Author Topic: Surfboards (Longboards)  (Read 61310 times)

exiled

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #75 on: June 05, 2020, 03:27:28 PM »
Harley Ingleby surfboards distribute through Firewire, so any place that sells them should be able to order an HI board for you. Check the store locator at https://firewiresurfboards.com/find-a-surf-shop

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #76 on: June 06, 2020, 11:45:09 AM »
I've been really impressed with the Harley Ingleby surfboards. And to make matters worse, Harley has another new board which I somehow missed. It is the HI-4.

The HI-4 comes in two different lengths:

9'1" x 22 9/16" x 2 4/4" @ 64.5 Liters with 5 fin boxes, 18" nose and rounded pin tail.

9'3" x 23" x 2 7/8" @ 70 Liters with 5 fin boxes, 19" nose and rounded square tail.

These two boards are rated for 1' - 9' for wave heights. I favor the 9'3" model.

Below are two videos.

The first video is the stock PR (public relations) video for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqVbCgr4S0Q

The second video is more for the technical aspects of the HI-4. Just wish the video was wider.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2-Z3IQpIA

Model wise, I like the 9'3" HI - 4 which is rated for 1' - 9' wave heights and the 9'5" Cruiser which is rated for 1' - 6' wave heights. At this time, I slightly favor the 9'3" Hi - 4 over the 9'5" Cruiser.
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 #77 on: December 11, 2020, 07:22:14 AM »
Thought I would resurrect this topic.

After looking at many brands of surfboards and finally making a decision on what surfboard I wanted, I chose the Harley Ingleby HI4 (9'3" x 23" x 2 7/8" @ 70 Liters) with 5 fin boxes in Thunderbolt "Red" construction and this construction is better suited for the waves I would encounter on the upper Texas coast.

Unfortunately because of the pandemic, it seems everyone who likes to surf, they have bought out just about every surfboard at every dealer no matter the brand. Bummer!

With lots of time on my hands, I waited a few months and still, the Harley Ingleby dealers still do not have this particular model in stock. So I kept my routine of watching the streaming webcams on the upper Texas coast.

While watching the 43rd Str webcam on the Galveston Seawall, I spied a lifeguard's truck on the beach and on top of the raised racks, there was a single fin surfboard which the lifeguard uses and this gave me another idea.

BTW, the link to the streaming webcam is below and this camera can be controlled. The controls are at the bottom right hand corner and the positions are at the upper right corner when you have control of the camera.

https://www.galveston.com/webcams/surfvideocam/

I called the city of Galveston and talked with someone in the City Parks Department and wanted some info on the single fin surfboards all of their lifeguards use. Specifically I wanted to talk to a lifeguard on what length board they use, brand name and model and length and type of fin which is installed on those boards.

I left my name and phone number hoping a lifeguard would return my call. As luck would have it, a lifeguard did call me back. I picked the lifeguard's brain because I asked a lot of "detailed" questions which took 30 minutes of time.

The lifeguard told me the city issues him a 9' longboard with a single fin and the fin was either a 9" or a 9.5" since they had a choice. The fin which they use was a fin designed for "speed" since the waves on the Galveston beachfront are tiny, small and medium depending on various factors.

The lifeguard knew of my choice and also knew about Thunderbolt Technologies which builds boards in Black, Red and Silver construction. He agreed with me in Red Thunderbolt for our waves on the upper Texas coast. But, he told me I should re-visit a board with a single fin.

He told me there is a man named CJ Nelson who builds some very fast single fin longboards with Black, Red and Silver construction. And Firewire carries many of his models, but at the moment, they don't have any of his boards in stock since they are all sold out of everyone of his models they carry.

He told me CJ made a 39 minute video with the Firewire representative where he discussed surfing and many of his newest models (Outlier, Parallax, Neo Classic, Sprout) and every one of models have a single fin. He sent me, via email, a link to it. It is quite informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovSlemhGJ0

He told me he thought either the Parallax model in either the 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 liters or the 9'6" x 23 3/4" x 3 1/4" @ 81.4 liters would be a very good choice for me at my 145 pound weight. The crapshoot would be the length and type of fin, but length wise, he said I could cover all of my bases with five lengths which are 8.5", 9.0", 9.5", 10" and 10.5".

The position of the single fin in the center box is also important depending on the size and type of wave. Near the front of the box for a looser and faster speed or at the back of the box for less speed and more stability.

I thanked the lifeguard for his time, knowledge and patience with me since the call was 30 minutes in length. The lifeguard was gracious and told me if I had any more questions to give him a call because he enjoyed talking about surfing.

