I’m hankering for a beachbreak-friendly hull (my first) to surf in smaller 2-3 ft surf here in northern New England. I’m intrigued by the possibility of surfing a hull because of the receptivity to the wave & focus on trim, but want something entry-level that I can enjoy getting wired in less-than-ideal conditions.
I’ve mostly narrowed it down to a Baby V Liddle (wide point pretty centered), or a Furrow Labyrinth tph (wide point back). Any experience surfing either of these boards in comparable conditions? And/or, is there a different board or particular design elements you think would be wise to consider? Thanks in advance for any insight.
Forget the labels for a moment and consider what a hull does. A Liddle style hull is a specialized design that’s aimed at specific conditions which are not very common. They’re designed to be set in trim and to let the rail line do all the driving with minimal input from the rider. Long rides with the board continuing to pick up speed as it goes. No low end quickness at all. Most of their riders only go frontside on them. For what they are designed to do, it’s a beautiful thing.
Unless your spot breaks like Malibu or Rincon I would steer you away from going full hull. For anywhere with more marginal conditions - which is almost everywhere - I would suggest you stick with a more conventional egg design; maybe tweak it with a lower nose/tail rocker and some convex in the bottom contours to keep the ride smooth and mellow and graceful.
I know, I know. As surfboards go, eggs are definitely not sexy and when you’ve got one under your arm that is going to be a genuine chick repellent but the design does have its uses. One being that the shorter length fits the shape of those conditions better than does a longboard. You can still get some glide and trim going if you set the board up right, and they’re more versatile across a wider range of conditions. On a weak/slow beachbreak you’re not going to have any use for side fins so a single is fine.
Fineline (Brian Hilbers) is a label that does liddle-style hulls but he also does a couple semi-hull type eggs (he calls it the Micro-Ant), that take the basic egg design a couple steps further. Another OG hull shaper who’s been doing such boards is Marc Andrieni. Look them up and check their boards out to see what they’re doing. I would say that most of the kids doing such boards have been copying what those two and a handful of their peers have been doing. Those more moderate designs are going to work on more days for you than will an extreme hull.
Thanks GDaddy-- this is helpful. Forgot to mention the Andreini & Fineline designs, which also look promising. The more moderate design is precisely what I’m looking into-- no interest in a full-blown hull for me for the waves I’m surfing currently
Your point about the egg is especially well-taken (see if you will my post regarding my single fin I put up today)-- perhaps it’s just a matter of taking that board to its full potential to access the wave feelings I’m after.
I know Liddell and others have tried hard to come up with a “beachbreak friendly” hull. But in reality there is no such thing. There are surfers however who can ride a hull in beach breaks.
The baby v is a good all around board and will do well in all types of breaks. The ID model by Liddle is what I ride in beach breaks, though I have ridden the more extreme wide point forward shapes in beach breaks as well.
Rad, thanks for this perspective— what’s yr experience of the difference between more parallel rails v wide point forward in these boards in particular?
