Hey all, So I shaped my first board last Fall, a 6’8 mid length and I’ve been surfing it like crazy! I am in the process of trying to decide what board to make next and I need your help. Usually I would talk to my local shapers but given that I am making my next board, I feel awkward asking them, so I figured I would ask you all. I’ve been a long time lurker and had an account years ago, in the mid 2000s but apparently I can’t remember the login info. Anyway, here is a little about me and what I am trying to make:
Me: 5’11’', 175 pounds, male, 42 yrs old, surf weekly maybe less in winter, live and surf in surf city/topsail NC - so east coast surf. I’ve been surfing most of my life and surf a lot but I am an intermediate surfer, no aerials for me. I’ve got a 6’8 mid that Im loving, a 9’6 longboard that I surf all of the time, a SUP that doesn’t get much use, and a shortboard that I don’t surf much because I am now 25 pounds heavier then when I had it made.
I am currently looking to shape my next board this Fall. I want a shortboard for speed/turning that will work in clean, non drifty, waist/chest to several feet overhead. My current shortboard is a standard shortboard that is 6’2’‘x19.25x2.38 but I had this made for me when I weighed about 145 almost 20 yrs ago. I can still surf it but it just feels really small and almost like I don’t move when I paddle, especially compared to my 6’8 which flys! I love how it turns so want something that turns as well but has a little more beef but is easy to duck dive. I was thinking more of like a step up at 6’3’'x20x2.5 but am not really sure. Thoughts? Maybe I need more of a fish type board?
I want a shortboard for speed/turning that will work in clean, non drifty, waist/chest to several feet overhead.
That rules out any version of a fish or low-rockered alternative design. What you’re talking about is an honest to goodness HPSB that’s sized right for you. Probably a thruster, if that’s what you’re used to surfing.
I do very few of those so I’ll defer to others who normally do them for more specifics. But it seems TO ME that - as a fully growed man - you might want a few more inches in length if you’re going after fast twitch overhead conditions.
Thanks. Yea, maybe I need to step it up for 6’4. Just have no clue on the dims. My mid length does mostly cover what I would use a fish for so you are right, its not what I need here. I am looking for a board I can pump, turn fast, and gain speed on.
Agreed with gdaddy. Several feet overhead and easy turns rules out a “Fish”. A Fish would give you volume and the extra paddle power. But you give up one thing for another. You have described yourself as an “intermediate surfer”. It’s not likely you will advance much beyond that simply because you don’t surf enough to stretch you abilities. I am assuming by what you have said that you surf once a week or even less in the winter. I accept that an intermediate surfer can surf waist to chest high surf. My question is; Are you sure you can surf waves “several” feet overhead. “Several” to me would mean 3–5 feet overhead. If being on the East Coast, you don’t get into waves that size very often or maybe almost never; you could probably surf a “Fish”. If you stick with a “Thruster”, use any of the thicker 6’4 blanks made by Arctic, Millennium or US Blanks.6’4MF, SBF or SBM by Arctic or 6’4A or 6’4P by Millennium. Or US Blanks 6’4EA or 6’5R. 2.5" is a reasonable thickness. You could even add 1/8" or 1/4" if you needed a little extra. You can measure the length at the bottom and pull a 6’4" out of any of these blanks if you are careful. You can also get a 20" width out of any of the blanks I have mentioned. Standard Shortboard Thruster. Single Concave to Double with V. Rounded Pin. Ditch the Squash tail for the versatility of a rounded pin. This tail will reduce rail line and give the board a little more quickness.
We used to think nothing of going to 6-6 or 6-8 + a little narrower for step-up boards. Of course, that was before Slater was surfing overhead Hawaiian on a 5-8 length.
In spring/summer/fall I surf 2-3 times per week but in the winter, much less. I think I skipped all of last Jan because I didn’t feel like going in the cold and maybe went 1x in feb and froze in my 4/3. When I was 20 I was out there rain or shine haha. The biggest surf I will ever be in is really what we just got with hurricane Larry. So we are talking head to maybe 2 ft overhead sized waves and this is extremely rare - 3x per yr max. Most of my best waves are waist to head and thats ideally what I need a board for. I wont paddle out if its really bigger than that (no way 3-5 ft overhead), especially if hollow/powerful, just not my thing hrer on the US east coast. As soon as we get a long period big swell here in NC its 100% closing out as it was this past weekend with Sam.
Now you have me thinking I should be maybe be going for a fish. I really need a board I can turn and generate speed with when its waist to chest and then still be ok for some of the bigger waves we get (at least able to duck dive it). I’ve got a longboard for super small days in the knee to waist range. I’ve got a mid length for the waist-head days where I just want to cruz and turn a bit. But I don’t have a board for hot doggin’ when its waist+ and that’s really what I need. Is that a fish? Wish I had like 20 boards to test out.