« Last Edit: December 11, 2020, 07:30:07 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)

Dusk Patrol

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #78 on: December 11, 2020, 09:44:22 AM »
Quite the story, Wing... and you found the right lifeguard : )
RS 14x26; JL Destroyers 9'8 & 8'10; BluePlanet 9'4; JL Super Frank 8'6

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #79 on: December 11, 2020, 10:44:47 AM »
With regard to the fin, the shape has a lot to do with how stable the board is. A wider fin makes the board far more stable, and rigid. The in between is a "pivot" style fin, which is wide at the base and narrows at the tip.

A fin with a wide base, or wide throughout will require you to be a little more prepared to "turn and burn". Meaning you have to be strong with your movements to rock the board back on its tail, pull the nose around, flop back on your belly, and start paddling. A thruster is much easier to do this move, as the fins are meant for turning. You don't have to pay as close of attention, you can steer a thruster much easier from the prone position.

I enjoy surfing a single fin on a cruiser longboard, it is all about trim and glide. Turning a wide single fin is pivot turning which is actually a little harder than standing over a tri fin or quad set and leaning. I should not say you can't turn a single fin from the back 1/2 of the board it is just more of a swoop, than any sort of quick turn (unless its a pivot turn).

@Dusk Patrol - Ukulele is the brand that Chris Ruddy used to shape for. He still makes the Drifter.

http://www.chrisruddysurfboards.com/shop/a449cajndkwyxnf21paqj698f6dr5v
Make paddleboarding great again!

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #80 on: December 12, 2020, 05:35:29 AM »
I enjoy surfing a single fin on a cruiser longboard, it is all about trim and glide. Turning a wide single fin is pivot turning which is actually a little harder than standing over a tri fin or quad set and leaning. I should not say you can't turn a single fin from the back 1/2 of the board it is just more of a swoop, than any sort of quick turn (unless its a pivot turn).

Like you, I also like long cruiser type of boards whether they be prone or sup boards. When I was a teenager (15 years old, circa 1965), my first prone surfboard was a 9' in length with one single fin. Since there were no fin boxes back then, the single fin was "glassed in" so one couldn't move the fin back or forward.

On this style of board, my type of surfing would be considered "boring" because I just like to cruise (trim and glide). But with the advent of fin boxes and different types of materials for boards and how they are built, they are endless possibilities on how to make a very fast mid length or fast longboard with one single fin.

As an example. CJ Nelson is a power surfer even though he is not that big weight wise. His fastest mid length board is a model named the "Outlier". This board is very fast with the right type of waves. He normally rides it in a 7'6" length, but he has a video of him surfing his 8'0" model (8'0" x 22 1/2" x 3 1/8" @ 59.7 liters) at the Surf Ranch in California which I'm going to show in the video below.

He is turning the board at the middle of the board when he is just gliding down the wave. This is how I turned my old prone surfboard when I was a teenager and how I turn my two 10'5" Dukes and my 11'1" One World sups.

The fin that he is using on this Outlier 8' board is a 9.5" Flying Diamonds "Involvement" fin in G-10 material and I will list in a second video where explains why he uses this fin on this board. But the Outlier can be finicky to tune fin wise depending on various factors. I also show a third video on how this board can be finicky.

The first video is below and he can really surf his 8' board with his 9.5" fin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvmCdIpv76Y

The second video has a lot of "specific details" in it and details are right up my alley if you get my drift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2IWP8PssMU

The last video is where the "average surfer" found it a little difficult to find the right fin for his 7'6" Outlier and he finally found, with his style and the type of waves he usually surfs, a 9.0" fin works best for him. The guy behind the camera has a 8.0" Outlier and he surfs it with a 8.5" fin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsjhOGJfut4

Since this message is getting long, I'm going to make another message and show casing the CJ Nelso "Parallax".
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 #81 on: December 12, 2020, 06:04:24 AM »
This message is going to have three videos in it.

The first video is with CJ Nelson on why he designed the Parallax for "enjoyment".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoGR432beew

The second video is a person who has a CJ Nelson "Classic" and the Parallax feels totally different. The Parallax is a fast longboard that can be turned mid board. This would be perfect for the tiny to small waves I usually encounter.

The Parallax in this video is 9'6" in length, but the guy doing the recording says it is a 9'5" length. At the end of the video, the specs are shown and I stopped the video and looking at the specs, it is a 9'6" length.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1zhDSbgZt8

The last video is a review of the Parallax 9'6" by REAL Watersports. In this video, the board was fitted with a 9.0" fin and they didn't like it. The board was then fitted with a 8.5" fin and both guys liked this fin for the wave conditions they found for the day of this review.

