Dimensions (yours & your board's)

[Brocktoon]

It's about time for a new board. After going anorexic in the early 90s and bogging, I realized I weighed 30 pounds more than Rob Machado. I said fuck it and went from a (6'0" x 2 3/8" x 18") to a (6'6" x 2 3/4" x 20"). For years my go-to board was in the 6'5" to 6'6" range. I surfed way better on the bulkier boards and was happy to trade a measure of maneuverability for the drive.

A couple years ago, I started paring away the foam. My latest go-to board is back to being too small (6'2" x 2 1/2" x 19). I'm not wanting to go much longer (my favorite current board is a 5'10" fish that flies) but want to add enough foam to float me without compromising as much responsiveness as I have in the past. Tried looking on the net for board dimensions for guys like Sunny Garcia, Luke Egan and Pancho Sullivan but couldn't find much (except Pancho's Bushman Surf-Tech dimensions - but that shit's composite & has very different bouyancy properties than the p/u I'll be getting).

Any thoughts? Push out the thickness or the width? A little of both? I've got a couple shapers I've been using for a few years, but they both seem to want to make me a potato chip (too small) or a "big guy" board that's too cumbersome. They are both production shapes for Rusty so they are used to shaping "performance" boards for people with a max weight of 150 pounds.

I'm looking for a perforamance shape that can float me. Testing shaper theories is $400ish/pop and I'm trying to have an exact idea of what I want before I go in again. I had a 6'4" Roger Beal a few years ago that was magic. Sold it and don't know the dimensions.

I'm 5'11" and fluctuate between 180-190 lbs. What are you riding?

[reidando]

1. do you have to get a p/u? or are you open to other options?
2. i am 6'0 and 160, so completely different, but i use more meat in the middle, tapering to the rails so that i keep them narrow (the rails that is).
3. i experimented with WRVs new stringerless "coil construction technology" for 5 months this summer and was amazed at the float, receptiveness, and durability. they are really strong. but in choppy waves, maybe not so great. i live where the wind is offshore pretty much all the time, so this is my go-to board for there.
4. try looking at what taylor knox rides he is 5'10 and 170. and a rail surfer like those other guys you mentioned. occy too. you should be able to find this stuff with some internet research, they both have pro model boards or have had them.

and most importantly, where do you live and or where will you be surfing most frequently? do you like fast, barrelling beachbreaks, or mellow peeling waves?

hope this helps,
reid

[Brocktoon]

1. do you have to get a p/u? or are you open to other options?
2. i am 6'0 and 160, so completely different, but i use more meat in the middle, tapering to the rails so that i keep them narrow (the rails that is).
3. i experimented with WRVs new stringerless "coil construction technology" for 5 months this summer and was amazed at the float, receptiveness, and durability. they are really strong. but in choppy waves, maybe not so great. i live where the wind is offshore pretty much all the time, so this is my go-to board for there.
4. try looking at what taylor knox rides he is 5'10 and 170. and a rail surfer like those other guys you mentioned. occy too. you should be able to find this stuff with some internet research, they both have pro model boards or have had them.

and most importantly, where do you live and or where will you be surfing most frequently? do you like fast, barrelling beachbreaks, or mellow peeling waves?

hope this helps,
reid

1. Gotta get p/u because I've experimented with EPS (the new, high density, quality shit) and been burned. I don't like the way they flex; they just feel dead to me. It's entirely subjective (Jaime O'Brien doesn't seem to have the same problem) and I could probably get used to the foam if I experimented with enough boards, but I've ridden a handful of EPS and owned two and don't like them. I've ridden surftech (which is just molded EPS) and don't like the feel of those either (except for a little fish surftech I rode, but flex isn't important on a fish). Haven't ridden aviso, S-core or any of the other leading experimental technologies. My wiff with EPS has made me gunshy.

2. Nice.

3. I've had poor luck with stingerless as well. Found them to feel like a lady's golf club: too much flex messes up my timing.

4. Looked around online and found surprisingly little on board dimensions for those guys. Just from photos, it looks like Taylor rides a slighter board than Pancho or Sunny.

5. No kidding, key info. I like barreling pointbreaks that finish with a steep shoulder that allows for performance surfing. Unfortunately, I don't know of any such waves within 100 miles of me. I live in Carlsbad, CA north of San Diego. My homebreak is a punchy beachbreak jetty just off a lagoon. I surf trestles, and DMJ's a lot as well. I've got a decent quiver and have the non-ideal days pretty well covered. What i'm looking for is my go-to board for chest to overhead good days.

Thanks.

