Years ago, my first shape was a longboard that was 9'0" x 22" x 2-3/4" thick, It had 3" of tail rocker and 4" NR - Just a fairly typical longboard shape and about what someone would expect for a guys first shape.
I glassed it with 2X4oz deck and a 4oz bottom. It was a 1+2 with a 7" trailing fin and a pair of 3-1/2" front fins .
That board lasted 1 season and I repaired all the heel dents in it at the end of the summer by glassing a deck patch over the back half...
That board out performed any other board I've shaped since... Putting a tail patch on it killed the magic.
Before I started shaping, I did glassing and shapers would tell me that a lightweight glass job can make a mediocre shape outperform a technically perfect shape with a heavier glass job.
I've been trying for 25 yrs to shape and glass a board that I can surf like that first one. That board was flat rail to rail with a slight amount of vee in the tail and I've been trying concaves and rocker increases and different fin placements and even a board that is 1-1/2 ft shorter won't surf as well when I give it a durable glass job.
I had a 2-3/4" thick twinzer fun board that almost did as well.
So I'm about to shape a new board and glass it light, this time.
Here's the question - With the newer blanks having more natural rocker, How much tail rocker is too much?
A lot of the performance expectation that I have boils down to speed in the 2nd half of a cutback. If I can come out of a cutback with as much speed as I had going in, then I have a board that I can do pretty much anything else I want with.
I'm surfing 8' fun boards now in small surf because I'm 65 yrs old and the other guys all have longboards and SUPs so I have to surf a big board to hold my own.
I can get as much as 4" of tail rocker out of the blanks that I have. But would that be too much TR for an 8' board that's glassed light enough to have some flex to it?
I'm looking forward to replies - It's always good to hear from guys who have more experience than I have.
Thanks
