Author Topic: Surfboards (Longboards)  (Read 61340 times)

Night Wing

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Surfboards (Longboards)
« on: May 15, 2020, 11:49:16 AM »
I had sent a private message to Admin if it would be okay if I started a topic on Surfboards which is the forerunner to the Sup. He told me I could and put it in the General or Gear Talk forums. So I decided to put it in the General forum.

Since being at home all the time doesn't suit me, I am lucky to live in a subdivision with two lakes which I take one of my four sups down to and flat water paddle twice a week because of the virus.

I came down with what I thought was a UTI (urinary tract infection) a few months back, but when antibiotics didn't solve the problem, my urologist ordered a CT Scan and the scan found a half-inch in size kidney stone in my left kidney. Long story short, the stone was removed under general anesthesia this past Wednesday (5-13-2020).

But, as they say in the maritime industry where I used to work, I'm in "drydock" for the next four days. Since "idle hands are the devil's workshop", I have those idle hands. So I got to thinking about surfboards, specifically longboards of at least 9'-9'6" in length. I first learned how to surf on a longboard when I was 15 years old and it's length way back then was 9' in length with one single fin.

On the upper Texas coast, I see many shortboard surfers on their performance boards. If the surf is flat and only knee high wave height, you don't see surfers.

But I figured surfing a longboard again would work if the surfboard was long enough and suited to the general waves where I go on the upper Texas coast. So I started surfing the internet to find some surfing forums where I could lurk and gleen information from them. I found three of them and they are listed below.

http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/

https://surfing-waves.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=15

https://jamboards.com/forums/surfing/

But I wanted to get some opinions from all of you on this site who surfed before they found sups.

Now down to the nitty gritty.

I've done research on some nice longboards from some shapers. I'm sure you'll recognize the names of: Stewart, Carroll and Degree 33.

Now for my criteria. The longboard has to be from 9'-9'6" in length. It must have 3 fins and if I'm lucky, 5 fin boxes. I will say I'm partial to Furtures fin boxes and epoxy constructionwhich are very duralbe since poly boards dent easily. Epoxy is also lighter in weight than poly boards.

I'm 5'8"and 140 lbs right now (which is 63.50 kilograms), a good rule of thumb is to match my weight in kilograms to a longboard between 63.50--72 liters of volume. With that I started my search with Stewart Surfboards and I'm looking at two of them.

One of the Stewarts is a 949 model, 9' x 23" x 3" @ 67.9 liters, 5 Futures fin boxes epoxy construction which is at the link below.

https://stewartsurfboards.com/collections/949

The second Stewart is the Redline 11 (eleven) model, 9'0 x 23 3/4" x  3 1/4" @ 74.7 liters, 3 Furtures fin boxes and expoxy construction.

https://stewartsurfboards.com/collections/redline-11

Another choice is a Ricky Carroll PLB (performance longboard) which is, 9'0 x 22.25" x 2.75" @ unknown liters (one important detail that should always be listed), 5 Futures fin boxes and epoxy construction.

https://www.realwatersports.com/collections/ricky-carroll-surfboards/products/ricky-carroll-plb-pu-poly-90

Another is surfboard from Degree 33 and it is the Ultimate model which is 9.0 x 23" x 3" @ 72.5 liters, 3 FCS fin boxes and epoxy construction.

https://www.degree33surfboards.com/collections/longboards-performance/products/9-ultimate-longboard-surfboard-teal-chevron-epoxy-2019

I've got some videos I can post up, but I don't want to make this topic into reading a manuscript so I'll stop at this point.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2020, 11:55:55 AM by Night Wing »
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

ninja tuna

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2020, 11:59:36 AM »
OK, but was there supposed to be  question in there.  Longboards are a blast in small surf.  It lets you get out and when it is just tiny.  All my longboards were before the liter thing and I weigh 50lbs more than you.  If you want something to cruise and play in the small stuff, a little wider is maybe mo better.  like 22-23" wide.  But you are a light weight so that may not apply to you.  My more "performance" longboards were usually about 21 wide and more pintail for the maneuverability.   But hell, to go have fun in small gutless surf, you dont need to get crazy picky.  Getting a used one is even a great option to save money.  Even the foam wavestorms, people are having a blast on.


surfinJ

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2020, 02:16:13 PM »
Any of those is fine. All fine shapers. 

For what you want not too rockered and the rest won’t matter too much.

I have a 10' log, thick full railed cruiser to catch anything from a ripple up.
Also a 10’ longboard gun for the big stuff and a thinned out 9’er with lots of rocker for chasing the hollow and fast ones.

See longboards can vary a lot as well.

seadart

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2020, 05:42:27 PM »
If you are looking at getting a board shipped from California you might as well look at  Infinity (Dana Point) and Walden (Ventura).  I keep getting ads from them saying their boards are on sale.  Hard to go wrong with them. I have a Walden Magic Model, it's pretty fun.  Honestly just to get out in small surf you could get a Costco foamy and just have fun.

Subber

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2020, 06:13:23 PM »
You can also most likely Prone Paddle surf one of your long board SUP's.

