Not a troll, and not a **** stir.

I have recently moved to riding a board brand that has some funky shapes.

I've always run pretty standard shortboards and fat shortboards.

I firstly bought a al merrick biscuit, which changed my view on what a short-board can do and now have a new Hayden Shapes MERLOT which has changed my ideas again.

Whats peoples thoughts, as to why more shapers don't do it and to why people are scared to try different things.

please only half reasonable feedback

I ride a biscuit too bro and love it...I think the problem for alot of shapers is getting the volume and rocker right to make a board that paddles and surfs well...no slight on the guys going around but I wouldn't have throught there are too many dudes getting around that have as much exeprinece as Al Merrick....

I was looking at a Merrick Gravy on the weekend, funny thinned out round tail thing. I liked the look of it, similar to a planning hull style of tail. Infact I saw a hull type of board in the water on the weekend and that was nice as well with an orange tint

I'll just leave this here

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sharkywarky said...
I'll just leave this here

i have nothing against the Vangough or whatever its called but does it smell like a marketing ploy??

i work in the snow industry and reverse sidecut like what myerhoffer and hayden use has been around for ever.

why is such a simple concept and others not being used???

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sharkywarky said...
I'll just leave this here

I would like to see an average punter use one, they dont look user friendly to me.

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JOYRIDER said...

Whats peoples thoughts, as to why more shapers don't do it and to why people are scared to try different things.

Pretty simple from my perspective.....its straight economics...people are only going to stock boards that they think they will sell (or are told to stock ), same on the supply side of the equation.....as a general rule shapers will only make boards that they can sell. Having said that I think that you will find that there is a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scene that you may not be aware off just because you do not live near that shaper or have exposure to their product - its like when a mate points out a new car shape that you had seen before but then you see them all the time. There is lots of amazing stuff happening around the place - its just that a lot of these people do not have the marketing budgets or magazine exposure of the bigger board companies. Check out Diverse on the Gold Coast - he is going it alone with his direction at the moment he reckons - still does the normal stuff but has been spending vast amounts of time on R&D on some new materials, Josh Dowling Shapes - he does some amazing stuff. Argeee on this forum makes some pretty funky looking boards and Katana from WA looks like he is on to some good stuff as well (if I lived over west I would certainly be visiting him for a board).

I think the reason a lot of the people are reluctant to try things is pretty straight forward as well - cost. Some people do not have the dollars to have a large quiver of boards or can not afford to make a rash decision that they will despise and it will cost them to change boards if it doesn't work out. I know when I brought my Sweet Potato I was extremely nervous / worried that I was wasting my cashola....I thought I had after a week - then one day I finally got it working. Several of my mates who laughed at it when they saw now own them - so exposure to the product once more plays a big role in peoples decision making process I reckon. And it also comes down to the person selling the boards in the store....it cracks me up when I go into look at a board or two as I am killing time or looking at an idea off something else and a young bloke will tell me that that board is perfect for me....where as I know full well it does not have enough volume for me. Some people in the shops are very cluey and you would like to trust them but lets not forget that they are sales-people at the end of the day. There are lots of good shops and people out there do no get me wrong....but from my experience there are a lot more that are not!

So yes I agree we should look around a bit more and now be complacent with what has been the status quo for a while now....I have thought for many a year that surfing is way behind the curve when it comes to development - its like its been held back by the old school ways. Especially when you compare it to the developments of other board related sports like snow etc.......I like the blokes like Bert Burger who have opened up our eyes to new opportunities and ways of doing things. He should be given a medal for services to surfboard design like Simon should have!

Personally I am embracing change after many yrs of PU boards and now going down the route of compsand constructions. They open up a world of change for someone like me who likes a high volumed board relatively speaking.

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JOYRIDER said...

sharkywarky said...
I'll just leave this here

i have nothing against the Vangough or whatever its called but does it smell like a marketing ploy??

No idea I just thought it would fit into your funky boards thread. It's a board from dan tomo

http://tomosurfboards.com/

Ad that one is being made thru FireWire

I agree that there are certainly marketing ploys out there which may or may not be any good, you could argue that the merlot board you bought is a marketing ploy too.

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JOYRIDER said...

Whats peoples thoughts, as to why more shapers don't do it and to why people are scared to try different things.

Different?

the latest ASL has a board buyers guide in it and they ride that little board shaped by thommo in it, even those guys still prefered the more standard shape but did say they enjoyed surfing on it too. not a bad read if you enjoy board design and functionality

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soleman said...
the latest ASL has a board buyers guide in it and they ride that little board shaped by thommo in it, even those guys still prefered the more standard shape but did say they enjoyed surfing on it too. not a bad read if you enjoy board design and functionality

I get that issue every year, Nic Carrol has vast knowledge in regards to boards and design.

