Forefronts of board design

[ric_vidal]

Ric, on the point of too little roll under in the bottom rail on composites...thats not a problem I have.

Haven’t seen one of yours Josh, other than lots of photos, but certainly well aware of your history, so take you on your word.

Picked up a couple of Bert’s some time ago and didn’t think the bottom edge was an issue but bugger me they were fine rails, too fine in my book.

You believe the edge radius is a problem on some of the other mass produced boards?

Kind of one of the things that is stopping me from venturing into making compsands is glue lines and shaping varying density material that sit together.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I just had a surf of the Webber Mini Fish twinny, heres my amateur report: http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtop ... 69#p350969

Its definitely not a toy. With my limited knowledge on surfboard shaping, it seems like a clever combination of board designs that allow it to have sever things:
- Amazing speed and drive that you can expect from a twinny.
- The grip and bite that allows you to surf the board top-to-bottom pretty hard, even in overhead powerful point waves.
- The paddle power that 20 odd inches of width, and 3 1/8" of thickness can provide.

Its quite an experience. I don't recommend it as a go-to board, but if you want have some great fun and get an ear-to-ear smile, a great addition to an already established quiver

[Cpt.Caveman]

After heaving that a few shapers such as Webber are resurrecting the twinny as a performance board, what do you guys think of the twinny technology as a performance option? I guess MR has been onto it for a long time...

I also had a chat with a guy in a surf shop who chooses to ride a twinny whenever the surf gets really big and solid. His tow boards are also twin-fins.

The Webber Mini Fish seems to have a rediculous amount of speed, and Webber also seems to have a semi-fish option for the twinny. I can't help to think though, did twinny technology get stamped out by the thruster too quickly?

The quad seems to be an advancement or a step-up from the twinny for a performance board in my opinion. The same principles supply the speed, but you've got a lot more hold for powerful surfing and powerful waves.

What are everyones thoughts on twins as a performance orientated board?

[speedneedle]

Hey Cave,

I'm absolutely into the twin as a high performance option. I love mine...part of why is that there is SO not any dead weight in plugs all over the place.

A twin can be made with hold in mind, with shape and fin design itself as much as fin position being factors. I'm currently making a more raked set for my fave twin-fin board:- more rake and base for hold and drive.

Josh
www.joshdowlingshape.com

[bohdidontsurf]

Quads on semi-fish are working for a couple of my customers. The feedback will see me doing one for myself, even!


does that mean you been makin them without testing them yourself ???

Oh, a cheap shot from one shaper to another?? I am not sure Al Merrick gets out there on his 6 x 18.25 x 2.25 quad, rides it, takes mental notes and comes back in and makes adjustments to the next one. Bit irrelevant I would have thought particularly as McKee has published all there is to know about fin placement.

[maggot]

Greg Webbers doing some great work up the coast, his deep double works a treat on a mini fat burner (5ft 9 inch) that he shaped me a while back. I use it as a 3 fin set up and havnt tested with his recomendation of 2 extra long super flexy twin fins as its too much fun the way it is. It moves from rail to rail like nothing Ive ever surfed on before, it reminds me of Tic Tacing on a skaty when I was a kid, its really easy to throw around, and has great lift possibly due to the V created between the deep double plus the board has xtra volume being almost 3 inches thick. Its EPS Foam with extra heavy glass job 4+4+6 on the deck and its still the lightest board Ive ever had.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Sorry for slightly changing the topic, but this is on my mind:

I was watching some footage of very early MR in Bustin' Down the Door. It was so clear watching him surf his early twinny design, that his design was a real performance leap above the single-fins of the time. He could draw such tighter lines and had a lot of speed to burn.

I can't help to think, is the quad-fin the new performance leap? When you compare it to a thruster the quad has more speed, more hold, your can surf different areas of a wave, and you can use a much smaller board that usual in large waves. This all spells to me - more radical surfing.

I wonder if all those recreational surfers having a ball on quads at the moment are indulging in the fun of it all before it has gained pro-surfer credibility.

