New Quiver?

[penguinator]

Im getting a new quiver in the next few weeks, but I need some help as so far my board purchases were few and far between - off the shelf purchases.

I want 3 boards, all high performance, no eggs or minimals or funboards for me. Just boards geared towards better performance.

I need a board for small surf (like 1-3 foot), a board for mid sized surf (3-6foot), and a gun or semi-gun for larger.
I know what specs to look for in a gun, but what traits make a smallwave board a smallwave board and likewise for mid size? Rails, rocker, length, width, etc etc.

Does any1 know any good shapers in sydney that they would recommend to get the job done? It would be cool if they do nice sprays aswell, as I am an arty guy who likes graphical stuff

[dudhead]

i used to be a shop board guy.

when i finally stopped moving around i hooked up with a shaper who is often surfing when i am. obviously i cant bullshit him on my ability but he knows, for example, that i surf off the back of the board more than most.

first board was fairly conservative - like most shop boards. All boards since have been excellent - tuned to me regardless of the size. i would recommend getting a shaper - especially if they have seen you surf.

this guy is unheard of outside the area i live but his boards work for me better than any shop board ive ever had regardless of who shaped it.

I also do not pay for the wages of a spotty kid selling overpriced t-shirts, shipping, rent, etc that is added to the price of shop board....i digress.

start off with one board from a shaper who lives near you or near the waves you surf and take it from there. chances are the next board will be better than the first, etc.

Look for service and a genuine interest - not at how many pros your shaper is giving free boards to.

[Longygrom]

Im getting a new quiver in the next few weeks, but I need some help as so far my board purchases were few and far between - off the shelf purchases.

I want 3 boards, all high performance, no eggs or minimals or funboards for me. Just boards geared towards better performance.

I need a board for small surf (like 1-3 foot), a board for mid sized surf (3-6foot), and a gun or semi-gun for larger.
I know what specs to look for in a gun, but what traits make a smallwave board a smallwave board and likewise for mid size? Rails, rocker, length, width, etc etc.

Does any1 know any good shapers in sydney that they would recommend to get the job done? It would be cool if they do nice sprays aswell, as I am an arty guy who likes graphical stuff

Penquinator

If you think you need those boards, especially a semi or gun- u really should know the dimensions, rocker and shapes of what you want anyway.

If you dont even know the basics about them- it would question your ability and the real need to purchase a small shortboard quiver.

Maybe get an all rounder first and sort out you own opinions and develop your own theories of what you need- because a shaper who just meets you off the street will not have any real personal advice- just general crap a salesman could recomned you in a shop.

[Natho]

This is not such an easy post to answer as much depends on your ability, type of waves you wish to surf and your general approach to riding a surfboard.

As an example I like boxier rails in my small wave boards, lower tail rocker and some volume. However my approach to surfing may be different to you. I have a fairly low centre of gravity, I surf fairly hard off my rails and i am fairly heavy on my feet. Hence the volume and lower tail rocker. (i am just using this as an example). You may have a completely different approach to me? For instance a good mate of mine is same height and weight as me, however he is light on his feet, surfs more off his tail and absolutely rips. His boards are very thin and fairly highly rockered. I can't ride his boards.

In general you smaller wave board may be slightly wider and thicker with a lower rocker than your performance board.

Best advise is to chat with a good shaper and let the shaper answer your questions and design a quiver for you. Be very open about your ability and what you want out of your quiver.

Goodluck.

[Natho]

Further to my ramble above - to illustrate my comment on it depending on type of waves to be surfed:
you suggested a gun. Now many people will often keep a gun narrow, and the trend is for low rails. This may work well in perfectly groomed, hollow powerful reef breaks however such a board may not work as well in larger East Coast Australia type waves.

As an example I find indo/ Hawaii style guns that have very low rails and are narrow don't work as well in typical larger Sydney waves. I like a little more width to keep some curve in the plan shape, and I like mid rails.

So once again you really should be talking with a good shaper.

[Nick Carroll]

p i am fascinated by your set specs.

three boards, why three? where will you ride them? at what size?

not trying to make things complicated but like Longy says, it ain't worth having a "quiver" just to look good.

