I've been riding a flat bottom, low-rocker 6'9 x 21.5 x 2.75" single-fin, 44L egg on the small summer NJ waves. Gdaddy helped me with the design and it's been a joy to ride in clean 1-3' sessions. I recently took it out in a few of the storms where longer period 4-5' waves traveled faster. I felt like I I had to be in the exact right place to catch, otherwise they just rolled on by as I paddled. When I did catch it felt to stiff. The tail of this egg is round so that holds me back on faster turns. I also have a feeling that a different fin choice and sliding that up a bit could help. OR perhaps I'm just not be strong enough or have enough experience positioning myself out there yet. Either way, I ended up swapping it out for my 8'2 which gave me more margin, so I caught more. But of course with that much length, it turns much more slowly and I just dont enjoy riding longboards anymore. On top of that, fall is approaching so the wetsuits will start coming out in a while, bringing my body weight from 155 to 165. I should add that the 44L feels just a bit corky too, so ~44L might be fine with a wetsuit.
With that., I want my next build to be tailored for fall/winter where the swell gets bigger. Using the 6'9 egg as a reference, Im thinking of (1) adding 4" of length. This adds volume and planing area for a bump in paddle power. (2) rounded pin-tail to help it turn in quicker. I stopped at a local shop this weekend and looked at Gerry Lopez Lil'Darlin. It's the shape I had in mind, but it feels too aggressive, maybe something between that and an egg? The other questions Im still working out are rail type and nose width. Harder rails paddle/plane faster, but I dont want it so hard that it becomes stiff. A sharper nose gives more room on the face of the wave, but it also reduces the planing ability because the front profile of the board is less of a straight line. Any thoughts on this?
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