I got a Tomo V4 round nose in about July and rode it about 10 -15 times.
It felt good at times and crap at others now it just sits in the rack since i got a
JR "cousin it" a cross between the Voodoo in the ASL board test and his Boxter model. Great board.

I also had a CI biscuit and it was fun but surfed a bit too flat.

I also have a Dynocore ( Chopper model ) from Diverse and the construction is bullet proof and feels very solid under foot, the shape is ok but not magic.

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Ted the Kiwi said...

JOYRIDER said...

Whats peoples thoughts, as to why more shapers don't do it and to why people are scared to try different things.

I think the reason a lot of the people are reluctant to try things is pretty straight forward as well - cost. Some people do not have the dollars to have a large quiver of boards or can not afford to make a rash decision that they will despise and it will cost them to change boards if it doesn't work out. I know when I brought my Sweet Potato I was extremely nervous / worried that I was wasting my cashola....I thought I had after a week - then one day I finally got it working. Several of my mates who laughed at it when they saw now own them - so exposure to the product once more plays a big role in peoples decision making process I reckon. And it also comes down to the person selling the boards in the store....it cracks me up when I go into look at a board or two as I am killing time or looking at an idea off something else and a young bloke will tell me that that board is perfect for me....where as I know full well it does not have enough volume for me. Some people in the shops are very cluey and you would like to trust them but lets not forget that they are sales-people at the end of the day. There are lots of good shops and people out there do no get me wrong....but from my experience there are a lot more that are not!

i beg to differ, after working in the surf industry and both retailer and wholesaler i think its the other way around.
people buy boards (standard short boards) when really they should be riding a more hybrid board, that better suits there level, style and local conditions.

I have a standard locally made short board 5"11X19 single concave thru.
It gets ridden once a year when its big, offshore and clean.

I also have two hybrids, the HAYDEN merlot and Merrick BISCUIT and one is used twice a day, everyday.

Its so stupid how the marketing pushes people to buy pro model short boards, when we should all be on better options.

rant over.

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JOYRIDER said...

Ted the Kiwi said...

JOYRIDER said...

Whats peoples thoughts, as to why more shapers don't do it and to why people are scared to try different things.

I think the reason a lot of the people are reluctant to try things is pretty straight forward as well - cost. Some people do not have the dollars to have a large quiver of boards or can not afford to make a rash decision that they will despise and it will cost them to change boards if it doesn't work out. I know when I brought my Sweet Potato I was extremely nervous / worried that I was wasting my cashola....I thought I had after a week - then one day I finally got it working. Several of my mates who laughed at it when they saw now own them - so exposure to the product once more plays a big role in peoples decision making process I reckon. And it also comes down to the person selling the boards in the store....it cracks me up when I go into look at a board or two as I am killing time or looking at an idea off something else and a young bloke will tell me that that board is perfect for me....where as I know full well it does not have enough volume for me. Some people in the shops are very cluey and you would like to trust them but lets not forget that they are sales-people at the end of the day. There are lots of good shops and people out there do no get me wrong....but from my experience there are a lot more that are not!

i beg to differ, after working in the surf industry and both retailer and wholesaler i think its the other way around.
people buy boards (standard short boards) when really they should be riding a more hybrid board, that better suits there level, style and local conditions.

I have a standard locally made short board 5"11X19 single concave thru.
It gets ridden once a year when its big, offshore and clean.

I also have two hybrids, the HAYDEN merlot and Merrick BISCUIT and one is used twice a day, everyday.

Its so stupid how the marketing pushes people to buy pro model short boards, when we should all be on better options.

rant over.

But what is a "standard" shortboard these days? My standard is a 6,2 1/2 x 19 1/4 round tail quad and imo its far from standard.

6X18.5 - 19.

single > double.

normal boring consistant rocker all the way thru.

blah blah blah.

theres so much potential out there and people are sheep.

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JOYRIDER said...
6X18.5 - 19.

single > double.

normal boring consistant rocker all the way thru.

blah blah blah.

theres so much potential out there and people are sheep.

I always thought the standard short board went like this, 6,2 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4 rounded square usually single to double concave or single concave.

With all the new super short boards around the whole standard thing really dosnt come into play anymore.
I think more people should get shapers to shape boards for them before buying off the rack. I made the same mistake myself back in my younger dayz and now know what I need as far as width and volume goes.
Rocker is the thing that most people screw up with, I know I have and I bet there is average punters out there that are struggling due to incorect rockers.

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doggie said...

JOYRIDER said...
6X18.5 - 19.

single > double.

normal boring consistant rocker all the way thru.

blah blah blah.

theres so much potential out there and people are sheep.