[Alkasquawlik]

I'm 6'2" at 190 lbs and my magic board right now is a 6'3"x18 5/8"x 2 3/8" rounded pin, suspension tail Vernor. I really dig rounded pins because I feel like the give a bigger board for a bigger guy the right amount of drive and pivot for snapping turns. I have 6'6" squash and a 6'2" squash that I'm not digging right now because I feel like I don't get the right amount of drive off the bottom. Sure you can push the tail out easy on a lil' mush burger but I don't like to surf lil' mush burgers so they're becoming a little obsolete for myself.
bueno suerte.

[Brocktoon]

I'm 6'2" at 190 lbs and my magic board right now is a 6'3"x18 5/8"x 2 3/8" rounded pin, suspension tail Vernor.

That's probably less total foam than I'm on right now. That's part of the difficult thing. Surfboards are such irregularly shaped objects that nose-to-tail length, width at the widest point, and stringer thickness at the wide point are really inadequate measures of total foam volume.

I was thinking about this the other day. With so many shapers using shaping machines and CAD, you'd think these machines would have a calculus formula built in that would reflect total foam volume as they tweaked the dimensions. Then you could add inputs like surfer weight, surfer height, skill level and wave type and the formula could spit out a minimum volume. That way the shaper could tweak the dimensions and be mindful of total bouyancy in the process. As it is, all the guys i've worked with are guesstimating. Given the dramatic difference a 1/2" here or there makes (esp. when carried out the length of the board) it seems like we have the means to get a little more sophisticated now and should do so.

Somebody, get on that, would you?

[robnow]

No offence but why are you even looking into pro dimensions. The ability they are at they are able to ride much different boards than 99% of us do. But I'm sure you realize that already.

You should check out the forum on surfermag.com and search there. They discuss dimensions to death over there. Unfortunately there are a million different opinions when it comes to board dimension preference.

[Brocktoon]

No offence but why are you even looking into pro dimensions. The ability they are at they are able to ride much different boards than 99% of us do. But I'm sure you realize that already.

You should check out the forum on surfermag.com and search there. They discuss dimensions to death over there. Unfortunately there are a million different opinions when it comes to board dimension preference.

Yeah, I'm looking for more of a benchmark than a model to copy. I saw an interview with Ross Williams in which he said his boards are 20 1/2" wide these days. That's over an inch more than Cordell was recommending as an absolute outer limit for a performance board.

I don't like the vibe over at surfermag.com. It seems like a bunch of 16-year-old know-it-alls who don't punctuate!

[robnow]

I don't like the vibe over at surfermag.com. It seems like a bunch of 16-year-old know-it-alls who don't punctuate!

Yeah, there is some garbage to sift through. But for technical stuff under the design forum there is a lot of good sources, not that many kids IMO. You can pick them out pretty easy!!

Try to find a shaper that deals with more performance oriented boards but for bigger guys. Cole has an awesome reputation(I think my next board will be from him but he does epoxy though) and Matt Biolos from Lost is a bigger guy. There was actually a recent thread about shapers for bigger guys in the last month or so on surfermag. Rusty actually has quite the poor rep over there, being accused of copying many others and calling the designs his own.

[Long duc dong]

I know exactly what you mean, in terms of trying to find the balance. I went through a period of boards that were too skinny. I went bigger, 6'3/19.5/2.5 and loved the added drive, and the fact that I got so many more waves, and into waves so early. Some of the boards I surfed were narrower, 18.75-19, but those always had solid rails, the kind where you pick up the board and it feels meaty. I surfed boards like this pretty exclusively for about 7 years. A year and a half ago I traded with a buddy of mine, 6'4"/18.75/2. but with thinner rails, less volume overall. This board had a double concave(I believe, I am not an expert on bottom contours) and not much rocker, so I found it really took off down the line. With less volume in the rails it also turned more easily than the boats I had been riding. It was a great change, and I started going to boards like that.

I just broke my go-to board and went back to my CI flyer, a boat with the first dimensions I quoted which I had not ridden in about a year. I surfed it at Blacks last week, in mushy mellow walls, definitely not the punchy beachbreak Blacks usually is. I loved it, the walls were long, but without much push, and the added volume helped me get in early. Now I'm torn again about what to get next, I had a great time at Blacks, but there were times I wanted that feeling of acceleration upon standing up, not the feeling of glide. I am really trying to think of what I want next. I enjoy surfing the flyer, but I want something with a bit more speed. I will try to look for something in between.

