Kneeboard Surfing USA Community Forum

I got down to the beach today to find it was 5-6ft and I had my small wave board with me. It's really loose but it felt fine out there but if I ride a board that's too tight in small waves I can't ride it properly. Does anyone prefer to have their boards tighter rather than looser? (I know I don't )

I like a faster board in small and large surf but still want to break a tail loose occasionally. Bruce built me an attempt at a compromise that works out well for the most part at this task. With the quad FCS setup I can vary the looseness with trailing fin selection. Pictures are posted in the gallery. This board is a different concept and ride from conventional kneeboard design and will defer to Hart to make comments on design differences and really interested in his opinion. Go ahead Bruce..you won't hurt my feelings!

After a year of experimenting, I found that I like my board a little looser in waves under 4 feet.......so I ride my quad with four larger fins; smaller rear fins made it just too loose.

When it gets bigger, I stick in a 4 inch center fin and ride as a five fin.
That center fin gives me the drive and takes away my board's tendency for the the tail to break loose when cranking big, high speed turns.

Just the ticket for this old KBer from the single flex fin school.

..

Im glad someone brought this up... I have struggled with this for so long its ridiculous.

I used to think that loose as hell as long as I dont spin out on bottom turns was the ideal thing. Then when I hit 25 my metabolism switched gears on me, gained a shitload of weight, and realized that my big boards could still ride good if I just pushed that much harder. Not just on bottom turns but on everything.

Im back to a normal weight now, however I have noticed that my boards a way stiffer (except for the one I use in surf below 2ft) but I can get around bigger sections and get much more speed out of turns.

The struggle as I see it is the stiffness and speed vs. looseness and maneuverability, my conclusion is that as long as the desire to push really hard on every turn possible is there, the stiffness will work to one's advantage. Of course if you take this to the extreme, it wont work. Its more about pushing inch by inch than drastically.

Chayne and Troy are perfect examples of this. Troy likes his boards loose, even though he is a lot bigger than chayne, and chayne likes them tight... then again they are both freaks so that throws any theories out the window.

Albert

Nice to have several boards for a session.Kind of difficult when it's a 20min hike,and one board,pack etc.is enough of a load.I always have two extra fin setups.NO problem tuning the board to the required conditions.Being a tad lazy,don't wanna work that hard,let the board do the work-I'm just along for the ride

K

Riding my board again in 5fters, it was fine. Did some nice carves on it.

Ahhh what was that?

Looser is great for small wave or big easy wave. But for really hollow,juicy waves I like my boards to be tight.Don't want to go side ways down an 8" tube

A tight set up on a smaller board is a great asset. The smaller board gives you control while the straighter rocker and stiffer fin set up gives you drive power and speed. It won't work for Aussie fin placement though.

Given the unfortunate trend towards vocational education in this economical rationalist world - lets attend to the more classical in search of answers

1 - Ancient Indian Perspective (A)

the chela Ananda approached the Buddha with the question

Lord - how should one hold the mind when meditating

the Buddha replied

Ananda - have you listened to Ravi play his sitar

yes lord

are his strings very tight or very loose

neither too tight or too loose lord

so it should be with the mind Ananda!


2- The children's story period - (my area of expertise)

Goldilox said "this one is too hot ...but this one is too cold... oh but this one is just right


3 - The Regency Period

The student swordsman kept on having his sword knocked from his hand

The master said "Phillipe, your sword is like a bird - hold it to loose it flies away - hold it to tight you will strangle it and it will fall dead from your hands!!!


4- The Karma Sutra period - Ancient India (B)

The teacher of the Courtesans had a lot to say about abdominal torque being neither to loose or too tight!!!!

dorje

I perfer loose boards all the time. I`ve been out with my small boards on big days and had a BLAST!!!. I wouldn`t have it any other way.

quadfin wrote:
I like a faster board in small and large surf but still want to break a tail loose occasionally.

Bruce built me an attempt at a compromise that works out well for the most part at this task.

This board is a different concept and ride from conventional kneeboard design and will defer to Hart to make comments on design differences and really interested in his opinion.

The individuality of kneeboarders has been discussed at length before..and when a site like this brings surfers together from every part of this planet, all those individual aspects are brought together to one point.

quadfin's background (as a young surfer from Texas that once hitched to Rincon for a surf) is no exception to individuality.

As I board-builder, you must take that human aspect into account. As a kneeboard shaper, you will ignore it at your peril.

quadfin's board was his essential outline..albeit one created with my curves. It was his brief, but with my interpretation.

We allowed him to break his tail at times with noticeable wings and resultant 'direction-changes' between one wing and the other..and then even more so by the deep swallow at the pod.

Essentially it was an inherently tight outline that had loosening elements added to it.

As individual as the surfer for whom it was intended.

hart