About 25 years ago I spent two seasons in glorious WA, learning to wave sail. I remember seeing a couple boards designed just to wobble out and surf in. To the best of my recollection they were like thick minimals and called pig boards?

Can anyone fill me in on these boards?
Are they still being used?
Any pics?

I'm a little 110kg chap. Float and ride on my 115 Simmer Quantum is hard work, and a lot of waves are lost. I'm considering of asking a local shaper to build me a 125ltr float and ride board, hence the info gathering.

I've had many many large wave board, and the 115 is the best of the them, but I feel it is maxing out what can be used on decent waves.

My theory is that a large board could be made to work in decent down the line wanes, if the need to get it planing was disregarded.
And yes, I know loosing 15kg is the best solution to this, and I am trying (5kg down this year). But, baring liposuction, it's not going to quick.
All help greatly appreciated.

First off - nice one in the 5kg loss!!

second of all I think the Starboard / Severne Nuevo goes up to 120 litres. It was a sick board for float and ride and the exception to the general belief that twins are loose and hard to control. Would be worth trying one of those or speaking to James hooper (who designed it and be is on this forum i think) and getting him to make you a custom version.

Good suggestion Rurry.
I think I need more volume, and perhaps don't need to plane.

Severne Dyno goes up to 125L

OES does bigger wave boards.

You could also look at a performance WindSUP like a Smik Mongrel.

I'm doing something similar with an old 122 Kombat. Just finished moving the fin box forward 3cm and thinking about thrusters.

Thanks for the suggestions, being in Cape Town, new board are hard to come by.
I'm specifically wanting to learn about these non planing windsurf boards. Enough volume to wobble out, and then optimised to slash waves in the way in. Their wave riding ability would be compromised by also need to plane early, like the majority of big wave boards.

Didn't realize you weren't in Australia, hence the Smik recommendation.

Why not look for a Hypernut? Sure it's a WindSUP but they have strap positions for waveriding.

This topic is particularly interesting for me since the best wave spots around tend to be sub-planing and my balance is pretty poor so float and ride on my +10L board isn't easy.

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Grantmac said..
Didn't realize you weren't in Australia, hence the Smik recommendation.

Why not look for a Hypernut? Sure it's a WindSUP but they have strap positions for waveriding.

I should I have put that in the original post. Can't find a smik dealer here. Also, local customs are usually cheaper than a new board here.

I think you don't have to disregard planing ability.
Some big waveboards are too wide and thus slow to plane, but awesome for float n ride due to the width stability, so if you like that then go 66-67 wide.
But you can use a conventional wave rocker, 64ish wide and pulled in tail, and achieve 125L no problems. Still have a decent planing rockerline

Why assumption that a big waveboard that has a normal wave rockerline to be able to plane, sacrifices wave riding ability?

Theres a guy up the coast in landsbourogh called Pete, wind and surf, he shapes boards and they look really nice. He's really good at larger wave boards.

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Mark _australia said..
I think you don't have to disregard planing ability.
Some big waveboards are too wide and thus slow to plane, but awesome for float n ride due to the width stability, so if you like that then go 66-67 wide.
But you can use a conventional wave rocker, 64ish wide and pulled in tail, and achieve 125L no problems. Still have a decent planing rockerline

Why assumption that a big waveboard that has a normal wave rockerline to be able to plane, sacrifices wave riding ability?

Ditto ..... you need a fast'ish wave rocker for lighter conditions - the speed will generate the looseness .... otherwise you will be pumping yr arse off on a 'slogging' banana rocker on every wave - especially if its sideshore .... bit of side off - fraction less important to have a fast rocker , but speed is still your friend catching , maintaining bottom turn speed , more speed into faster topturns etc etc ... In todays rearward stances , chopped tails , thruster set-ups etc you can run faster rockers and waveride them off the tail more ... and get away with faster rockers ...

Im NOT advocating FSW / Freewave rockers - like goya one etc , you definately want a fraction looser than that .... say halfway between freewave and full on higher wind sideshore wave rocker ...

What conditions exactly you want it for Hms ? ... what spots particularly ? ...

Yep, I love my 118L Goya quad for float and ride. I have had ome of my longest down the line waves here on the SW coast of vic.Usually the Cross off winds here are super gusty. I mean really ON...... and then OFF!
No probs with a 118L and a 4.7m
Sure, it requires more effort to turn, but I would never be able to get out there on a board of less volume.

Goya 114 is a great float and ride board. You should also try sailing a SUP, they can be the ultimate float and ride and give you a really fun, enjoyable time. Also, you'll find it improves your overall wave sailing as you can focus on hand/boom placement, timing, leaning forward while not worrying about keeping your balance on the pure wave boards in marginal wind days.

You'll be amazed at how much fun it is!

DC

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. They've given me a lot of food for thought, hence the slow response.

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Mark _australia said..
I think you don't have to disregard planing ability.
Some big waveboards are too wide and thus slow to plane, but awesome for float n ride due to the width stability, so if you like that then go 66-67 wide.
But you can use a conventional wave rocker, 64ish wide and pulled in tail, and achieve 125L no problems. Still have a decent planing rockerline

Thanks Mark, wave catching ability I hadn't thought about this enough.
If I don't catch the wave, I can't ride it!
I do want to be able to get the swell early, and I'm sure I would struggle on a very rockered board, even if quite wide.
In my minds eye, I imagined getting on the wave as they start to steepen up, but that is too late often, now that I think about.

