Introduction
Design
Stands and Blocks
Shaping
Polystyrene
Epoxy
Glassing
Hot coat
Fins
Sanding
Art Work
Gloss Coat
Leash Plug
Books
Material Lists
Resin Amounts
Equipment List
Misconceptions
Tips
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MISCONCEPTIONS, QUESTIONS, CONFUSIONS, OPINIONS

It seems there has never been a sport more image driven, or immersed in confusion than surfing.  This section will attempt to provide clarity to surfboard design subjects, submerged in controversy.

THE CASE OF THE MISSING FLOATATION

Contrary to popular belief, (all other things being equal) lighter materials will not usually add enough floatation to justify a smaller surfboard.  It is misleading to think of the floatation of a surfboard with no one on it.  A surfboard that is 10% lighter will float 10% better, but this 10% increase is reduced to less than 1% when anyone over 100 lbs. is put on the surfboard.  Example:

10 lb. board minus 10% = 9 lb. board.
10 lb. board plus 100 lb rider = 110 lb
9 lb. board plus 100 lb rider = 109 lb
1 lb.= less than 1% buoyancy increase

The failure to think of the surfer and board as one unit, causes the unhappy case of the missing floatation.

Although many have stated otherwise, two surfboards of the same size and weight will float exactly the same, no matter what they are made of.  This can be proved by weighing the water displaced (Archimedes' principle – Law of Buoyancy).  Numerous people claim that a board made with a lighter core material (usually 2 lb./cu.ft. polystyrene foam) will always float better (board dimensions being equal) than a polyurethane blank (about 3 lb./cu.ft.).  This is only true if the shell material (usually fiberglass cloth and resin) is about the same weight.  If the shell is heavier, (which should be the case, in a well made polystyrene board) the total board weight could be more.  Building with lighter materials does not usually justify using a smaller board (all other things being equal).

Increasing buoyancy in a meaningful, practical way is simple;  lose body weight, or use a bigger board.  Advertisers know no one wants to hear this.

FLEX ENERGY TRANSFER

Followers of flex energy transfer state "some boards flex in a hard turn and release this stored energy coming out of a turn, thereby increasing speed."  They also state "epoxy boards don't feel right."  They claim, "they are too stiff."  This seems a silly thing to argue about - especially since epoxy is more elastic than polyester (this is often not apparent because epoxy is also stronger than polyester).  Why, is the surfboard industry so resistant to change when almost every other sport is benefiting with performance gains due to stiffer, lighter materials?  Although there may be some advantage to slight flex, it is common to increase speed coming out of a turn no matter what is being ridden.  It is widely accepted that Soft Surfboards, and surfboards with more rocker (other things being equal) are slow.  The same people who reject stiff surfboards as being unresponsive, often accept stiff fins as being more responsive.  Make everything about your surfboard as stiff as is practically possible - your surfboard will be faster and more durable as an overall result.

QUESTIONABLE DESIGN TRENDS

The surfboard building industry is a tough, low profit business.  The big companies try to come up with new innovations to boost sales.  A few of these innovations are;  channels, concaves, V bottoms, chine rails, disappearing stringers, and tunnel fins, etc.

The most important aspect of design is simply, "in the numbers. " "The numbers" are the amount of length, width, and thickness relative to a surfer's weight.

Maybe the innovations above do what the advertisers claim, maybe they do not.  Are we missing the bigger picture?  Concentrate on finding the length, width, and thickness which is best suited to your weight and waves, then fine tune the rocker and fin set up.  After that, experiment with every new idea you fancy.

PORTUGUESE MAN OF WAR

What is done in the first minute after being stung will determine the difference between minutes of moderate pain or hours of horrible pain.  Please try to forget what you have read, been told, or have used to treat Man Of War stings - I should know, I worked in the county emergency room as an RN.  Remember this:  get that damn gelatinous stringy goo off immediately!  Resist paddling in to wipe it off on the beach.  Quickly, try to splash it off first. Often, simply thrashing an arm or leg etc., through the water violently will dislodge it.  If it is wrapped, quickly pull it off, piece by piece (it will not burn the inside of fingers).  If it can be completely removed in less than one minute, you will probably be in moderate pain for about 10 minutes - then the pain will subside.  If you paddle in to remove the attached tentacles on the beach, you will be suffering miserably for hours, with local burning and radiating muscle, and lymph node pain. The longer the time between the attachment and the removal, the longer and more intense the pain.  Try to have some hard liquor available.  Pour some over the burn (a few times), and consider getting drunk on the rest.  By the time your drunkenness wears off you should be fine.  The hard liquor treatment will stop the injection of poison and give pain relief.  Generally, due to the elapsed time, the only benefit of going to the emergency room will be for pain medication.

