Tips

Choose Wisely

by Joel Raff

What’s the best type of board for a beginner?

Steer away from purchasing a traditional short board outline (sub 6’ to 6’6”). While you may look sweet as you strut to the surf with a slim board under your arm, the result will likely be a lot of paddling without catching many waves. This equals frustration. So, if you are small to medium size (175 pounds and under) look for a board between seven to eight feet with a full outline. The common term for this style of board is an egg. It gets its name do to its oval shape: wide in the middle with gradual narrowing toward the nose and tail. This type of shape provides good flotation which results in better paddling efficiency, easier wave catching ability, and greater stability when standing. The more waves you catch, the more fun you will have, the more you will want to surf. Also, the seven to eight foot size allows you to get out to the lineup without thoroughly having your clock cleaned. A longer board will be more cumbersome as you struggle to make it through the foam to reach the outside breakers. With that said, if you are around the 200 pound mark, go for a more traditional long board (9’). The extra board will help you float and your extra muscle and poundage will help you hulk it through the waves as you paddle for the outside.

What if I’m an intermediate who wants to downsize?

If you are an intermediate surfer looking to downsize, consider whether you have the basics down first: You are able to judge where the peek will be, catch waves with ease, bottom turn, and cutback. If you gave an affirmative answer to all of the following, you may just be ready to take your surfing level from good to radical. Remember that foam is your friend for wave catching ability and paddling facility. However, with less board comes more performance. So, you first need to decide whether you want to buy an all-rounder (board for all conditions), small wave board, or heavy/steep wave board.

A small wave board will generally have a flatter deck so that more board is in contact with the water, creating greater buoyancy and paddling power. This means that the rocker is relatively flat as well. The rocker runs through the front-end of the board and relates to the level of curvature: flat being no curvature and lots of rocker resembling an upward slope. The easy way to gauge the amount of rocker on a board is to lay it on the ground to analyze its side profile. The reason small wave boards have flatter rockers is because petite waves have less push, which means they are harder to catch and provide less power for speed.

On the other hand, a heavy/steep wave board will have greater rocker so that the board will fit into the curvature of the wave as you drop into it. A board with a flat deck will often pearl, sending the surfer ass over tea kettle as the nose digs into the wave face. The negative side to having lots of rocker is that you sacrifice the amount of board in contact with the water while paddling, which cuts down on paddling proficiency.

The all-rounder is a happy medium between a board with a flat deck and one designed for tube-riding. Therefore, the rocker is gradual. This type of board is designed for the surfer who is looking for a one board solution for all conditions. It has a bit of a flipped up a nose for steep wave adventures, but the slope is less pronounced so that it has greater buoyancy.

Some other features to consider are width and thickness. Increased width and thickness add buoyancy, which make paddling a simpler task. Contrarily, decreased width and thickness make for a more responsive board with high performance surfing in mind.

So, purchasing a board can be a bit stressful considering all of the dimensions and styles to consider. My advice is to gradually decrease the dimensions from the board you learned on. If your first board was an 8’ egg, downsize to a miniature version around the length of 6’6”. Once you get comfortable on that, you can consider features like how less nose width will allow the board to swivel around faster when making bottom turns and cutbacks. Just remember to be patient with yourself and to master the basics before going too small. After all, good surfers can rip on any size board because they have mastered the technique of surfing.

Love Thy Shaper

by Bryan Mills

Custom Shapes 101

We as surfers are fortunate to have easy access to the people that create the devices we use to make surfing so enjoyable. What other sport allows you to sit down and discuss your needs with the person who creates the instrument that facilitates your stoke?? We don’t know many cyclists that can talk to the factory about their next road bike or baseball players that can walk into the design office and shoot the breeze about their next glove unless you’re at the professional level or are insanely wealthy to warrant that kind of face time. The fact that we mortals can just walk in and talk with a shaper about a custom board is one of the cooler aspects of being a surfer. If you don’t speak to your shaper, you should. In 10 minutes your shaper can tell you more about your surfing and what you need to be riding than you will have figured out in months if not years. These oracles of surfing insight have been carving foam and experimenting enough with outlines, rockers, curves, rail, you name it, to size you up with just a few questions and quick glances at your figure. That guy that guesses your height and weight at carnivals don’t know squat compared to your shaper. When selecting a shaper there are some very important steps we should all consider.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Don’t lie about your abilities to a shaper. They’re not going to judge you because you can’t rip. In fact if you tell a shaper you surf better than you really do they may put you on a board that does not work at all for you or someone of your actual skill level, leaving you with a board that you’re not happy with and guess what: it has nothing to do with the shaper. It’s safe to say that most bad experiences people have with custom shapes or any board for that matter are simply because they were put on a board that does not match their current skill/experience level. Shapers can build you a board that will accelerate your surfing and be more forgiving when and where it needs to if you’re still a novice which will make you a better surfer, so just be honest with the shaper about your skill level and what you’re looking to do with the board.

Quick Tip #1: Don’t lie about your abilities. Getting put on a board that is meant for someone of more skill and experience than you really possess will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth and won’t make surfing as enjoyable as it should be.

Location, location, location…

Look for shapers that are nearby and surf the breaks you will be surfing or the types of breaks you surf. Are you going to be surfing long point breaks like Malibu or Rincon? Well, the best shaper might not be the one that surfs and shapes near Huntington Beach or Oceanside. Ask 3 shapers from 3 different areas/breaks to shape you a 9’0 longboard and you’ll get 3 different boards, each one catered to the breaks they’re familiar with. Finding shapers nearby also assures you of being close to the source if you want to discuss designs or questions about your board.

