wide point

[boots]

I thought I would bring this topic up again because I've been seeing quite a few 'ripper' boards around the web. It would be nice to get some of the shapers input on widepoints on ripper boards compared to the round nose all around boards.

Rand, on your new foote board being shaped, is your tail measurement wider or narrower than the nose? It looks like it takes a lot of the design concepts from a regular shortboard with the widepoint slightly back and the pulled nose. Maybe you or Mr. Foote could elaborate on your thoughts about the design of this board.

[Rand]

Hey Boots,

The tail is 18, the nose is 16 and the wide point is 1 inch back of center.  The nose taper and kick are definitely borrowed (modified, of course) from shortboard design.  The idea was to keep the volume right where you need it and not overdo it on the nose or tail where it might work against you.  Bill cut a new rocker template for this shape, emphasizing a usable paddling spot, while not giving in to an overly flat rocker line.  The rails and fin placement got a lot of consideration as well.  The final shape is pretty unique.  If you find yourself on Maui, you are more than welcome to hop on when it is finished. 

A lot of us have found that stand up has re-ignited our interest in surf sports where they may have plateaued or been waning a bit.  It seems to me that for the group of shapers that are out there doing this, the same has occurred for them on the shaping end.  It is a new intillectual challenge for them that borrows on the old but is, in a way, entirely fresh.  I had heard this about Al Merrick and Ron House, and for those who have spoken to Bill on the subject, it is unmistakeable.  Sandi Foote told me that he hardly sleeps any more, and she wakes up to noises in the shaping room in the middle of the night. 

Nice!