[Natho]

No NC I think P already has the 'looking good' part of it sorted out with the all important sprays he wants. So other than that I assume P really does need a 3 board quiver.

Hey a 3 board quiver is nothing. I read that Mark Philippoussis has a 50 board quiver. All I can say is that the poo must rip on a surfboard and in all conditions.

Hey only jokes Mr Penguin. I must admit I have more boards than I really need, but I must admit its only coz a couple of shapers love to do contra deals for a few products i sell.

[elmo]

small wave board...

http://www.haydenshapes.com/productdeta ... titleid=10

that tells ya the rockers rails tails and shit for it

[philw]

hmm - is indeed a fascinating request. being certain about gun dimensions and unsure of small to mid wave dimensions? surely the gun is the last part of a quiver you get figured seeing as you're not going to ride it very often. round here yr not anyway. what kinda surfer only knows gun surf? and never has call for groveler or standard board? and why the insistance on only high performance? surely if you're going to surf high performance boards you've done enough surfing to know your 6'1 x 18 3/4 bat tail from yr 6'2x 18 5/8 thumbtail.....i'm getting an image of some robinson crusoe character marooned on a tropical reef pass that never drops below 6ft with only a 7'0 for company....what's the story eh????

[buzzy]

For an average Sydney surfer I'm not sure about the need for a gun to be honest. Anytime it gets big enough your normal board no longer suits there are only a few places worth surfing, and last I looked most average surfers are sitting on the rocks watching the pros and hot locals rip it up, not paddling out with their gun.

Maybe that'd be a good idea for travelling, but in Sydney unless you're a big wave charger I reckon you just won't use it.

If it was me getting a 3 board quiver, and I had to exclude eggs and fishes etc I'd get a really wide tailed thruster semi fish like Byrne does in one of the Tufflite models, or the Pancho Sullivan small wave board in that construction, or as someone earlier suggested one of MR's new contemporary twinny/thruster hybrid shapes. Something like that anyway with low rocker, lots of volume (relative to your normal board), a wide tail and chunkier rails than normal. My normal board would be a webber afterburner type shape but with more volume than Webber typically puts in and, again, slightly chunkier rails. Ypu're on your own with the gun.

I'd seriously recommend considering a mal or egg or fish though for those super tiny days when even a fat thruster is just too thin. You get many more of those days in summer than you do the big gun days, and with th right board those conditions can become quite fun.

[Agro]

Off topic for a sec.

Anyone know the cheapest way to post a board interstate?

[Agro]

Off topic for a sec.

Anyone know the cheapest way to post a board interstate?

Try starting a new thread, dude.

Too many boring threads going around already. Im just after a quick answer.

[Damien]

As an example I like boxier rails in my small wave boards, lower tail rocker and some volume. However my approach to surfing may be different to you. I have a fairly low centre of gravity, I surf fairly hard off my rails and i am fairly heavy on my feet. Hence the volume and lower tail rocker. (i am just using this as an example). You may have a completely different approach to me? For instance a good mate of mine is same height and weight as me, however he is light on his feet, surfs more off his tail and absolutely rips. His boards are very thin and fairly highly rockered. I can't ride his boards..

Natho, what you have detailed above definitely strikes a chord with me. I have a low centre of gravity (short and stocky), like a bit of volume in my boards, boxy rails and surf hardish off my rails. I have tried thinner boards and have great difficulty in riding them anywhere near as good as my standard thicker board. I find that I have to be really careful in turning that they don’t spin out. I think perhaps my ability and agility are not up to these types of (performance) boards. I also notice when travelling and surfing with a lot of different crew that a lot of guys with average ability seem to ride these thinner, highly rockered boards with little success. Turns seem to be all ankle, or feet in the middle of the board negating the tight turning circles that could flow etc. I would be interested to find out what dimesions of short board you are riding and what your thoughts are on this subject.

[penguinator]

Ok re-reading my post I realise it sounded a bit stupid.... maybe I should reword...

