Author Topic: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?  (Read 6354 times)

lunchbox

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Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« on: October 18, 2014, 09:13:29 PM »
This topic kinda ties into my T. Patterson thread where I am contemplating sticking with the Production 9'2"x29" shape or going the custom route and probably going wider.

There is this shaper named Glenn Kennedy (Woodland Hills, CA), that has been shaping short and longboards for as long as I can remember. He is very well known in the San Fernando Valley and Malibu areas. I have been riding his short boards for 20+ years and he has custom shaped me a Mini Simmons board which I really love. He has shaped some SUPs...mostly in the 10-12' range.

I have thought about bringing in my 10'2" T. Patterson board and asking him to shape me almost the same board but in the 9'x31" range. I would probably ask for his advise on how to make the board even faster and more maneuverable as I trust his knowledge of concaves, rail lines, etc.

However, I wonder if his shaping skills with shortboards would translate into him making excellent surf oriented SUP's? And would the added benefit of having the 10'2" in front of him really be that big of a benefit when it comes to making it's smaller sibling especially since I don't want to duplicate the board but have it serve as a template to making it even better?

Whatcha think...?


freetobeme

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2014, 09:18:42 PM »
skills wise I have no idea. but i want a board that the shaper rides or would ride if his conditions were similar to mine. i want the shaper to say "dang, id like to keep this baby for myself".  If a shaper does not SUP than i think they are on a different vibe. Not a bad one necessarily just different. kinda goes beyond the skills and enters the stoke zone. 
"Everything you want is on the other side of fear" - George Addair

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supsurf-tw

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2014, 09:19:25 PM »
I can honestly say that if I had been shaping SUS boards before actually DOING it that the boards would have been different and not in a good way. Kennedy is an awesome shaper however I'd stick with someone that SUS's or has SUS team riders giving feedback. You never know though.  He may shape something groundbreaking that no one ever thought to bother with. Sometimes I think we limit ourselves by not thinking outside the box of something we're familiar with......
« Last Edit: October 18, 2014, 09:26:03 PM by supsurf-tw »
Boards:

 
8-10 x 31 Egg
8-11 X 32 Double wing Fangtail Tom Whitaker
8-6 X 30 1\2  Inbetweener Tom Whitaker
8-4 x 30 Hyper quad Tom Whitaker (wife's now)
8-4 X 31 1\4.  Round (wide) Diamond Tail Quad Tom Whitaker
 9-4 X 30 1\2. Swallow Stinger Quad Tom Whitaker (ex wifes now)
10-0 Brusurf for teach

RATbeachrider

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2014, 09:49:52 AM »
This is what my prone board shaper of 30+ years told me when I asked him if he'd be interested in shaping me a SUS "Sure ... but it may not be good 'cause yours would be the first!" He then suggested for me to go find a SUS shaper and I ended up with Dave Daum of King's.

Dwight (DW)

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2014, 10:08:35 AM »
Don't do it. Seen enough bad ones by guys who don't really SUP themselves.

PonoBill

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2014, 05:14:33 PM »
They're all prone shapers. Certainly started off that way (with rare exception). What I've found is that shapers who don't SUP do very versatile boards and those that SUP do more specialized boards. If you want a board that surfs well and your balance is good, you might like what you get. But no shaper who doesn't SUP is going to shape a wide, short board well--unless they just copy an L41. And few of them will understand how to make a board behave when you're hanging out in the lineup, dealing with chop, waiting your turn. Certainly very few could make a board that you could stand on while you're paddling or surfing, but sink to your knees if you stop. They just won't understand the kind of three-axis control required to do that.

Guys like Jimmy Lewis bring a billion years of surfboard, sailboard, kiteboard, prone paddleboard, and who knows what else to the party. When we were all first SUP surfing JL boards Jimmy didn't SUS. He was a longboard noserider through and through. Didn't hurt a thing, but it meant many of his boards were highly versatile and the high performance ones were really challenging. Then he started SUSing and the designs changed and morphed into less versatile, more specialized shapes. Then he got hooked on downwinding and a progression of DW boards started flowing. That's the difference in a nutshell.

