8'6" hog with full rails and tucked bottom all around

General Discussion
1

I was out surfing low energy, 2-3’ curling/near close-outs this weekend. After a couple hours I got tired, so I traded my board with my friends 8’0 x 22.5 x 3.4" foamie. Low rocker with nose fip. flat bottom, minimal foiling with full, round rails that had a sharp tucked edge that ran the entire bottom perimeter. It paddled fast as hell. I was able to catch a lot more waves and also commute from one break to the next with much less energy. I was puzzled at first because these boards look so cheap. Then I thought about it. I weigh 165# wet, so that extreme thickness floats me quite high in the water, I suspect this kept a larger part of the rail out of the water, and the tuck sheered water off fast beneath. Although it turned slow, the thruster fins held in place for a few good bottom turns. It didnt need the nose flip though. 

I had so much fun that I thought of building a longer, less extreme PU version of it. No shame is emulating the design someone put into a foamie if it was that enjoyable. 8’6", drop the thickness to 3.1", pull the tail in. Same low rocker except a bit more flip in tail to get it turning faster, same flat bottom, same rails except turn the tail down harder, set it up as 2+1 with a short pivot fin plus two 3" side bites. Any thoughts on this?

2

Why not? I built an 8 foot big boy board with full round rails with a tucked edge and flat bottom (little bit of concave in the tail). It had a bit of rocker (just what was in the blank - US Blanks 8-2 A), and was very thick at well over 3" Paddles like a dream, super fun to ride. I later went back and added rail channels just to make the fat rails a little more comfortable to handle in ducking through a wave or carrying it around.

https://www.swaylocks.com/archive/64527/wing-squad

3

nice work man. thanks for sharing. funny, it seems like most of the boards i see in NJ shops have 60/40 down rails and thats what ive followed. so this design is new to me

4

My biggest fail in terms of design occurred as a result of using a shortboard type bottom on a singlefin.   Basically an attempt to do a midlength singlefin with an updated bottom.   I’ll never make that mistake again.   

 

For the OP, it seems to me that if wavecount and long distance paddling are near the top of your priorities then doing boards to do that will end up with a different result than if your priorites are actually surfing the wave.    The only board that “paddles like a longboard” is… a longboard.  

5

I think you lost me GDaddy. I rode a flat bottom 8’0 x 22.5 x 3.4" with full 80/20 rails and liked the way it paddled fast, but wanted to tighten the turns up a bit. So, my idea was to add length to gather more speed, then drop the thickness so the rails are more responsive. Are you saying that a shorter radius 80/20 rail on this board would be a bad combination? 

6

Decided this small wave board will be for summer and on days < 3’ when the geriatric longboarders at my favorite spot proceed to hog every damn wave that comes along. I dont like anything longer than 9’0 so 8’6" is still a good length. I figure I can make up for some speed with a natural rocker, straigh-ish profile, and mostly flat bottom. A board this thick and is usually too much float for me, but plan is to use full rails just under 50/50. With this I hope it rides a little higher up in the water to get it skimming faster. Taking Gdaddys suggestion and will be trying tucked hawaiin. Pics below are completed rocker, profile, and thickness. Currently at 8’6" x 21.8" x 2.9". Wide point is 1" behind center. Next step is shape vee into the tail and draw the rail bands out

 


302×576 7.5 KB

7

I dont like anything longer than 9’0 so 8’6" is still a good length.
[/quote]

What is the reason behind this, just that only kooks ride longboards? If this is the case, your restricting yourself.

A longboard is definitely fun and in some situations, it allows you to surf, where shorter boards just can’t. And even Kelly Slater has been seen riding a longboard. A longboard may help you to progress with your surfing, if you are beginner  (like myself) or intermediate. Do not fool yourself, if the conditions are for it, go for a longboard, don’t adapt a foam board it is not worth the work. Build a longboard or a midlength if you like it shorter. Foam boards do ride too, but there shape is due to production  limitations, not to master a given situation.

Just my two cents…

8

       “Taking Gdaddys suggestion and will be trying tucked hawaiin.”

I just told you that doing a flat bottom with contemporary rails on a midlength single fin was (from my perspective) my worst design fail in the last 15 years.   I “fixed” it by converting that board to a 2+1 and using a different center fin so I could surf it more actively, but that’s not how I want to surf longer boards.    I don’t do “monkey-humping-a-football” surfing on longboards because I think it’s ugly and spastic.    That board now resides elsewhere because I won’t surf it.   

So “good for somebody else” can mean “not good for me”.     I’ll leave it to you to decide what you want to do.    

 

9

I like longboards. I love them in Hawaii and El Salvador where they have waves that work better them with. I rode a 9’6 and then a 9’0 for about a year. but it felt too long for the typical NJ breaks I frequent. i just sold a few boards so my quiver currently is: high rocker quad 8’2 for overhead sets, 6’9 for anything single swell/organized, shoulder size and under, and a 6’2 knifey concave quad for pitching/walled up waves shoulde size and under. And yes, I understand the place for a foam board and I wasnt saying i wanted to buy one right now, just that I was observing its design features

10

Gotcha. But I must say that  you did spur my attention and I though alot about why a hawaain rail would work. Nevertheless, I ended up cutting these rails into this current build. Pic below. My intentions are this slow, small wave summer board. Cant wait to see if it meets my expectations! 

NOSE TO MID POINT

When paddling, I want this section to ride on top of the wave as early as possible, so keep the volume up there with minimal foil. When turning, i dont want the rail to penetrate the face of the wave. Instead I want the water to engage the flat bottom, skirting off underneath or off to the side, to begin the lift and glide. So, I made them full, boxy, 50/50, untucked.

MID POINT TO THE REAR OF THE FIN BASE

I want this section of the board to gradually dig into the wave face, but not so much so that the water wraps up over on the deck very much. So I made these full and slightly down. again with minimal foiling. Knowing this will stiffen it up, I added tuck that starts soft in the middle and becomes more pronounced by the time it nears the fin. Drawings dont show the softening as it was a result of screening after they were shaped. The softer edge keeps the water from sheering off at the fin section, so the fin is free to do its job in a turn.

REAR OF FIN BASE TO TAIL END

I want the rail to dig in as hard as possible here, and sheer off the sides and back, so I made it hard and down, with a hard edge running all around both sides and back. This is also right around where the vee peaks at 1/4". It starts 3" in front of the fin. 

Drawings here start bottom left for tail area, going right as we move up the board length, then start again on the middle row left going to the right again for the middle, then top row going from right to left. Sorry I know its not logical. Hope it makes sense though. Note: dont be confused by the drawing on bottom left, thats the profile of the REAR tail edge, not the side rail of the tail.