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

For me at my weight and with our wind driven waves on the upper Texas coast, the fast single fin longboard would be a good in the same vein as the Harley Ingleby HI4 with 5 fin boxes.
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)

LBsup

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #82 on: December 12, 2020, 06:56:41 AM »
Hi Night Wing, It appears Realwatersports has the boards you want in stock.

https://www.realwatersports.com/collections/harley-ingleby-hi4/products/harley-ingleby-hi4-thunderbolt-black-95

Good luck with your decision or purchase.

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Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #83 on: December 12, 2020, 09:02:55 AM »
Hi Night Wing, It appears Realwatersports has the boards you want in stock.

https://www.realwatersports.com/collections/harley-ingleby-hi4/products/harley-ingleby-hi4-thunderbolt-black-95

"Close, but no cigar". The "devil" is "always in the small details which get overlooked".

Real Watersports has the Harley Ingleby HI4 model in Black Thunderbolt, but this model of construction has less flex more suited to bigger waves along with bigger people weight wise than me.

At my weight with the tiny to small waves which are typically found on the upper Texas, the Thunderboalt Red with its more flex than the Thunderbolt Black, is best suited for me. And REAL Watersports only has the HI4 in "Black", but I need/want the "Red" no matter if I went with the HI4 or the Parallax.

This is explained in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1WKMvLZj_U

REAL Watersports does have the Parallax in Thunderbolt Red, but they only have it in the 9'6" model, no 9'3" model. At the link below, you'll have to scroll on down to the bottom of the page to see the three Parallaxs they have in stock at the time of this post.

https://www.realwatersports.com/collections/cj-nelson-parallax

I'm leaning towards the Parallax in the 9'3" length since the HI4 also comes in a 9'3" length.
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 #84 on: May 20, 2021, 08:48:09 PM »
Thought I would give an update on this topic thread.

After doing lots of research, I finally made a decision on getting a single fin longboard over my favorite muti-fin longboards. After getting in touch with REAL Watersports in North Carolina, I made the decision to get a CJ Nelson "Parallax" model longboard in Thunderbolt Red construction. It's specifications are: 9'3" x 23 1/2" x 3 3/16" @ 78.8 liters in Volan Green color.

I left my email address with REAL and REAL told me it would be a long wait for this particular longboard due to the pandemic. Yesterday REAL left me an email and told me they were getting a few Parallax's in the Thunderbolt Red construction in Volan Green and the boards would arrive in late June (2021).

I called REAL this morning as soon as they opened and placed my order for the board above. It will be delivered to Fed EX Freight at FED EX's truck terminal in northwest Houston (Tx) in the last week of June or the first week in July where I will pick it up.

But this board does not come with a fin. Along with my research for this board, I also did research on longboard fins which would work well with my physical weight and the waves down at Surfside, Tx. BTW; after my three surgical procedures I had done in a span of 19 days, my weight went down to 138 lbs, but I now weigh an even 150 lbs.

The single longboard fin I wanted was a Flying Diamonds "Involvement" fin in volan green color which was designed by CJ Nelson. I figured I needed a 9.0. or a 9.5, but I didn't know which one.

I hunted all around the internet and there was a surf shop (Hawaiian South Shore) in Honolulu, Hi which had both sizes in the Involvement fin and also in volan green color. After getting their opinion on how much I weighed, where I surfed, how I surfed and what waves I would normally encounter at Surfside, I went with the 9.0 size.

The fin was shipped today at their closing and I should receive it by next Friday (28th of May).

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)

surfinJ

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #85 on: May 20, 2021, 10:23:27 PM »
Single finned is the way to go.  I hope you enjoy the new board when it comes.
You could pop the fin in one of your sups to feel it out while you wait.

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #86 on: May 21, 2021, 03:43:57 AM »
NW, you must be in great shape to still be able to prone surf at your age. I'm 64 and there is no way I could do it.
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Axis HPS 980 / PNG 1300
Sunova Flow  8'10 X 31"  119L
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Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #87 on: May 21, 2021, 06:12:49 AM »
NW, you must be in great shape to still be able to prone surf at your age.

I turned 71 in February. I'm not in that great of shape. Since I've been using a sup for a few years now for both flatwater paddling and sup surfing, my back problems no longer appear.