If you are going to surf in a man of war infested area, be aware you can protect yourself. Simply cover as completely as possible with lycra pants, lycra shirt, (or 1mm Mares wet suit) booties, latex gloves,ozone hat etc.  You can be stung through the lycra, but it will be relatively mild (not bad enough to make you want to go in).  This is one way to get great un-crowded point break surf.

What is done in the fist minute after being stung will determine the difference between minutes of moderate pain or hours of horrible pain.

SPEED (in general)

If a surfboard does not have enough surface area (is too small) to flatten out (plane) in the fast part of a wave, it will drag water, and never perform as it was designed to.  On a small, slow wave a bigger board is usually a faster board.  As the size and steepness of the wave increases the surface area of the board needed to reach full plane is reduced.  As a general rule, chest high waves are needed to get a thruster to plane properly.  Although we have all heard that certain boards are faster than others, if a longboard and a thruster achieve full planning speed in the same part of the same wave, (without any maneuvering) they will be traveling at almost exactly the same speed.

The speed mentioned above is simply planning speed, not the increased speed which can be achieved through maneuvering in the steep part of the wave.  This increased speed can be demonstrated by skateboarders who use a weighting and un-weighting motion on the sides of empty swimming pool walls.  They can glide for as long as they have energy this way, without ever putting a foot down.  Many thruster riders are well aware of this same weighting and un-weighting.

If we could achieve the speed that a water skier does (or a tow boarder), flotation would become insignificant, and the needed surface area would be similar to a slalom ski (due to hydroplaning).  Has the thruster already gone beyond what is practical in terms of flotation and surface area for the average surfer to effectively paddle into a wave?

One reason a small board sometimes feels fast is because it will only ride in the fast part of the wave.  A bigger board will catch a wave before it gets steep, and build up speed more gradually, (as the wave gets steeper) thereby feeling slower.  Most of the design features which are associated with a fast board are actually for control at high speed (narrow outline, more rocker, etc.).  These features may actually slow the board down (this is often not apparent because there may be so much wave energy, only a very small part of the board is contacting the water).

Speed is almost totally dictated by the wave.  It would seem more advantageous to design for maneuverability than speed.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THRUSTERS AND LONGBOARDS?

Thrusters are great for a very fit, lightweight surfer who surfs mostly chest high plus, hollow surf.  Consider that thrusters do not have enough planning surface and flotation for the average surfer, in average wave conditions, to be able to effectively utilize the design.

Longboards are great for a surfer who moves around a lot on his board and surfs relatively small, glassy surf.  Consider that a surfer needs to step forward at least two full steps after standing or turning to achieve full plane on a longboard.  Few surfers do this. Most longboards are noseriders, and are very flat, with a concave area in the bottom of the nose.  The lack of curvature, especially in the nose, causes the nose to go under water when planing in moderately choppy surfing conditions.  The concave drags water at slow speeds.

SMALL WAVE DESIGN

My friends and I have been experimenting with a very unusual shape that is suited to slow, small, choppy waves. 

The following design turns easily at low speeds, creating very little drag in the turn.  This shape catches waves like a long - longboard, but is 2' - 3' shorter, and turns easily twice as fast.

