Because of the size it is not just a matter of using long board templates and adapting them. I needed to get some valuable feedback from riders that have been stand up paddling for some time, take what they liked and didn't like into consideration and map out a great profile using successful measurements. The extremes I came across is that a board that paddles fast and stable, does not surf well, and a board that surfs well does not necessarily paddle all the well. I found looking at the measurements in most of the production SUPs on the market is that they cater for the non surfing paddlers. Understandable, seeing that a larger percentage of the riders buying these boards will probably spend more time paddling up and down the coast rather than actually surfing. My goal is to produce a good surfing board. Surfing feel first, paddling ability second. If I have to paddle a little harder to catch a wave, then so be it.... but I want to ride the wave with ease.

To get a board this size and volume to handle surf, in my opinion the tail has to be pulled narrow. With all that volume, you have to be able to sink the tail a little to get the board to turn. A wider tail, while making the board more stable to paddle, is very difficult to turn, especially on the face of the wave.

In the photo to the right, I am checking out the curves of two different lengths. A 10'6" and a 11'6".

Cutting the blank.

Once I was happy with my templates, I began mapping out the shape on the enormous blank. I had to do this outside my shaping room. As you can see when I am sawing the blank, the blank is very thick so there will need to be a lot of shaping to get the profile I want. The board I want in inside that huge blank somewhere.

Cutting out the blank.

Shaping.

still shaping..

October 02, 2007

With the excess foam cut of from the blank, I got it into my shaping room and now the fun begins..The blank was made over sized as this was my first SUP board so I wanted to make sure I had enough material to get what I wanted. This meant a LOT more work for me to get it down to the final size of the actual board. I also needed enough room in the blank to get the rocker I wanted. I had also prepared some rocker templates to use as a guide line. Feedback form SUP riders is that some boards, because of the size has a tendency to nose dive when it catches a wave. With this in mind, I gave it a moderate nose rocker and with my narrower tail and more volume forward, this should keep the nose out of the the drink.

The design challenge is to try and make a board that has this much volume not feel like a big boat. Once on a wave, and the board picks up speed, I want the rider to be able to control the direction of the board and not just be along for the ride. I need control. For this I need to pay attention to the rail shape, the tail rocker and volume flow. Volume flow is very important. To get the volume of a 5- 5 1/2" thick block of foam to flow aesthetically is quite a challenge. It is very easy to have it come out looking like a barge if you are not careful.

With a board this wide, generating lift is not a problem. In fact, I need the opposite. I need to find a way to actually allow the board to displace water from underneath. Too much lift will make the board uncontrollable when surfing and just ride high on top of the water. It will cause it to be difficult to change directions. To achieve this I played with some bottom shapes. Along most of the board's bottom shape, I used a rounded bottom transitioning to a moderate 'V' out the tail.

I also wanted to keep the deck as flat as passable (meaning not too much dome) . A flatter deck makes it easier to stand with your feet side by side when paddling and give you stability. To much deck dome makes it difficult and your feet sometimes will slide off one side or the other. This was another challenge. Because the thickness of the blank is carried outwards towards the rails, it means the rails will need to have a bigger diameter. However, the larger diameter rounded rails will also allow good release of water making it easier to sink a rail to turn, or hug the wall of a wave.

Anyway, after a couple hours shaping and filling up 2 garbage bags full of foam shavings in my vacuum system, (it normally takes about 3 regular size surfboards to fill one bag) I was happy with the result.

This one is 10'6" X 28". pulled round pin tail.

Now it is off to get glassed.

Handles. I have been working on some handles that will be installed on the deck of the board in a spot that should not interfere with feet positioning. I have been asked if this will weaken the board in any way. The answer is that without a handle, you are more likely to drop your board on it's rail in the parking lot and damage it anyway. So having a better way to carry your board is a must! I have also made the handles out of 100% carbon fiber to keep it light AND strong...

Well the board is off to get glassed and finished... The photos are of different stages of glassing....