Versatile is not a universally desirable trait. The Starboard 12'2" is one of the most versatile boards of all time, but hundreds of people probably had their SUP career nipped in the bud by the difficulty of getting started with it.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Zooport

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2014, 06:55:26 PM »
I remember Kennedy from when I used to live in Thousand Oaks, buy boards from Val Surf, and surf everywhere from Malibu up to Santa Barbara.  Kennedy was a well-respected shaper even back then.  He probably could make something happen, especially if he had exact specs to work from.  HOWEVER, I agree with all those above who are expressing concerns.  Could he make a good one off the top of his head?  Don't know.
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Socalsupper70

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2014, 07:32:55 PM »
great question-guess it depends of the shaper.
Dave Daum-Gary McNabb-Dave Boehne-Josh Sleigh-Kirk with L41 theres a nice long list especially in Socal of prone shapers who shape great sups.
I would agree its not an automatic that a prone guy is going to shape a great sup.
Patterson was such a tool when sup first came along i would not ride one of his boards however in his case its not because the guy cant shape-hes a legend.
Same would go for Biolos-incredible shaper but just philosophically im gonna spread the love and $ to guys in my opinion that are in it for the right reasons.

You see DD or Boehne or the others mentioned out there riding what theyre shaping and being good humans and combined with their knowledge its an easy call.

Go with your gut.
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pdxmike

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2014, 08:02:39 PM »
Catholic priests do marriage counseling. 

PonoBill

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2014, 08:42:17 PM »
Catholic priests do marriage counseling.

Not sure whether that's for or against.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Cardiff Sweeper

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2014, 05:37:23 PM »
I've gone round and around talking to a local shaper about how I "would" want my Sup to be shaped. He just doesn't believe in shaping a stand-up that's only 24" wide.

So I took out his 8'0"x24" 'BIG GUY' surfboard just to prove that it works as a stand-up board.

After his disbelief was taken care of, we decided to fine tune what the specs should be.

I think shapers might come off as being insulted when you try and tell them how you (cash-in-hand buyer) want your board to come out like...and that may be just because they haven't shaped many boards that are off the normal template.


I still haven't gotten that board shaped, because I'm just afraid that he won't make it exactly how I want. Oh well… The search continues.

PonoBill

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2014, 05:45:31 PM »
You might consider Bill Foote. He's very open minded about design, but he brings a lot to the table as well. I don't remember what he did for Kathy Shipman's most recent Maliko 14, but it looks like I could tuck it easily under my arm. At the other end of the scale he was skeptical about making me a 9.0 X 32 (or maybe it's 33) but he did it and made it work like gangbusters for me.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

supsurf-tw

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2014, 06:34:28 PM »
Last night I was Brian Bulkleys house for dinner (ex Pipe madman. Current head shaper at ...Lost as well as the guy that shaped the only perfect surfboard I've ever seen...
Anyway, Double B only SUPed once and did well but he's 60 and the writing's on the proverbial wall. So he shapes this SUP. 6-11, 5 1\2 thick X 29". stepped rails and THICK tail and 5 fin setup, Big thick beak nose and flat rocker. It will either totally suck or be a revelation. He's never shaped a SUP so we're interested.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2014, 06:44:01 PM by supsurf-tw »
Boards:

 
8-10 x 31 Egg
8-11 X 32 Double wing Fangtail Tom Whitaker
8-6 X 30 1\2  Inbetweener Tom Whitaker
8-4 x 30 Hyper quad Tom Whitaker (wife's now)
8-4 X 31 1\4.  Round (wide) Diamond Tail Quad Tom Whitaker
 9-4 X 30 1\2. Swallow Stinger Quad Tom Whitaker (ex wifes now)
10-0 Brusurf for teach

SlatchJim

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2014, 10:17:20 AM »
Shapers are like artists, some can modify and adapt to different media, and others are best suited to a select group of materials.

stoneaxe

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Re: Would you have a Prone Shaper shape you an SUP?
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2014, 11:11:45 AM »
Catholic priests do marriage counseling.
You have no idea......but this isn't the place for that story.... :P
Bob

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