I decided to put a mild belly in the front two feet, the middle becomes dead flat, there is a mild single concave for about the rear two feet. Its waxed up and in the car for the morning break in sesh.
Just got back from 2 hours in knee-waist high mushy lined up conditions. The board did everything i hoped for...paddled in easy, made instant speed on small flat-faced waves, slid right through fat small sections. From the few real cutbacks i tried, i could tell it has to be nursed a bit. It was way easier to ride than i expected. Based on one sesh...a real keeper for certain kinds of waves.
That's exactly the characteristics of my flatter mini-sim. I see you used Sea Shepards. With boxes being that far back, try using FT1s for some added release in those conditions.
The idea: Lord, Lindsay. 1963. Naval architecture of planing hulls. Cambridge, Md: Cornell Maritime Press. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/760643 The short of it: -- While increasing speeds require the displacement hull to become progressively narrower, the planing hull moving at high speed requires the widest possible beam. (From the first part of Ch. 2, Aspect Ratios, see pp. 11-16.) -- To simplify still further, the displacement hull can improve its speed only with added length; the planing hull requires added beam. (see pp. 12-13.) -- "The first step toward such standardization of beam-length relationship must, of course, be an acceptable method of measurement which can he applied to all planing hulls with equal success. Such a measurement of the beam-length ratio is shown in Figure 4." (see p. 13 and also see figure 4 below from p. 12.)
roundtube... nice references... great resource. Surfboard designers have known about increased width and subsequent increase in speed for a long time. The trick is introducing bottom contours, rail edges, rocker, and fin specifications that keep the board controlable and maneuverable. Put together correctly, the result is a LOT of fun!
just recieved my mini simmons from Spirare Surfboards. It's 6'x23''x3''. Kevin Cunningham is a great guy to work with. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to use it yet due to work/school.
They perform great if you know how to ride them. Not for someone who is used to a board requiring constant input to keep it going. These are more like riding a small longboard in the sense that it's all about trim and glide with minimal hacking , hoping and bouncing. Ride them like that and you will love it, put your foot on tail and attempt to drive from there and you will be bummed. I love the look of these boards not sure what is ugly about them.
I'm guessing you just skipped to the end if the thread, huh Zippy? My last post was sarcasm. I've got a couple of them. As far as glide & trim, it depends on how it's set up. My first one is fast & loose. With the slightly curved outline, big concave & twinzer setup, it's way more performance than glide. It ripped on overhead waves in Ecuador! This isn't my board, but an example of the performance that can be built into these board (there's plenty more vids on youtube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_UxlKHD3x8 My second mini-sim is set up for weak, knee-high surf with the added weight of a winter wetsuit. Under 3" of entry rocker & zero tail rocker. No concave, straight rail outline & a touch of belly in the front. That one is about glide & trim. If the waves aren't lined up or I go above waist-high, it starts to pearl too much. I'm interested to see if that tendency goes away on a bigger wave (say..shoulder or above). I'm hoping it all stays a secret, though, so they're butt ugly & don't work...okay?.