JacobMatan said..
How would these boards go in larger wider shapes I am currently riding the JP 9'2X30 surf (I'm 6'4 100kgs) and would like something that compliments this board, something that shreds in smaller waves and is very stable for the bumpier days, would a minion shape 8x30 work well or would making the board wider kind of be missing the point. could I go narrower and still feel a similar all round paddle ability as my current board
Jacob I could be wrong but I think Simon, who shapes these boards is approximately 92kg himself and can ride the 92L Minion version which is the 7'2 so I am guessing you could go sub 8 foot and perhaps 28. Obviously this is all contingent to overall stability and ability but there is no reason to think that you could go much shorter than what you are currently riding. This is from Daniel Thomson, the Australian shaper who designed Vanguard: “You can definitely go without a nose,” explains Thomson. “The top 6 inches of the board do nothing in terms of performance. My aim is to break down a board into its most functional elements and get rid of its least functional elements. The diamond nose profile is really functional because it has so little swing weight. If you think of a pendulum, when it swings, there is a moment of delay before it changes direction because of the weight. The weight at the nose of your board acts similarly, and when you cut down that weight, the board transitions between turns more quickly and efficiently. The board also fits in a tighter pocket, which allows for some different lines.” I dont know what the sentiment is from the guys here but the way that I am interpreting his comments is that he has looked at the traditional boards and reasons that the front part of the board, namely the nose, is where you can chop off resulting in a much shorter board. So imagine the board that you have and simply cutting off the front 6 inches. Now imagine incorporating parallel or straight lines into the design and you can then cut the board down in size even more. Theoretically this should mean that you have a much greater planing surface underneath your feet. This I am guessing is why these boards seemingly require less effort to get on a wave because of this extra planing. This is my understanding and I apologise if that is missing the point but that is certainly how I am reading it. One of the first things that I picked up on in Casso's initial post which started the thread was his sense of how early the board started to plane during the lifting stage of catching a wave. So just imagine when you look over your shoulder and the wave starts to come in. Its at this point depending upon where you positioned that you will start paddling. As the crest reaches you, you will go from the trough to being lifted to the crest of the wave and its here where your maximum paddle acceleration will take place to get on the wave. If you can feel the board underneath your feet start to plane via forward momentum then you are onto a winner. I hope that that description translates well otherwise I am sure that Casso and Piros can interject with something more accurate.