Still not a fish. Fishes are clumsy in comparison to the basic HPSB design. By comparison, an actual fish is a pain in the ass to surf backside. Almost undoable for some surfers.
Fishes are more about the long carve on the open face. They came up in San Diego where we have slower moving conditions and longer faces. That isn’t what you’re talking about.
McDing gave you the perfect recipe for fast EC hurricane swell into overhead conditions. You’re already well covered in the smaller/slower ranges. If you want something quicker for the daily conditions then something like a quad Rusty Dwart or one of the alt designs …Lost does will fill that hole, but they won’t be that great for the conditions you were originally talking about.
Edit to add: Duck diving is more about technique than anything else. If you have the technique then you shouldn’t have any problems with duck diving that 6-8 midlength, let alone a smaller shortboard.
Thanks. Maybe I am looking at two different boards then…a shortboard in the 6’4 range (something like 6’4x20x2.5) and then a smaller Dwart type board for every day conditions maybe in the 5’8-5’10 range and more like 22x2.5.
That is the whole point of building a quiver. You’re looking to have different boards for different conditions. That way you don’t have to make as many compromises. It’s really common for surfers to take 2 boards with them when they go surfing based on what they expect to find when they get there.
That’s also one of the reasons a lot of backyarders like me got into build-your-own, to have more freedom and control over what we’re surfing instead of being dependent upon whatever is in the retail rack at the surfshop.
I shape a model that I call the .223. It’s a short and wide, rounded pin. It can be set up as a Thruster,Quad or twin. I’ll get a pic and post it. Something along those lines might work for you. The template is such that it can be lengthened and pulled in. Boards like that are a bit of a stretch in overhead waves, but doable. Years ago I rode a wide 6’3" Rounded Pin at 1st Peak Pleasure Point on a minus tide. Lots of “free fall” take offs on overhead waves. Scary the first time or two, but once those fins engaged, it was off to the races.
Yep, was just talking to a shaper this afternoon on the beach after my session who said the same thing - short and wide. He suggested a lost puddle jumper shape board thats short and wide and said it would pretty much work in everything that will get thrown at me in NC. Now I have no clue on the size of something like that. I looked at losts dims and those boards are super short, but who knows maybe the 5’8 or 5’10 would suit me at 5’11/175lbs.
I also sent a message to my local blank dealer. Trying to see how much they charge for the CNC to decide if I want to try out akushaper or just go by hand again.
I’ll get you a pic today of my .223. There are several 5’10 or 6’2 blanks made by all of the major manufacturers that will net a nice wide board. One of my favorite though is the Millennium 5’10F. It’s a solid 25" wide. Which means you can shape a 23" wide Shortboard or Fish without worrying to much about your offcut.
After going to the shop/factory yesterday and talking to two different shapers there I decided to go with the shortboard first for winter/spring then do a smaller fish type board in the spring for summer waves. I picked up a 6’4 Marko Thick (link to pdf specs). I spoke with them in length about the rails/rocker. Still deciding if I want to go 6’2 or 6’4 (blank could be cut to exactly 6’4. Looking at the ci flyer type standard shortboard template 20.5 widthx2.5 (or a touch fatter).
I was planning on buying an electric planer for this board but don’t think I need it. Guess I will propably get one next board. FCS2 fins.
TBH I always thought of the Flyer design to be more for day-to-day conditions. As in, day-to-day west coast conditions, which are generally fatter and slower than east coast conditions. That design has a wider tail block and flatter rocker than many of the other shortboard designs. At size, Sebastian Inlet breaks way faster than Trestles or Rincon.
Here’s the thing about surfing juicy waves: you’re not going to be able to run them down from 50ft away. You need to be in the right spot to begin with and you need to be quick on your feet in the transition. You’ll be taking off under the lip, making air drops, and using 100% of the rocker to make the transition in critical conditions. So while you need enough volume to float, paddle speed is actually secondary to timing and judgement and positioning in shorter and quicker conditions. You need to manage the energy, not create it the way you do in smaller and mushier conditions.
My opinion only. I think what McDing was pointing you towards will fill this hole in your quiver better than a more utilitarian design like the Flyer.
Just wanted to post an update: Shaped the blank yesterday. Board is 6’3.25’'x20.25x2.75. Nose is 12.75; Tail is 14.25; liters 35.5 according to boardcad. Debating taking the thickness down to 2 5/8. I did it by hand (sandpaper/electric sander) and it took around 3 hrs including setup/cleanup. Never doing another sand job by hand again. Planer has been ordered and on the way. This week i am going to spend my time making future fin jigs as I have decided to go future. Was going to go FCS2 but realized I had an extra set of futures and didn’t need to spend $100 on a new set of FCS2. Hoping to do fins at some point this week and glass next weekend/week.