Longboard surf design forums / board ?'s

[comish]

Anyone know of any forums that discuss board design, specifically longboards as I know this forum doesn't get a lot of love...

I'm looking to finally replace my 9' Infinity Cluster V with a high performance longboard. Thinking 3" thick or just under, not tooo round a nose, about 22" wide, etc.

Anyone care to comment specifically on the Point Blanks Triditional? Its around 21.5" wide which is narrower than just about any longboard and it seems to have a very flat bottom without much concave or V. Any opinions on these design decisions? Is 21.5" too narrow or how will that effect performance?

Any comments on Walden, McTavish (specifically interested in comments on the 3 stage rocker), or Becker (Mike Gee model) performance longboards and how they compare (pro's and cons) to the Point Blanks/Patagucci/Fletcher Chouinard shape.

[pappag]

You can try here and here. The shaper of my longboard (Jim Phillips) actually posts on the 2nd one if that means anything.

[webb]

the mctavishes and beckers I've ridden can't come close to comparing to point blank triditional. the tri is more of a big wave long board, but it's the most fun long board I've ridden. it's definitely narrow, which takes some adjustment, but it is so much freaking fun it's redonculous. buy one.

[comish]

Webb, can you elaborate anymore? What do you like about it? How is it different than the other boards? Where you surf? How big, tall, skinny, fat, etc are you? Prefer slow reef breaks ala Old mans, PV Cove, or beach breaks, or ?

[Free Range Lobster]

Talk to shane smith.
He makes an AWESOME longboard.

http://www.2-si.com/

[peterslovo]

Talk to shane smith.
He makes an AWESOME longboard.

http://www.2-si.com/

Shane is no longer in NH; he moved his shop to FL to work with Erie Peoples of Erie Surfboards, but still shapes his 2-SI boards and sells them in the northeast. I agree, he does a great Longboard.

[Free Range Lobster]

Shane is no longer in NH;

That makes me a sad panda.
Yet there will be a 2si factory store in NH?
Weird.

[MidwayJ]

Unless your name is Bonga Perkins or Joel Tudor, "performance longboard" is a bit of an oxymoron, no?

[webb]

How big, tall, skinny, fat, etc are you?

I'm really freaking fat.


6'4, 190. scorpio.

What do you like about it? How is it different than the other boards? ?

it's really manuverable, and really fast on the wave. I like to trim it from the middle, and it turns super well. if you stay back, it's as manuverable as alot of thrusters. but it's extremely thin, and you sacrifice alot of paddle speed. noseriding is also very difficult.

Where you surf? Prefer slow reef breaks ala Old mans, PV Cove, or beach breaks, or ?

I take it all over southern california. at slow breaks like old man's and the cove it does fine once you get on the face, but I found myself picking alot of waves off on the inside because I can't get up faster than guys on typical longboards. I think it does really well at spots with a little more steepness like sunset or malibu where the take off is a little more critical. but I learned how to ride it at porto. it definitely likes the biggger, steeper stuff.

get one. it's a really, really fun board.

[cj001f]

I've a 9'4" Pearson Arrow CJ model that would qualify as "highperf" - designed to surf of the tail. It's fun to surf when things are good. Since most "longboard spots" are filling with big, high volume, no rocker, easy to paddle boards, it's alot more work to catch a wave.... enough so I shortboard or take out the tanker.

[stylee]

Hey, I thought I’d share my thoughts on this one. I love my McTavish Surftech 9'1" original. It's been my go-to board for the last 8 years. I bought one, broke it, had it put back together, sold it to a friend, missed it too much and bought another, broke it, had it put back together, and still ride it all the time. If I could have one longboard, it would definitely be the one. A few thoughts on it:
- Ideal wave size is waist/shoulder to overhead. I live in north county san diego, so that’s most days for me. If it's smaller, I'm on my McTavish Model T, just screwing around. Not enough volume and weight in the Original for really small surf. If it's bigger, I'm on my Pearson Arrow 9’1” (which, incidentally, is a phenomenal board as well - just good in different conditions)
- The three stage rocker is great because there’s enough rocker to take off late on steep stuff, but when you need to get it moving you can get in the middle and really pump. The tail rocker/shape is great because you can easily kick-stall and stop quick like a shortboard. There’s too much rocker and volume in this board for big surf.
- Nose channel is key for noseriding when it’s steep. This is a really easy board to steer from the front.
- Because of the rocker, being 6 inches forward or back on the board totally changes how it surfs – it’s really sensitive to that.
- I highly recommend the surftech version – the buoyancy and stiffness are a good fit with this shape. When it gets bigger, it gets pretty squirrely, but this isn’t the right board for double overhead + - that’s when I’m on my Arrow anyway. Plus, the surftechs last forever.
- Side note: I like G-CRV fins and a short (~6-7”) center fin on this board more than the stock setup. It seems a lot more stable that way.

I’ll second cj001f on the Pearson Arrow. Very low volume, very tight rails, so it’s not that fun if the surf’s not good. But when the surf is good, it’s a great board. You can really hunker down and set a rail on it. The Arrow is to my longboard quiver what my 190 Sumos are to my ski quiver.

[tuffy109]

Ideal wave size is waist/shoulder to overhead. I live in north county san diego, so that’s most days for me.

oh fuck off.

[cj001f]

my CJ was his.. Ive no idea if its shaped the same as their production model, the ones I saw in the shop looked a little different (heavier glass, slightly fatter), but still "performance"

tuffy - the crowds are waist to shoulder overhead.

[tuffy109]

tuffy - the crowds are waist to shoulder overhead.

true, it does get crowded down there, but LA isn't the most desolate spot either.