I wanted to try making a wakesurf board for my brother who lives inland in SC - anyone have any ideas on good construction techniques for this? I’ve never surfed outside the ocean so I’m not sure about what to alter from a standard small-wave board. I was thinking something mini-simmons-esque would be a good shape since it’s got a lot of volume and a low rocker with a wide planing area. I’m just not sure about the following:
Do I need to use EPS or some other lightweight material or is PU/Polyester sufficient?
I’ve noticed online that a lot of boards have downturned rails tip-to-tail… are the rails sharp the entire way or do you soften them out towards the nose like a regular board?
What about fin placement?? Would a wide-set quad be okay or do the fins need to be closer to the stinger (the one he currently owns has a pretty narrow fin setup.
Must the bottom be a flat planing surface? I usually like to do tri-plane hulls on my boards but again I’m not sure about the dynamic differences between ocean surfing and wakesurfing
Anything else I should know?
Thanks for the help guys. I found a lot of threads about this but they’re mostly old and in the archives with non-working photos
Dave Vernor here in Santa Cruz makes a bunch of wakesurf boards, check out his website for outlines, etc. wide points waaaay back from what I’ve seen, but I’ve never looked at one too closely. Can’t speak to rail shape, but I imagine it would be downrail all around similar to a skimboard.
i’m not sure if i’m the perfect example, but this is a wakesurf board i built in june. i think you’re right about the shape if it happens to be a surf style board and not a skimmer.
the nearest surf hardware store to buy blanks here is probably some 1000 miles drive and i work on the board at home, so it had to be an eps/epoxy. there’s also a piece of cork vacuumed inside.
i like surf style boards with round rails, but there’s a lot of ways …
fin setup is still a bit of a riddle to me. i ride it mostly as a twin fin with FCS M5s. on a quad with FCS GS trailers i feel like on a railroad track.
bottom is V to single to double concave.
the board is 4’9", 21.8 litres, me 5’11", 165 lbs.
i think that lakewake mark can give you some better recommendations anyway …
Still waiting on the exact height and weight but for learning sake lets say he’s roughly 5’11" and 200-210lbs
The volume Im not super worried about, the mini simmons style explanation helps as I’ve made one of those (actually gonna give him the option between a mini-simmons wakesurfer and a traditional nose with a diamond tail, either way I was thinking like 20-21" wide and 2.75-3" thick?
The main part for me is the rail profile - should they be sharp nose-to-tail or should they taper off in places like an ocean board?
For that weight range I would build it like this.
4.8 x 21 x 2.0
EPS 1.5 to 2.0#
1" rail thickness
10" to 11" side fin placement
, 0 to 2 degree box splay and no more then .250 toe on fins
Tucked Sharp rails
Hard rail in tail section
17" to 19" tail
16" to 18" nose
Keep tail end wide , like 14’ to 16" measured 2" from tail tip.
2.5 to 3" nose rocker
.5 to 1" tail rocker
I like to keep volume from nose to tail so rider won’t pearl under and will be easier to recover when you get in trouble at back of wake.
Diamond tails work great. Bottom contours used are single, double cave, and hull style.
This is my opinion and seems to work for me. Have fun.
Shoots thanks man - I was a little over on weight (he’s 180 after doulble-checking) - I was going to just use PU/Polyester since its easier/cheaper - should I go up to like 3 for thickness to compensate or do you only reccomend EPS?
Ok on an 180,# person then you can go down to a 4.6 x 20x 2.0 EPS.
I never built a P/U board only EPS, you won’t have to paddle the board as a rope and the boat pull you up on it. I would not go any thicker then 2.0" on core and keep density no heavier then 2#.
This is the style of wakesurf boards I build, wide nose so it won’t pearl under, shorter for less swing weight and a lighter finished product. 4.3x20x2.0 with exposed cork top traction.
I like that design - almost mini-simmons-esque - I’m gonna give him the option between that and a “traditional” nose, but I’m hoping he goes for mini-simmons style