BTW, I'm 5'8", about 165, and mostly surf Newport, and San Clemente. Not to hijack the thread, but for those of you that have tried tuflites, what do you think of them. I have heard they are a bit stiffer and more responsive than p/u, which might not be great for a mediocre surfer like me. And how about that TL2 stuff? I have heard it is 90% as durable as a tuflite, but more forgiving.

[Superstar Punani]

Here's my quiver. I'm the same size as Bobby Martinez but he rips shit up at least..... three times harder than me.
Mainly surf Beachbreaks in CA and hit the road 3-4x a year to either Oz/Hawaii/Indo/Philippines/ or some random tropical spot

5'10 x 20 1/2" x 2 3/8 Fish (Shaper: Chronic)
Used for summer mush

6'2" x 18 3/8" x 2 3/8" squashtail thruster (Shaper: JS)
All rounder from 2-6 foot surf. Surf this board most of the time.

6'2" x 19 1/2" x 2 3/8" quad (Shaper: Chronic)
Take it for a spin here and there to see what the quad hype is all about.

6'6" x 18 1/2 x 2 3/8" round tail thruster (Shaper: Schaper Hawaii)
Main step-up board for big barreling 6-10 foot surf- Indo, Hawaii, Micronesia
Glassed extra heavy because I break boards like for fun.

7' x 18 1/4" x 2 1/4" pintail thruster (Shaper: Byrne)
High performance gun for big perfect waves.
8-12 foot surf

7'2" x 18 1/4" x 2 3/8" pintail thruster (Shaper: Bushman)
North Shore board brah
10-15 foot surf

7'6" x 18 1/2" x 2 1/2" pintail gun (Rusty)
12-15' plus.

If you want to retain manuverability, go thicker and wider, but use the same board length.

Tuflites are shit.

[tuffy109]

My homebreak is a punchy beachbreak jetty just off a lagoon.

yay Ponto!

[Toby]

I was thinking about this the other day. With so many shapers using shaping machines and CAD, you'd think these machines would have a calculus formula built in that would reflect total foam volume as they tweaked the dimensions. Then you could add inputs like surfer weight, surfer height, skill level and wave type and the formula could spit out a minimum volume. That way the shaper could tweak the dimensions and be mindful of total bouyancy in the process. As it is, all the guys i've worked with are guesstimating. Given the dramatic difference a 1/2" here or there makes (esp. when carried out the length of the board) it seems like we have the means to get a little more sophisticated now and should do so.

Somebody, get on that, would you?

Played with Aku Shaper? You don't put in surfer parameters, but it'll give you volume calculations. It's a free download.

[Brocktoon]

I am really trying to think of what I want next. I enjoy surfing the flyer, but I want something with a bit more speed. I will try to look for something in between.

Every time I try to get the best of both worlds with a board, I end up wtih the worst. Do you have a fish? Any time it's mushy, there's nothing else I'd rather be on (unless, of course, it's so grovelly that you need a log). They provide the ultimate glide. Then get your thruster with the thinner rails. That's definitely what I'm going to do; my trick now is to get the right amount of foam under me.

Here's my quiver.

You call that a quiver? Where's your tow board? Your ulu? Your Maurice Cole Aviso with asymetrical tail?

How's that Chronic quad? Should we believe the hype?

yay Ponto!

Pick a prize off the wall! No, not that one - or that one. OK, any of these from here to here, not including the bunny.

Played with Aku Shaper? You don't put in surfer parameters, but it'll give you volume calculations. It's a free download.

VERY cool. Thanks for the link. I'm stuck at work tonight and am under the oppressive regime of a militaryindustrialcomplex firewall. I will download this and waste countless hours of my life agonizing over trivia as soon as possible!

[Toby]

I will download this and waste countless hours of my life agonizing over trivia as soon as possible!

Tip: read the tutorials first. It's easy to mess around and get stuck before you understand what you're doing. I've only messed around with it for fun and I'm a complete novice but it's definitely a great procrastination tool. I think it'd be pretty cool to design your own board and have it cut for you on one of the machines that use the software.

[fantastic_damage]

Sounds like we are discussing performance shortboards.

I am 6 ft....around 188 LBS.

I love epoxy: light, strong and they seem to ride higher/corkier in the water.
I doubt I will ever go back to Poly boards.

That said for a peformance shortboard I ride with material construction:
COIL EPS/Epoxy Vacuum Bag (my local shaper does these for an extra $100).

6'4" X 19 X 2 5/16"


Seems like the potatoe chip boards are coming back, its pretty ridiculous how small my buddies are getting their boards....I have a buddy of mine who is about 160ish and he is riding a 5'11" shortboard with skill.