $$$$ for the custom, so we agreed on a production board that he is selling, it's a 135L freeride which is going to be a great board for light winds and for my better half :)

stehsegler said...

Troppo said...

stehsegler said...

The pro edition version is pretty solid and weights almost nothing. I can't see how a custom board would be any better.

cut one open and have a look then you will see.

3 or 4 years ago I would have agreed with you... I used to go through 1 or 2 (sometimes three boards per season). For some reason that suddenly stopped in the 2008/09 season. I don't know what they did but whatever it was it made the "full carbon" light weight editions more durable.

I have noticed similar things happening with masts and sails from some manufacturers.

My experience is almost the reverse as I had one of the older shapes in a 92l which I loved, so fast and crisp on the water, but I don't like the new shape it seems kind of tame and dull (maybe it needed a different fin?). I thought the old one was tough enough but its speed and acceleration could put you a surprisingly long way up in the air which, at times, could be a bad thing.

I guess in the end even buying a production board can be unpredictable if your expectations are for certain characteristics. They do change from year to year. The obvious advantage is that it is sometimes possible to demo production boards. I am sure the turnout when the JP trailer hits Tassi will be huge.

adamws said...

have you got a cad shaper and years of experince and mistakes i shaped 8 surf boards when i was younger one of them came out allright the rest where sh#t not that im trying to tell u no but investgate cause it cost blood sweet and tears

I have experience in Autocad, solidworks are still in learning process (can't get these irregular shapes made without errors, still working on tutorials, IF I find some time)....

Are there any nice available programs to test hydrodynamics of a certain item when it's drawn?