I'm about an inch taller than you (and we'll say a bit heavier) and I've prone paddled
a couple of my longboard SUP's a few times:

Pearson Laird Surftech Longboard 10'6"x23"x29.75"x18"x4.375," 154 liters, 24 lbs, 3 boxes
Jimmy Lewis Black & Blue Noserider 10'1"x31"x4.25," 164 liters, 24 lbs, 1 box

Even the Black & Blue with its 31"width was comfortable enough prone paddling. 

You could also prone paddle a longboard SUP in one of your lakes to build up prone paddle muscles
before switching over to a prone longboard - the muscles you use SUPping are different than when prone
paddling.  It would make the transition easier because the SUP's generally paddle easier because
they usually have a lot more volume.
Jimmy Lewis Black & Blue Noserider 10'1"x31"x4.25," 164 liters, 24 lbs, 1 box
Pearson Laird Surftech Longboard 10'6"x23"x29.75"x18"x4.375," 154 liters, 24 lbs, 3 boxes
Takayama Ali'i II Surftech 11'x21.375”x28.5”x17.25”x 4.25,” 162 liters, 26 lbs, 3 boxes

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2020, 06:28:42 PM »
You can also most likely Prone Paddle surf one of your long board SUP's.

I'm about an inch taller than you (and we'll say a bit heavier) and I've prone paddled
a couple of my longboard SUP's a few times:


If I was going to prone surf one of my sups without the paddle, I would most likely do so with my One World and it's specs are, 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 liters. This sup with a 4 fin (2, 5") (2, 4") quad setup weighs 22 lbs, 14 ounces. It also has 60/40 rails.

It also has a pulled in nose so it can handle beach wash type of waves to overhead waves probably 12' in height if I had the skills to do so, but I don't have those skills because the waves on the upper Texas coast don't reach that height except in stormy conditions like in a tropical depression or a named tropical storm. And the biggest waves height wise, are at Surfside, Texas.

Right now, I'm just toying with the idea of a surfboard. Nothing is set in concrete. Nothing is carved in granite at this juncture.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2020, 06:52:57 PM »
I'm going to list one surfboard at a time so as not to make these posts extremely long.

The first surfboard is the Stewart 949 model. Since this surfboard comes in different lengths, widths, thickness and liters; I'm partial to the one which is: 9'0" x 23" x 3" @ 67.9 liters with 5 Futures fin boxes in epoxy construction.

Below is a video of the 949. The board in this video is of poly construction since I can see the long dent in the bottom of the board down from the nose when the reviewer turns the board upside down. Poly is fragile in my opinion when compared to a epoxy board.  And poly built boards are heavier in weight than epoxy boards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPViBRc4Tcc

The second video is another 949 model, but it is the 949 Comp and Bill Stewart gives a good description of it and what it can do. The 949 Comp's longest length is 8'6", but I prefer a minimum 9' length surfboard. So the 949 Comp is just a smaller version of the regular 949, but with a pulled in nose. The video makes a good comparison between the two boards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3bepCjOqOM
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

ninja tuna

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2020, 07:47:19 PM »
That pressure ding is a common thing in all surfboards whether they are epoxy or poly.  It happens from all sorts of things and lots of use.  It also has a lot to do with how the boards are glassed. Boards will also develop foot divots too.   They are not glassed nearly as strong and durable as sups.  Go look at used boards in a surf shop and you will see.  It is nothing to be worried about.  I have a garage full of epoxy and poly boards too.  Happens to all of them sooner or later.

If you are just toying with the idea. Use your SUP first to see if you like it.  The surfboard  will be much lighter.  And I  am guessing you have not prone surfed ever. Sounds like it.  You are going to go through a little bit of a learning curve in terms of now paddling and then getting up.  Very little.  A 9 - 10 foot longboard is not going to be nearly as stable as  either of your sups.  BUT once you get it, you are going to be able to move all over the wave because you have been so used to the heavy sups. When you get on a glass/epoxy longboard at half the weight, you're gonna be throwing that board all over in no time.

Get used longboard to save money in the beginning to begin with.  I have 3, 4, 5 hundred dollar boards and more because I wanted certain shapes.  But I have also bought some used shapes that I want to try for like 150 to 200 and had a blast on them and did not worry about pitching the into shallow sandbars.

surfcowboy

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2020, 08:21:59 PM »
Couple of things here. Take what you like and leave the rest.

If you’re longboarding in small waves, (you are, it’s texas) extra fins are just drag. You can argue if you want, but check out Devon Howard or Alex Knost in case anyone thinks you need a lot of fins to turn. It’s simply not the case.

Also, nose riding is better with a single. I might be wrong, but I surf regularly with some of the best in the world in the water next to me (taking all the waves! Lol) and no one worth a damn is on a multi-fin LB. I figure that I probably don’t know better than they do.

I agree 100% with the wider is better thing , to a point. That point for me is 23”. As a small guy, paddling a SUP prone isn’t efficient as I don’t reach across it well and can’t paddle deep. And same on rocker. No need for a lot unless you’re surfing head high waves. Keep it flat and paddle into any ripple.