I always thought the standard short board went like this, 6,2 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4 rounded square usually single to double concave or single concave.

With all the new super short boards around the whole standard thing really dosnt come into play anymore.
I think more people should get shapers to shape boards for them before buying off the rack. I made the same mistake myself back in my younger dayz and now know what I need as far as width and volume goes.
Rocker is the thing that most people screw up with, I know I have and I bet there is average punters out there that are struggling due to incorect rockers.

+1

Volume, rocker, rails get those right and you pretty well have a good board in my opinion the rest can be less than perfect and it'll still be fine for most people.

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doggie said...

JOYRIDER said...
6X18.5 - 19.

single > double.

normal boring consistant rocker all the way thru.

blah blah blah.

theres so much potential out there and people are sheep.

I always thought the standard short board went like this, 6,2 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4 rounded square usually single to double concave or single concave.

With all the new super short boards around the whole standard thing really dosnt come into play anymore.
I think more people should get shapers to shape boards for them before buying off the rack. I made the same mistake myself back in my younger dayz and now know what I need as far as width and volume goes.
Rocker is the thing that most people screw up with, I know I have and I bet there is average punters out there that are struggling due to incorect rockers.

im the same doggy.

had a 5"11 X 19 and a 6"3 X 18 3/4

im no riding
5"6 X 20.5 (with flat flat rocker and a huge V tail)
5"9 X 19 5/8 (flat middle with swallow)
6"0 X 18.5 single fin with a flat rocker and channeled tail.

all the boards suit my style, and are all so easy to use.

it blows me away how un educated people are.

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JOYRIDER said...

doggie said...

JOYRIDER said...
6X18.5 - 19.

single > double.

normal boring consistant rocker all the way thru.

blah blah blah.

theres so much potential out there and people are sheep.

I always thought the standard short board went like this, 6,2 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4 rounded square usually single to double concave or single concave.

With all the new super short boards around the whole standard thing really dosnt come into play anymore.
I think more people should get shapers to shape boards for them before buying off the rack. I made the same mistake myself back in my younger dayz and now know what I need as far as width and volume goes.
Rocker is the thing that most people screw up with, I know I have and I bet there is average punters out there that are struggling due to incorect rockers.

im the same doggy.

had a 5"11 X 19 and a 6"3 X 18 3/4

im no riding
5"6 X 20.5 (with flat flat rocker and a huge V tail)
5"9 X 19 5/8 (flat middle with swallow)
6"0 X 18.5 single fin with a flat rocker and channeled tail.

all the boards suit my style, and are all so easy to use.

it blows me away how un educated people are.

Why do you worry about what other people ride so much? Most people will ride what feels right for them wheather it's right or wrong it's up to them at the end of the day.

All this talk of funky shapes. Big and small, i say just ride what makes you feel good



Not everyone has the same standards...

Sorry quiet afternoon and was bored...

She scares me!

Standard shortboard for me? 6'6" x 19 1/4" x 2 3/4". But I'm in the juice. In my experience the rest of Oz has nowhere near the juice of the SW.

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thedrip said...
She scares me!

Standard shortboard for me? 6'6" x 19 1/4" x 2 3/4". But I'm in the juice. In my experience the rest of Oz has nowhere near the juice of the SW.

Agreed, so much power down there.

@jbshack... man, that's just bad... so I gave you a red

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GPA said...
@jbshack... man, that's just bad... so I gave you a red

I gave you a green for being open about it...& yeah, bad pic, very bad pic lol

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JOYRIDER said...



i work in the snow industry and reverse sidecut like what myerhoffer and hayden use has been around for ever.

why is such a simple concept and others not being used???

With the fins that close to the edge of the board it would slide out too easy IMO. But I do agree with your later post that a lot of people are riding standard boards when they should be riding Hybrids.

I recently got my first hybrid board and i have had more fun surfing in the last few weeks then i have in years.

ive had a chance to ride the MERLOT now in 1.5ft to over head sucky stuff.

i thought the fin placement might have been a bit skecthy too but it is amazing.

it gives the board two gears.

1 just riding the wall.

2 if you back foot a bit its carves like a dream.

i lent it to my GF's brother over the weekend and he's now going to buy a HAYDEN after being a standard short board guy for years.

funny how a little demo can change your mind.

rode my short, fat and flat board last night.

surf was nothing special... clean little 2ft.

i think i had 5:1 waves on everyone riding a standard shortboard.

Ok, if this swell hits like its supposed to this weekend then yep, a normal shortboard might just work.

but what about the 99% of the time when its small.

it made me laugh to my self, i bet i looked like a nutter. but who cares, i was catching tonnes of waves.