Quick Tip # 2: Where can be more important than what. If a shaper doesn’t ask the types of breaks or where you’ll be surfing, be leery. Where you’re surfing is just as important if not more important than what you’ll be riding. A shaper cannot make you the best board if they don’t know where you’re going to use it.

Are you there shaper? It’s me, Margaret.

It’s strongly recommended that you find a shaper you can talk to. Shapers know their designs inside and out and know what subtle changes will do and how they can help make your surfing experience that much more enjoyable. If you can’t get to the shaper (as is the case for many of the bigger names out there) ask to speak with someone high up in the chain of command; someone that knows the shapes just as well as the shaper does, but is a lot easier to approach. Many times surf shop employees are not as well versed in the different shapes as they usually carry several different brands and should not be your only source of information for a particular shapers designs.

20 Questions

Ask your shaper questions like how long they’ve been shaping or how many boards they typically make in a year or who rides for them. What kind of boards do they, personally, surf? Learn more about their approaches to building boards and their most popular shapes. Ask to see finished boards in the different designs you are considering and have them point out the features of the board so you can visually see some of the subtle features they might mention. There are no stupid questions and the more you know about your shaper’s approach the more you’ll know about what you’re surfing.

Listen Up!!

You think you know what you want, but you probably don’t. Tell the shaper what kind of surfing you’re looking to do, where you’ll be surfing the board and your ability level and then listen to what they have to say. Here’s a great example of why you should listen to your shaper. I recently purchased a shortboard from DOC at Surf Prescriptions. I went in and told him what I wanted in every dimension. I wanted a bigger board so it would float me and paddle better and catch waves easier and so on and so forth. After my rambling DOC said “no, you don’t need that.” DOC proceeded to put me on a much narrower and thinner board than I thought I could surf. The results? The board is hands down the best board I’ve surfed in my life. He knew what I was looking for was not the same as what was coming out of my mouth and because I listened to him and trusted his judgment I now have that magic board in my quiver. So, listen to your shaper when they make suggestions and trust what they say; they’re the key to finding that magic board.

Quick Tip #3: Listen to your shaper. Tell a shaper what kind of surfing you will be doing, where you will be surfing it and your ability level and then listen to what they have to say. Unless you are ordering the EXACT same board that you have already ordered from the shaper, the suggestions should come from them, not you.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

You should visit with your shaper at least a month before you plan to buy, assuming you’ll get a custom. Custom orders can take a couple weeks up to 6 months, even a year and beyond depending on who it is. Usually the wait is around 30-60 days. Be sure to ask your shaper the turn time before you place your order so you can estimate when you’ll receive the board. If you need instant gratification then you’ll have to buy off the rack. Some shapers are cranking out thousands and thousands of boards a year and your order may be in line with many other custom orders and stock orders for surf shops so you’ll have to be patient. Many times after visiting with a shaper they may refer you to a surf shop to place your order there. There’s no difference in what you’re going to get or how long it takes and you’ll be supporting your local surf shop in the process.

Every Shape is Different

Every shaper has many different templates and designs to choose from but there are usually a couple that stand out above the rest both in terms of quality and # sold; these are the shapes to initially try. If they work well for you then it may be the beginning of a wonderful relationship. It’s fair to say that …Lost shaper Matt Biolos’ most popular shape is the Round Nose Fish. There’s a reason for that: it’s a lot of fun to surf and he’s perfected that board because it’s so popular. If you like the shapers “flagship” board there’s a great chance you’ll like some of their other shapes.

Size Matters

Not that size, pervert. We all come in many different sizes and shapes and thankfully there’s a surfboard to meet every size and shape out there. Your weight is a critical factor when selecting a surfboard and even small differences in weight are über-noticable. Jason Stevenson of JS Surfboards in Australia gives this bit of wisdom when looking for a shaper. “Look for a shaper who builds boards for a team rider with a similar build. That shaper makes boards everyday for a guy with your weight so you will get the best possible rail; thickness/dimension that he shapes for his team guy.” If you’re not looking for a high performance shortboard like the pros and might be more in the market just for something fun to ride the same principle applies but take a look at those around you in the water. Find people that are about your size and see whose shapes they ride. Every shaper can make something that YOU can ride no matter your size so the search shouldn’t be difficult and in some cases may turn out to be a big popularity contest, which is fine and can be a great indicator of quality and longevity. But, in the long-run someone that’s your size that rides the type of board you’re looking to ride is a great resource to tap into.

Nice Rack

There’s nothing wrong with buying surfboards off the rack. They are the same quality as custom shapes, but you get instant gratification. For beginners, boards right off the rack should be the only choice since you’ll have no idea what you want or need in a board. If you’re experienced, buying a board off the rack is not sacrilege in any way. There’s a great chance that your local surf shop will have what you’re looking for or a search of other stores’ inventory could yield exactly what you were going to buy as a custom, only it’s available to be surfed that day. Sure you won’t get the crazy paint job but everything else you need will be there, without the wait.

Custom vs. Off The Rack

It’s recommended that you gain a certain level of skill and experience before ordering a custom shape. As a beginner you won’t really know what you’re looking for or even how to explain what you want to a shaper so experiment with boards before visiting the shaper for your first custom board. The biggest advantage to going custom is you’ll get exactly what you want from the glassing to dimensions to appearance. The board is made just for you using the input given to the shaper. Think of it like ordering a custom tailored suit as opposed to buying a suit from a department store: it fits you perfectly.

Don’t know any Shapers?

Check out nwBroweather for a listing of Pacific Northwest shapers.