Plenty of pros seem to be getting more interested. KS and his 5'4" thing, Andy Irons free-surfing on a quad, CJ Hobgood winning a WQS comp on a quad, Troy Brooks having his own signature quad model, etc.

Thoughts?

[diggerdickson]

my thoughts are that I cant wait to try one and see what the fuss is about, keen on the thought indeed.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Well after plenty of sessions on my first quad (Pridmore Quadfather), I definitely know what all the fuss is about. The combiantion of the quad fins and a well shaped board for me as an individual have both added a whole new level of fun to surfing for me.

[mustkillmulloway]

Sorry for slightly changing the topic, but this is on my mind:

I was watching some footage of very early MR in Bustin' Down the Door. It was so clear watching him surf his early twinny design, that his design was a real performance leap above the single-fins of the time. He could draw such tighter lines and had a lot of speed to burn.

I can't help to think, is the quad-fin the new performance leap? When you compare it to a thruster the quad has more speed, more hold, your can surf different areas of a wave, and you can use a much smaller board that usual in large waves. This all spells to me - more radical surfing.

I wonder if all those recreational surfers having a ball on quads at the moment are indulging in the fun of it all before it has gained pro-surfer credibility.

Plenty of pros seem to be getting more interested. KS and his 5'4" thing, Andy Irons free-surfing on a quad, CJ Hobgood winning a WQS comp on a quad, Troy Brooks having his own signature quad model, etc.

Thoughts?

i don't know if it's more radical surfing...or just a different feeling under your feet :?

most surfers are coming off decades of stagnant design era stuck riding thrusters....

so are rightly loving the designs now on offer


i also doubt boards are getting shorter......in a defined point break or reef yeah...i love my 6'3

but in a shifting beachie....my 6'10 is what i need

i can see the mini simmonds design becomein very popular

[disappointed]

most surfers are coming off decades of stagnant design era stuck riding thrusters....

so are rightly loving the designs now on offer

That may look like it’s the case to someone who rides varied styles of boards but there are contingents of surfers who like certain styles of boards and like to stick with them choosing to modify within the base design to suit their requirements.
My opinion is there are a lot of people looking for the answer on board design but it’s such a personal thing when you consider all the factors, a persons size, ability, preferred type of surfing (cruising or busy), wave type and with so many options available it is confusing unless you are in a position to own a dozen or more boards.
I believe that the good shapers are and have been over the years using the good bits from the various design types and experimenting with hybrids that then become commonly used, so board designs are more multi-dimensional now rather than being simply put into a particular faction. This combined with the advances in fin designs and the wide range of options available adds to the flexibility of overall design these days. Sure this is all reliant on the person having a good level of awareness of their ability and how the board design compliments it, but working with a good shaper and knowing what you can achieve can mean that you don’t really need to stray too far from your personal preferences to benefit from the overall range of design options.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with people who like to try many varied board designs and I realise that is part of how they enjoy their surfing, I am however saying that I believe that for the people who like sticking with certain board design parameters there have been plenty of peripheral influences that have led to advances in the design of those boards.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Nice words dissap. I agree...

I have had some great fun each board I have purchased from Mark because each time I give him a general idea of how I want the board to feel, what type of waves I want it for, and what function in the quiver I want it for...and then he puts his brainpower into the design and comes up with something completely different to anything I've owned before, that also rips.

If I was stuck on the same standard shortboard with small fractional changes in the dimensions I don't think I would be having nearly as much fun with my surfing right now. I also haven't needed a board over 6'0" for a while, which is pretty damn fun to be surfing such a small board in the solid waves we've had over the weekend in Sydney.

If you're not making money on surfing, you can totally afford to try all types of boards

[diggerdickson]

what im finding interesting at the moment is people are starting to look back at what was, for example there seems to be a fair bit of interest in widow makers and bonzers again, Im included in this bracket, also Ive been thinking of twinnies, im looking into this design again and seeing what board makers are doing out there, it seems interesting looking back to look forward if you know what I mean.

[Wingnut]

Make them more durable...nothing worse than that magic board covered in deck dents or fin plug pulled etc