Discussing Roy's surfboard designs.

Paulownia is reported to have the highest strength to weight ratio of any wood in the world. It is also relatively stable.

Air drying of paulownia is preferable, we have tried kiln drying but the results are not as good as via a few years of air drying.

LBCrew you asked about tail volume earlier. It's important to distinguish between the effects of volume and of area.Lift produced via planing area increases as speed increases, whereas displacement lift from immersed volume does not .

Using displacement based lift allows the response from the tail to remain relatively constant over a wide range of speeds. Conversely wide planing tails require a lot more force to move rail to rail as speed increases ( since lift increases by the square with higher speed).

On the Makaha 12-9 which is seen on this thread, planing lift is reintroduced via a half pipe tunnel fin. Due to the shape of this fin the planing lift does not inhibit rail to rail roll, so we have the best of all worlds, a narrow tail for control with efficient low drag planing lift from the tunnel.

Here's some food for thought,the Makaha 12-9 is in the middle:

 

True, but with sufficient effort improvements can be hoped for.

 

Really? I've been called a douche, a mental patient, a drug user, a liar, a scammer, and just about everything else on this thread, I've been told to f off, shut up,and go away and have responded calmly and logically, yet you criticise my behaviour? Tact does not include rolling over and dying.

I'm not a corporation I'm an individual, you see what is there rather than some carefully sanitised BS. It's the real deal.

That is exactly what I've been doing.

Cry me a river...I've been restrained and polite, actually... unlike many others here.

I'm merely responding to the posts with relevant information, that is not starting an argument and in any case there's nothing wrong with argument it is a vital part of communication where there is disagreement.

Yes there is,as follows: Since we are not living in a communist state the price is set by the seller, it is not compulsory to buy,ergo there is no problem. ... and I don't fear communism I simply disapprove of it.


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The thread subject is the designs, not the price.

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The Dragon board 13'9" is listed at 1.3 million.

I'm also a business because I sell surfboard plans, kitsets, blanks, wax, fins, sun block and raw paulownia wood. This business is significant financially.

People are calling me names because they can't think above a certain level, and because it is natural for herd members to do this to those who are eccentric or outside the norm.... especially when those who are outside that box are more intelligent. They try to fill the intelligence gap with abuse, because they are comfortable at that mental level. It doesn't work and never will.

Realise also that the abuse is something I'm quite used to, I only mention it to point out the hypocricy of your position.

I've been answering calmly, logically and honestly. Those who feel that it is necessary to post abuse have a problem, not me. It's par for the course and I take it in my stride just as I have been for the past 25 years.

So, don't bother giving me your unsolicited 'advice' unless you feel like wasting your time, and mine.

That's a matter of opinion, and your opinion on that topic is not universally shared.

To be frank, you don't know what you are seeing.

A ridiculous assertion given that I was one of the first (and am still one of the few) who ran speed tests on my boards, especially considering the remarkable results of those tests.

You also miss the point that on the 'track' over the past 20 years have been every kind of commercially available board in existence, ridden by riders of all abilities. I have not driven around the 'track' in isolation I've pitted my boards against all comers and they have come up trumps.

Furthermore, the analogy begs for the following comparison: the automotive equivalent of conventional longboards would show cars bouncing from one side of the track to the other, their drivers walking over the roof to the boot in order to turn and then up to the bonnet to trim... while a better, faster design of car took more efficient lines through the circuit, the driver using a single control position and economy of physical movement.

The analogy is coming back to bite you!

What they look for is the result of historic design faults ... the antics which are required to overcome these faults have been marketed as iconic. The manufacturer of the more efficiently designed vehicle is happy to use the vehicles himself until such time as the group mindset changes, and considers the experience to be entirely worthwhile even if that mindset never changes.

In short, if he sells them, he's pleased, if not, then he's still pleased.

That's where you are mistaken. The stance predates the Malibu craze, and is used for reasons of efficiency. The performance is far ahead of the other boards in all functional respects.

Yes the board is fast and turns easily. It isn't designed for doing burnouts and doughnuts.... given that you have introduced the motor vehicle analogy I'm surprised that you refuse to see that a board which has better wave making ability and far better ability to turn at speed is an advance over the 'funny cars' which are dominating the market ( but not the waves!)

It isn't a court case,the people exist, I know who they are, and so do many other people.

I ride the boards better than anyone at present, however anyone who wants to partake is welcome.

I remind you that the board toured New Zealand for a year and was ridden by many people, most of whom gave positive reviews.

Predictably you don't want to hear any positive reviews, because the riders are, to you, anonymous.... a bit like you are to me.

That's correct, I do it primarily because I take delight in designing, building and riding surfboards. I've turned down many article and interview requests too.

The enterprise is postmodern and uncompartmentalised in every respect... I just do my thing and 'damn the torpedoes'.





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You obviously haven't read my reply, or have done so with a closed mind. I responded to your car analogy with pertinent points yet you persist in ignoring them and repeating the myth that mainstream longboards are driven by purely functional aims of speed and coherent handling, while mine are not, when that is not the case.

Ego and price have nothing to do with this, we are talking about, (or supposed to be talking about) design and performance. Because that is too difficult for most they tend to lower the discussion to the personal level.

You say that I think that I can never be wrong, that is totally incorrect, all that has happened is that I've been presented with poor arguments which demand counter arguments... this does not entail infallibility or belief in infallibility on my part.

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Clearly that isn't true I've responded in a logical way to nearly every argument which has been presented to me, as my replies to your posts above show.

Once again you resort to ad hominem attacks instead of responding to the subject matter.

.i

 

Ordering me to do X or stfu is arrogant and futile, but if you are interested in following the results of the current tour of the Ghost 13 in California I'l post updates or you can follow it on Jam longboarding or surfermag. The itinerary is being left mostly in the capable hands of those interested in the board, currently she's heading North to spend time with Dale Webster. I can't promise video, as it is a community event and it's up to the individual rider.

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