I’m exactly your size. I own 2 longboards and a midlength and a wavestorm. All are singles though my midlength has boxes. I surf ankle to chest high waves on my 9’6” Tudor from the 90’s which weighs more than your SUP, I guarantee. And now I surf my 9’4” (or so) copy I made last summer.

I got the rocker wrong on my copy. Too much, so that’s how I know you don’t want a lot lol.

But as a “damned SUP’er” I’ll say that there’s a lot of satisfaction and fun in owning a 100% classic old school longboard and surfing it like they did in ‘64 at Malibu. It also gets me some cred and nods in the lineup and makes those times when I paddle out standing up way more accepted since I’m seen as “one of the good ones.”

Plus one on Infinity and Walden. But you’ve got good longboard shapers right down the road from you too. I’d love to have a local, Lone Star quiver myself.

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #9 on: May 15, 2020, 08:52:21 PM »
If you are looking at getting a board shipped from California you might as well look at  Infinity (Dana Point) and Walden (Ventura).  I keep getting ads from them saying their boards are on sale.  Hard to go wrong with them. I have a Walden Magic Model, it's pretty fun.

The Walden Magic and Mega Magic are nose riders. And I have looked at them and the videos I've found on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agHzP1VyeRk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdRdZt0qCZg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVI_uKf03cc
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #10 on: May 15, 2020, 09:06:59 PM »
Couple of things here. Take what you like and leave the rest.

If you’re longboarding in small waves, (you are, it’s texas) extra fins are just drag. You can argue if you want, but check out Devon Howard or Alex Knost in case anyone thinks you need a lot of fins to turn. It’s simply not the case.

Also, nose riding is better with a single. I might be wrong, but I surf regularly with some of the best in the world in the water next to me (taking all the waves! Lol) and no one worth a damn is on a multi-fin LB. I figure that I probably don’t know better than they do.

I agree 100% with the wider is better thing , to a point. That point for me is 23”. As a small guy, paddling a SUP prone isn’t efficient as I don’t reach across it well and can’t paddle deep. And same on rocker. No need for a lot unless you’re surfing head high waves. Keep it flat and paddle into any ripple.

I’m exactly your size. I own 2 longboards and a midlength and a wavestorm. All are singles though my midlength has boxes. I surf ankle to chest high waves on my 9’6” Tudor from the 90’s which weighs more than your SUP, I guarantee. And now I surf my 9’4” (or so) copy I made last summer.

When it comes to surfboards, I'm a fan of 5 fin boxes. The reason being,depending on wave conditions, I can surf the board as a single fin, a 3 fin thruster with all three fins the same length, a 2 + 1 and my personal favorite for speed, a 4 fin quad setup. So with 5 fin boxes, it comes down to........"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it".
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2020, 05:51:24 AM »
Continuing on with my idle hands.

BTW, all of the boards I'm looking at will be primarily surfed down at the beaches at Surfside, Texas because the waves at Surfside are bigger in height than the waves at Galveston Island or the waves on the Bolivar Peninsula.

Another Stewart surfboard which piqued my interest is the Redline 11 (eleven) model. The length I'm interested in is the 9'0" x 23 1/2" x 3 1/8" @ 70.9 liters with 3 Futures fin boxes in an epoxy finish.

I came across two videos of this board and they are below. One is narrated by Bill Stewart himself with mostly technical details and it is the first video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vJ4pAbz8-E

The second video is more of a review from a rider.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cguD94Ze-Rs
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

burchas

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2020, 06:33:25 AM »
Just to give you one more thing to think about on the construction side. Look into XPS core ??? Maybe an answer to some of your issues, when done right. Mine is in the works.
in progress...

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2020, 10:52:36 AM »
@ burchas

I was hoping you would see this topic and give your comments. I'll look into the XPS core.

And if you have any other comments, either pro or con, don't hesitate and chime in.
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2020, 11:15:24 AM »
Now for a third surfboard.

The third surfboard which has caught my eye is from the shaper, Ricky Carroll. Again, it is more of a performance type of board than a nose rider, but the board can be ridden as a nose rider with the right fin length and fin configuration.

The board is a Ricky Carroll PLB. It is 9' in length with 5 fin Futures fin boxes in a EPS epoxy construction. The only part I didn't like about the review, it doesn't give the amount of liters  for it. This is one important detail, to me at least, that should never be left out in a written specification or in a video.

So all I have on it is; 9'0" x 22.25" x 2.75". Bummer about the liters not given. At least I was able to find a good video review of it and the link to the video is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eiVd5Twtfc

Of all the videos I've seen for the surfboards I've looked at (so far), this video has been the most indepth of them all when it comes to my favorite, "details".
Blue Planet Duke: 10'5" x 32" x 4.5" @ 190 Liters (2 Dukes)
Sup Sports Hammer: 8'11" x 31" x 4" @ 140 Liters
SUP Sports One World: 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 Liters
CJ Nelson Parallax: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 Liters (prone surfing longboard; Thunderbolt Technologies build in Red construction)

 


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