I know general specs to look for in each board, but I wanted to know if any1 has any tried and true specs and had experimented with design combinations.... for example something maybe for smallwave riding I could go a square or a swallow tail with little rocker, but would I go for the more forgiving tail for turning? Or something with a little more drive but a bit stiffer? The point I was stuck on was would I want to compensate for losses while riding smaller waves (add more drive through flat/small sections, less manouvarability), or just rely on riding experience and get something designed to bridge the gap between more fish-style riding and modern ripping (a more all-rounder like a larger volume square tail).

Summed up, if im going to get a quiver, should I try and get a semi-all rounder quiver where each board is ok in all conditions but each excels in different conditions. OR get 3 boards all completely devoted to completely different conditions.

Ok im kinda rambling now.....

[ric_vidal]

Ok im kinda rambling now.....

Do some more research, Pengwin8tor and get a bit of a handle on what you think certain designs will accomplish. There is way too many variables to start dispensing specific advice.

No one here knows how YOU like to ride and that is ultimately all this is about. It’s YOUR degree of satisfaction you should be concentrating on and I’m suspecting from your mal posts you ain’t a fly-weight like Natho (all due respect to Natho ).

I dare say most punters don’t give this sufficient thought and there is a big difference between carving type turns versus tail sliding. It is only your exposure to certain designs, preferably from riding a variety of equipment over time, that will get you closer to the ultimate board.

Hence a lot of the previous advice from the lads has been to work with your local shaper. Yes, that means trial and ERROR.

[grazza]

For an average Sydney surfer I'm not sure about the need for a gun to be honest. Anytime it gets big enough your normal board no longer suits there are only a few places worth surfing, and last I looked most average surfers are sitting on the rocks watching the pros and hot locals rip it up, not paddling out with their gun.

Maybe that'd be a good idea for travelling, but in Sydney unless you're a big wave charger I reckon you just won't use it.

I so couldn't live without a gun (or two) in Sydney. You don't pull them out every day, but most of the really memorable Sydney surf moments I've had have involved a gun. The main reason those average surfers are sitting round on the rocks watching is they don't know how much easier it is to ride these waves with the right equipment.

You don't think there's waves around Sydney that deserve a gun? You're not looking very hard, Buzzy.

[fong]

any1 has any tried and true specs and had experimented with design combinations.... ....

6'3 x 18 3/4 x 2 1/8

squash tail 4 beachies with concave bottom.....swallow 4 points with reverse v

any board over 6'6 needs a pin tail

don't get me started on rails ....admin can't afford the net space

[grazza]

You don't think there's waves around Sydney that deserve a gun? You're not looking very hard, Buzzy.

...what do you class as a gun? Dims, plan, tail, rocker please.

Biggest gun I've ever owned (I had quite a few of 'em when I lived in Fiji for a few years) was a 6'6" rounded pin with heaps of rocker in the nose. I rode that on maybe up to 12 or 15 ft hollow reefies (including Cloudbreak... which was an unreal wave might I add... ummm... until we were threatened and chased off).

I'm a biggish guy, and my two guns are a 7'0" x 19 3/4 x 2 3/4 JS and a several seasons old 7'10" x 20" x 2 7/8 by Greg Clough. Both classic pins, beefy but otherwise standard guns. 7' 0" I'd use maybe 10-20 times a year mainly for beachies or big winki in the 6-8' range. The 7'10" gets out a lot less often, but for waves in 8-12' range, typically at one of the various bommie options we have around here.

I find that at places known for bigger surf (like vicco or WA) I'll usually surf these boards in bigger waves than I would surf at home. In long period big surf places I think you can surf a slightly smaller board.

I'd feel really undergunned with 6' 6" or the like in a really solid size wave, and I've always put fairly large increments in my quiver (it's other members are a 6' 4" Channel swallow and a 5' 8" fish.

Being as how I am in my declining years as a surfer, my performance requirements are not huge. My son, who has got to be rather better at this surfing caper than me, surfs his 6' 3 "gun" in 8+, and switches up to a 6' 5" when it gets big cause he says he wants to be able to turn. He takes 7'0s to Hawaii though. But for average surfers, I think this is a pretty silly approach. Big boards make big waves so much more approachable.