I don't understand "too wide and thus slow to plane" all things being equal, I assumed a wider board would plane earlier?

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Mark _australia said..
Why assumption that a big waveboard that has a normal wave rockerline to be able to plane, sacrifices wave riding ability?

I was trying to think outside the box, surfboards can be fast and turn tight (but not with me on them), so I thought that might work for windsurf board in sub-planing winds.

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seabreezer said..

Ditto ..... you need a fast'ish wave rocker for lighter conditions - the speed will generate the looseness .... otherwise you will be pumping yr arse off on a 'slogging' banana rocker on every wave - especially if its sideshore .... bit of side off - fraction less important to have a fast rocker , but speed is still your friend catching , maintaining bottom turn speed , more speed into faster topturns etc etc ... In todays rearward stances , chopped tails , thruster set-ups etc you can run faster rockers and waveride them off the tail more ... and get away with faster rockers ...

Im NOT advocating FSW / Freewave rockers - like goya one etc , you definately want a fraction looser than that .... say halfway between freewave and full on higher wind sideshore wave rocker ...

What conditions exactly you want it for Hms ? ... what spots particularly ? ...

Thanks seabreezer, all that got me thinking more, you and Mark are completely correct.

I'm currently in Cape Town, but from the UK. I think I'll be spending a goodly amount of time here over the next few years. Conditions here are cross to cross off and plenty of wind in season, but out of season there are quite few nice float and ride days, and the wind is generally more wafty.

I struggle because my board is 5% more litres than my bodyweight, where most chaps have 10-15% more in these conditions. Add to this the handicap of larger rig and wet wetsuit, and lack of skilz..

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hmsgeoff said..

I struggle because my board is 5% more litres than my bodyweight, where most chaps have 10-15% more in these conditions. Add to this the handicap of larger rig and wet wetsuit, and lack of skilz..

I recently sailed in a wave sailing contest in Puerto Rico. The day of the contest the wind was disappointingly light, ~16 knots whereas the 2 days before were both ~25 knots. The winner and the second place finisher both weighed around 60-65 kg. The winner was sailing an 87 L board and the second place finisher was sailing an 83 L board. Both were using 4.7 sails. Those guys were shredding despite the boards being 30% above their body weight in kg.

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hmsgeoff said..

I don't understand "too wide and thus slow to plane" all things being equal, I assumed a wider board would plane earlier?

Not with wave boards. They have a lot of rocker compared to a slalom/freeride of course, so when sitting low in the water that nose rocker is pushing a lot of water. For a while I would not see it, even after a board shaping legend pointed it out to me lol but I now think its true. I have found a number of 110L wave boards to be way earlier planing than the 118/116 Goya.
It just makes sense to me now.
So in my mind, the cutoff point for big wave boards is 64 wide (and you can achieve 120L in that)

Caveat- big guys perspective, where we want some planing ability as the 'big' board is our go-to board. But for pure float and ride wider can be better.

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philn said..

hmsgeoff said..

I struggle because my board is 5% more litres than my bodyweight, where most chaps have 10-15% more in these conditions. Add to this the handicap of larger rig and wet wetsuit, and lack of skilz..

I recently sailed in a wave sailing contest in Puerto Rico. The day of the contest the wind was disappointingly light, ~16 knots whereas the 2 days before were both ~25 knots. The winner and the second place finisher both weighed around 60-65 kg. The winner was sailing an 87 L board and the second place finisher was sailing an 83 L board. Both were using 4.7 sails. Those guys were shredding despite the boards being 30% above their body weight in kg.

hi Philn , what spot in PR ? shacks ? , Ive done a bit of sailing there various spots .... was impressed ...

Throwing around big boards is a technique thing ... and if you find the right shape/s ... they can be ruthlessly effective ... Ive always hated sup style windsurfing ... but on a waveboard 25 ltrs over my weight - I can still do all the moves on it that smaller boards do (in fact Ive landed 2 of the hardest windsurf moves on 100ltr + boards - that Ive struggled on smaller boards ) ... And it gets me out when kitesurfers cant stay upwind / compete .... and if the wind is threatening to flick offshore and drop - its a great pick to get out there and then GET BACK IN ... without endless swimming .... I really don't understand the whole 'big board too stiff ' angle with todays multifins ... boards have come along way the last decade ...

The contest was held at a spot called Mauizapa about 45 minutes east of San Juan. The contest was the only time I've sailed it, but I really enjoyed the spot so I'll definitely sail it again next time I go to Puerto Rico.

Shacks is my least favorite spot on the island. Reef has grown too shallow so it's best sailed only at high tide now. Plus the swell needs to have a northerly direction and a decent period to work. The lack of a channel is a real pain when the waves have size. I've broken more gear there than I have on Maui. On that side of the island Surfers Beach is more fun, but needs some north in the direction otherwise the cliffs shut off the wind. I would like to try sail Wilderness but the launch and landing are beyond sketchy.
In San Juan, Punta Las Marias is really fun. Never sailed Caballos. It looks like a wave that deserves mega respect.