What's the longest kneeboard you've ever seen?

What works & what doesn't and in what type of conditions. Got a "secret" only you and your shaper know???? Post it here... we can keep it quiet ;-)

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fooj
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Post by fooj »

It looks like Gavin has the build to back some hard charging. I heard somewhere that he's converted to footboarding and is working in a mine. Is there any truth to this? Hope not.

Does anyone ride or has anyone seen a quad gun?The guns I've seen have all been aussie tris. Seems to me that the drive a quad would give would be right for large surf.
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Post by quadfin »

jfooj wrote:It looks like Gavin has the build to back some hard charging. I heard somewhere that he's converted to footboarding and is working in a mine. Is there any truth to this? Hope not.

Does anyone ride or has anyone seen a quad gun?The guns I've seen have all been aussie tris. Seems to me that the drive a quad would give would be right for large surf.
I have a 6'0" Round Pin with quad fin setup similar to pic in "kneeboard measurement". Only diff is more camber in front fins, longer trailing fins, and trailing fins set a little closer to tail.
Last edited by quadfin on Thu Sep 18, 2003 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: long stick

Post by quadfin »

ivandill wrote:Mike Mcguire blast 6"8 round pin quad sunset gun and his 15 plus leach.
Hey Ivandill, just noticed you were from PR. How was Isabel? Flew into SJU Saturday afternoon and it looked like it was going off all over the Island.

Do you guys have any Kneeboard contests there? Good to know there is at least 1 other KB within range.
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Post by fooj »

Quadfin,
How far up are the front fins? When do you pull that board out (vs the 5'8")? My friend used to ride singlefin McCoys that looked very similar to that in the 1980's. I remember trying them and they were very loose with not alot of drive. I would imagine the 4 fin configuration would give it more drive. What does it feel like when you lean forward? Jeff.
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Post by quadfin »

jfooj wrote:Quadfin,
How far up are the front fins? When do you pull that board out (vs the 5'8")? My friend used to ride singlefin McCoys that looked very similar to that in the 1980's. I remember trying them and they were very loose with not alot of drive. I would imagine the 4 fin configuration would give it more drive. What does it feel like when you lean forward? Jeff.
The 5'8" front fins are 11" from the tip of the swallow. Drive is a feel so don't know what to tell you on that. The board wants to be high in the wave, so when worked down generates a lot of speed. Arcs have to be tighter to keep from outrunning the wave. It is not what you would call loose, pretty positive on turns. I could tighten the board up by simply putting more camber to the outside in the front fins or increasing the length of the trailers. It is a very different feel than a conventional board but it fits my style.

The 6'0" is similar in design to Bud's rounded pins but with the same fin setup as the 5'8" pictured. This board was built for Southern Mex and is stashed there. It has only been ridden on "Thank God I survived that" days. Again, lots of camber in the front fins and longer trailers.
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Post by Steeno »

Gavin has been a long time friend of mine, and he does now ride a footboard, and very well at that. He has a huge quiver of boards and chargers as hard as anyone I know, he has film of himself surfing solid ten to twelve foot porto escondido in a pair jeans on a nine foot single fin, also stories where coming back from West Australia where Gavin bought a house a Margaret River of Gav surfing absolutely massive Margarets and outer bombies by himself. I have no dought in Gavs ability to surf these waves, and none of the stories seem out of his league, plus he is an awesome guy. Another time at THe Australian titles in WA at a place called Jakes which is a heaving reef wave over there, the Australian team was surfing it at ten feet and the Australian coach told me of Gavin taking of 30metres deeper inside than any of the best footboarders (he was on his kneelo) and absolutely blowing everyones minds.
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Post by hart »

Stemple,

The Narrabeen guys prefer to tow Farrer in than standups..he gets to prone position quicker and rarely blows it, meaning the ski can focus on getting into position rather than watching out for the surfer. He rides his semi-guns, not a special towy.

Kelly Slater was towing in with Maroubra's Koby Abberton at Voodoo about a month ago. His board was 5'7"..no s*&^..16.25" wide, aluminium FCS fins that looked like delta wings. The bottom was described to me by a Northern Beaches standup Shaper as "Mate it was just like a Kneeboard..really quick nose ,straight under the front foot and all release through the tail"

Steeno,

How hard would Gavin charge? I've seen that standup footage and it blew me away..Always someone you'd like see more of, in and out of the water.
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Food for thought

Post by red »

I've been experimenting with fins a bit and encountered an interesting phenomenon that may impact on all this big-wave/big board talk.

I ride a 6'0" tri (in 2'-10' surf) with Al Merrick side fins and G5 tail fin (all FCS templates)

I replaced the G5 with the much bigger Al Merrick back fin (1/4 inch more base, 1/2" taller, more rake and tip), expecting more drive and restricted turning.

The opposite happened. It felt as though the AM was not there! Less drive, looser turns (read "sloppy" for that). When the lip hit me I felt that the tail lifted vertically out of the water and skipped, meaning I had to struggle for control and to prevent nosediving

The foiling seems to be the key.
The G5 has continuous foiling that follows the rake
The AM's foiling decreases towards the tip.
I guess that the foil in the tip of the G5 is giving the fin "reverse lift" in the water, making it pull the tail of the board into the water. This seems to be verified in video - where the board carves a hole in the wave (and converts the water displacement into forward momentum!)

Without the tip foiling the AM lets the tail lift vertically, so there is less water displacement, so less momentum and drive

Does this mean that the wing keels that generate lift are incorrect for surfboards?
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