Well, the 10'6" was all decked out and ready to hit the water. Good thing the first day there was only small surf, so a great day to get a feel for the buoyancy and paddling ability. The volume felt great for a 10'6" board. The big rounded rails allows it to handle chop well and the glide was good. The nose has enough rocker to keep the nose from pearling in when riding , but does not have too much rocker that tends to make it difficult to get out through the small white water... The large amount of tail rocker allows me to turn it without having to step all the way back over the fin. When catching a wave, just like any SUP board, once you feel the push of the wave, you have to step back into a surfing position to ride the board like a regular long board. For a board this size I was impressed with how it turned once it was up and surfing. I have the option of riding this board single fin or with thruster side bites. I liked how the single fin surfed better but the side bite fins really help with tracking if you are just going for a long cruse.
The handle slot did not get in the way of my feet positioning and was a huge help getting the board to and from the water.
I was impressed with the feel of the board and all that is needed now is just more time on the water for both the board AND myself. And of course some bigger surf!!!!

November 2, 2007

Finally thanks to a passing hurricane we got some decent size surf in Florida so I was able to take the 10'6" out and get a better feel for it. I got a lot of pressure and jokes from my friends in Barbados about the 'Ankle size' surf in the photos above. What are friends for!! Anyway, for this session I was using a 9 inch fin and some small side bites. From my previous sessions I had felt that the 9 inch fin alone was not enough for the volume on the board. A board this size I wanted a more positive track at a lower speed so I can redirect the nose with confidence. The side bites did the trick. Very positive and I was able to really put a lot of weight on the tail at any speed. Using a single 10" fin will have a similar effect. I will do some more testing to comment on the differences.
This session was encouraging in many ways. The rocker worked well which was my biggest concern. You want it flat enough to glide well, but it has to surf great too.. I wanted a tail I could stand back on and redirect the board without too much effort... The larger size rails are different to a regular long board. So water release is another important aspect. So with the positive information I got from a few session on this 10'6" I headed back into the shaping room to knock out the 11'6". I will not change too much on the bigger board. I was happy with the 10' 6" results.

As well as learning about the dynamics of stand up paddle surfboards and shaping them, I am also enjoying learning how to stand up paddle surf myself. It is addicting! One thing you have to remember is it is very easy to piss off surfers with a SUP board. They are sitting in the water waiting patiently for a wave while you are paddling around always in the right place to catch as many waves as you want. So be sensitive and respectfully and DON"T be a wave pig....

Well I have been hard at work getting more prototypes completed. Mostly around the 10'6" range with a few 11'6" as well. (one pictures is my persona 10'6" SUP). Feedback has been very positive and interest is flowing in. I have played with a few different aspects of the design. From narrower tails to wider tails, fin types and position and also a lot of attention to the rails it terms of volume , shape, sharpness and roundness... I dropped the radius on the rails towards the bottom of the board. For example, the rails have a tighter radius at the bottom edge transitioning to a rounder blend to the deck. This makes for a cleaner water release off the bottom promoting water release and improving handling. So the rails are sharp like a regular surfboard towards the tail and slowly getting rounder as you move forward. I found this works well because as the speed of the board increases the board gets more maneuverable and at lower speed where more of the forward rail in in contact with the water, the forward part of the board does not grab, but is allowed to slide slightly allowing you to drop back and use the fins and tail to redirect and ride the board.

(Below SUP nose art)

( From Left to Right.> White 11'6" narrower tail. yellow nose 10'6" with volume pulled aft. Blue 10'6" thinner but wider than the yellow board with less volume. white and black 10'6" #1 prototype. 10'6" thinner tail)

There is a long way to go to refine Stand Up Paddling boards being such a new aspect of the sport of surfing. But my advice is do not get too caught up in the designs elements.. Get on one, experience the ride. It is very addictive. Not to mention you are sure to shed a few pounds learning!

Stay tuned. I will update information about design and my findings as I continue to fill my shaping room with foam as I shape some more.... Hope fully soon I can post some riding pics.........

January 16, 2008 and my SUPs are being tested in Barbados and all is going well.... Ck out some photos taken by local photographer Chris Welch of rider Kyle Harris.