sizing a mini simms

Talk to mgarbutt about having one shaped! He's great at what he does...

 

where are you guys sourcing your blanks for mini-simms?

 

dude. dont get it shaped. just shape it yourself. Probably one of the easiest shapes ever done. You can even use block foam instead of a blank.

 

Yep..second that. I shaped mine out of block foam. never bother putting in a stringer either.

If you are anywhere near ocean city maryland, there is a place in west OC called coastal surf supplies that had at least 50-75 blanks in stock when i stopped by the other day. The short, wide Marko Foam egg blanks that would be ideal for a Mini Simmons were about $70/ea. Thinking about making a couple myself when this spring.

 

Take some time to go through the blog page supporting the Simmons exhibit at, Loft 9 Gallery / Hydrodynamica, at
http://loft9gallery.wordpress.com/. Especially when you get down to the "bar of soap" section. Contrast those boards to the original design Simmons long boards. Altogether this can be a guide to where you are headed with a Mini Simmons design. The guys at the Surfy Surfy surf shop might answer some of your questions if you give them a phone call.

 

mitchel is spot on. that board flies

 

ordered a 4'11x22x2 5/8, i'm 5'8 and weigh 150. its supposed to be really small thats why its called a mini simmons

 

the size strongly depends on your ability as well.
Telling someone who is a beginner to intermediate to by a 4'10 is setting them up for a world of frustration and disappointment.
Let's face it there aren't alot of Dane Renolyds in the mid atlantic.

 

I have a "super groveler" inspired by the full nose, straight rail, super wide tail of a Mini Sims.
I am 5'-8" 160 lbs and found my typcial board (round nose fish, stubby shortboard , etc) works best for me at around 26.5 L in volume.
I ride a winter shortboard at about 28 l in volume based on the 20lbs of additional weight once wet.

But I have a super groveler I ride in anything thigh high and under that catches small waves really early, carries tons of speed, but still manuevers well. I find that the MIni Simms gets into waves early due to volume and since its so short can turn ok, but it doesnt respond as quickly to rider input as some other designs.

This is my super grovel board.
Its 5'6 x 22 x 2-3/8 EPS/Epoxy . Love it, gets on waves super early, tons of speed and turns so quick. rail to rail is great.

slop rod by jblacks, on Flickr

Lots of great new alt shapes for small surf. Stretch has some sick new boards!!!!

 

i dont understand the squash tail for that board if it is made for speed it should have a fish tail no? defintely looks superfun either though since it is so fat and wide.

 

Swallow tail is more for release than speed.
If swallow tail was faster than a squash tail, every high performance board would have a swallow for that "added speed"

 

tails are mostly designed for release/looseness/responsiveness, not speed.
because thats board is fat and wide the squash (thats almost a square) give the board more responsiveness in out and of turns, which is needed because it's fat and wide. a swallow work work as well, but the squash is better for that board.

 

I think swallow tails add control by allowing a wider board to have reduced tail area ... having the twin pin tails hanging back in the wave face, or at least one tip in the face on a steep wave with your rail set going down the line gives control points, like a pin tail. I don't think they are really about speed at all.

The wide square tail of the mini simmons is definately the fastest tail shape I have ridden. When that wide plank of a tail gets up on a plane, you feel a gear kick in that doesn't seem to exist on most boards in soft waves.

 

My first board i built was a mini simmons 5 4 x 22 x 3 1/4. I have twin giant keel fins with about a inch of cant built into it.

The "S DECK" design didn't come out like i wanted it to and there is more rocker then i wanted it to be.

Main Problem obviously is way to thick. But it still serves its purpose for high tide breaks, under waist conditions.
It will catch any wave i want.

My next Mini Simmons im going to modify. Im thinking 5'2 x 2 1/2 x 21 with DEEP double concave and a pin tail.
Fin set up will be for quad and add a longboard fin box for maybe a 6 inch single fin.

 

semi-hull entry into near flat rocker with a single high-aspect ratio Greenough fin makes these boards magic.

 

yea im 5'11 and weigh 165 and ride a 5'2. your set with that size, my board works sick for me.