The design is 7' - 8' long, and 3" - 4" thick,  (depends on surfers weight) with about 2/3 of the total thickness available 1' from the nose and tail.  It is 14" - 16" wide at the outside tips of the rounded fish tail.  The tail 1' from the end is 20&3/4" - 21&1/2".  The nose 1' from the end is 20" - 20&3/4".  The center width is 25" - 26" with the widest point 4 - 5" towards the tail from the center.  The nose rocker is 5".  The tail rocker is 1&1/2".  The twin fins are molded 7" cutaways (actual dimension - 7&1/2") cut down to 6&1/2".   The fin box is a 7&1/2" Fins Unlimited  type (with this box the fins can be adjusted to a maximum of 13&1/2" - from the tail end of the board to the trailing fin edge).  The board turns much looser with the fins all the way towards the nose.  The bottom and top are very flat rail to rail.  The rails are almost perfectly round everywhere (much better for choppy conditions). I also have two experimental boards: 7'6" x 28", and 7' x 30", with nose and tail measurements similar to the above mentioned boards.  These experimental boards turn easier than the boards with dimensions in the first part of this paragraph, but are slightly slower in the flat part of the wave.  These may be the widest surfboards ever made.  The blue boards shown in the photos, throughout the book, are small wave designs.

A 7' x 25" x 3" design with the measurements below will float a 120 lb surfer with the entire top of the board out of the water.
  14" tail tips
  20 &3/4" tail - 1' from the end
  20" nose - 1' from the end .

A 8' x 25.5" x 3.5" design with the measurements below will float a 170 lb. surfer with the entire top the board out of the water.
  14"tail tips
  20&3/4" tail - 1' from the end
  20" nose - 1' from the end

A 8' x 26" x 4" design design with the measurements below will float a 220 lb surfer with the entire top of the board out of the water.
  16" tail tips
  21&1/2" tail - 1' from the end
  21&1/2" nose - 1' from the end

As a child, I remember thinking a board with a narrow tail would turn easier (as many ads suggest).  At slow speeds just the opposite occurs.  A narrow tail will sink at slow speeds, dragging water.  A wide tail will plane on top of the water. These boards are designed to be turned by mostly twisting your body, instead of mostly leaning.  This will create rotation (swivel) with the board relatively flat on the water, with very little drag.

This design has been ridden since 2000, in many conditions, including double overhead, but that is not remotely what it is made for.  It is best suited to gentle,  knee to chest high, choppy waves.

PROS

My friends and I believe that the vast majority of surfboards made today are nowhere close to the optimum design for the average surfer.  Much of this is due to the (passive) influence of pro surfers on surfboard design, and the desire of surfers to have a pro surfer replica board.  This is unfortunate.  Pro surfers are generally smaller than average, surf mostly hollow waves, and surf mostly for points (almost totally maneuver oriented).  Maybe something made specifically for a surfers weight, waves, and style would be more suitable than a pro replica board?  Could it be that something other than a thruster or a nose rider would be a better choice?  What design might be a better choice for the small, choppy waves so common world wide?  What design might be a better choice for less than hollow chest high plus waves?

We believe a design with the surface area and flotation of a longboard which is compressed into a shorter, wider, thicker shape is better suited to the average surfer.  This design allows for easy paddling, yet can be more easily turned and planed from one position on the board.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no one optimum board.  The optimum design will be different for each person and each type of wave.  Allow a suggestion however;  a generally wider, thicker shape.  Although the small wave design is not optimum for fast, powerful surf, the average surfer may derive some benefit from a modification of the design.  With an open, out of the box mind, the average surfer will find a compromise of the measurements from the SMALL WAVE DESIGN section useful.  A surfer used to a 9' longboard could transition to an 8'6" x 25.5" x 3.25" small wave design for a 170 lb. rider.  If this is too extreme to accept, consider using the measurements from a favorite longboard shape, changing the length to 8' 6" and the thickness to 3.25" for a 160 lb. rider).  For each 15 lbs. of body weight change, add or subtract 1/4" in total board thickness (through most of the entire board - not just the middle).  A thruster could be designed 1/4" thicker and/or 1&1/2" wider.  Note:  the small wave design measurements (same length and thickness) support a heavier surfer (use 20 lbs. per 1/4" change) because the board (especially the tail) is much wider.  Please refer to the DESIGN chapter for more information on how to adjust measurements.

A surfer can make, or have something made, which is more suitable than what is pre-made in a shop.  This is especially true for surfers over 160 lbs.

Depending on pro's to help guide you to good equipment is not a good idea in surfing.  You could ride Armstrongs' bike.  You could hit a tennis ball with Federers' racket.  You could hit a baseball with Bonds' bat.  However, many surfers would not catch one wave with Slaters' surfboard.

Surfboard design is a fascinating subject.  If you have any design ideas, would like to discuss design, or need some help, email steve@surfersteve.com

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