But, I have a partial tear of my meniscus in my left knee. I put my left foot in a gopher hole where the gopher hole was hidden under some sycamore tree leaves. It caused me to fall and I fell on an exposed root of the sycamore tree and the exposed root was also hidden under the leaves.

When my left knee hit the root, it caused a large and very painful bone bruise on the inside of my left knee. My knee really was still swollen after one month of time and that was when I went to see my orthopedic surgeon, the same one who repaired both my left and right shoulder joints.

My surgeon told me, after the MRI, a partial tear of a meniscus is "not" the same thing as a torn meniscus because of where the tear is located. My partial tear is in the middle of the meniscus and not on the side of the meniscus. Think of a doughnut where the hole in the doughnut is where my partial tear is located. He told me my pain and swelling was due to the bone bruise and a stretched ACL ligament. Not from the partial tear.

He told me getting to the partial tear would cause more harm than good damage wise. He gave me some exercises to do at my home and he said it would take about two months of therapy and my pain would go away. And I wouldn't even know I had a partial tear.

I told him I was still concerned at  the partial tear. He told when the partial tear, tears all the way to the outside edge of the meniscus, my left knee would DEFINITELY let me know to come see him. I asked my surgeon should I "baby" the left knee and he said, "absolutely not". He told me when the pain in the left knee goes away, just use it like you normally would no matter the activity I was doing.

The waves down at Surfside, they are not big waves like what you find where you surf. My style of sup surfing and prone surfing is just made for a longboard. I don't surf shortboards. Surfing a shorboard is a lot of work especially at my present age of 71 and I surf for "pure enjoyment" which is also known as "fun" and not work.

Most of the "young bucks" on their shortboards at Surfside, they view my style of surfing as "boring". They like to shred waves, pump their boards when the waves just aren't suited to their style of surfing, etc.

I told one young buck, out of twenty waves when the waves are knee high, I can surf all twenty where you can only surf maybe three waves on your 22-27 liters in their 6' in length or shorter, shortboards. The young buck told me I have a point which can't he couldn't refute.

My style of surfing is to get out in front of the wave and just glide almost to the beach and this is why I get and enjoy many long rides. The young bucks have nicknamed me, "grandpa" and they told me to wear that nickname like a badge of honor since many of them have told me they hope to be still surfing if and when they reach my present age.

You can see some to the waves I like to surf in the two videos below. One is at Surfside and the other is at Port Aransas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l79tQAscljA

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

Dontsink

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #88 on: May 21, 2021, 08:17:05 AM »
Takayama InThePink or Walden Magic.
Both are allrounder Longboards, with the Takayama leaning more towards nose riding and the Walden to turning.

I hate poliester but specially in longboards, they are a big ding waiting to happen.So i recommend epoxy whatever you get.
This is heresy,i know :)

Night Wing

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Re: Surfboards (Longboards)
« Reply #89 on: May 21, 2021, 10:45:50 AM »
@ Dontsink

Longboards are usually described as being 9' in length and over. For the longest time, longboards fell into two categories which are HPLB's (high performance longboards) and NR's (nose riders). But times have changed. There is a third category which I call NLB's (niche longboards).

HPLB's usually have multiple fin boxes (3 or 4 fin boxes). NR's usually have single fin boxes and the key word is "usually". I have seen some NR's with 3 or 4 fin boxes, but the usual norm is a single fin box.

HPLB's can be steered by putting the back foot over the fins or on the rails above the fins. NR's usually are steered by putting the back foot over the single fin (or over a 2 + 1 setup).

A NB (niche board) is usually steered by shifting one's weight over the center of the board to turn right or left. No need to put the back foot over the fin(s) on the underside of the board. No need either to put the back foot on the left or right rail for turning. So the Parallax is the best of both words for steering or turning.

And the above is why I chose the Parallax and as a bonus, this design by CJ Nelson is a very fast longboard.

Since I don't nose ride, I just wanted a NB to enjoy myself without working at it or to please anyone on the beach looking at me. The Parallax is this type of board. If the waves have enough juice in them, I could nose ride it, but that isn't my style.

I agree poly (PU) boards are a "dent" machine. They ride nice and feel good underfoot when riding a wave, but they ding easily. The Thunderbolt Technology feels like a poly, but it doesn't ding easily. One really has to work at it to ding one. Thunderbolt comes in Red and Black materials. For a lightweight person like myself who surfs in small waves most of the time, the Red is the right choice because it is not as stiff "flex wise" as the Black.

On the internet, many people are discovering Thunderbolt Technology. Below is a good video for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6kWgb0OGI4

And one more video as a "teaser" for the Parallax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTPvAoDG9t4



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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