I'm thinking about ordering a custom Dead Sled from Chris Christenson, and I'm going back and forth between a 9'9" and 9'8" to the point of absurdity. It's a one inch difference, I know. But it'll be my only custom noserider, and I hope to have it for a long time. I have a 10' heavy-glassed log & a lighter 9'8". The 10' is great for small, mushy days. The 9'8 works nicely up to shoulder-high. I'm 190-195 lbs, 6'3". Anyone ridden one of these or have any advice on length. The Christenson team recommended 9'8"-10'. Ridiculous question, but your two cents are appreciated if you have a few noseriders or have ridden a Dead Sled. Thankya.
If either custom board is coming out of the same blank, it' won't matter. But if it means buying a bigger blank for the longer board, it means a LOT, both in terms of cost and in the integrity of the foam once shaped.
Is 9'8-9'9" a "cusp" length for most blanks? I've not done any shaping myself, so I have little knowledge on blank sizes. Thanks.
You are right, it is a ridiculous question. Just get the 9'8" and quit worrying about splitting hairs. Besides, how many tanker noseriders does anybody need? One is plenty. Especially hipster $1200 CNC milled ones. Better yet, get a $495 china poput and use the remainder to buy a ticket to Puerto Rico! Could practice your noseriding technique at Wilderness. You won't sweat dings, will never fear letting anyone borrow it and can crash into people to your hearts delight. No board bag! Don't forget it's the indian not the arrow.
Never ridden one but I'd go 9'8. I'd actually go smaller then that but me and you are two different sized people so that's irrelevant. A 9'8 is a big board even for a longboard for a guy your size, atleast in my opinion. Your 9'8 you have now works well up to shoulder high, and I'm sure it works just fine in the smaller stuff. So I'd go with the size that's going to be more versatile.
You can eek a 9'8 out of a 9'9 blank, but a 9'9 means you gotta go with a 10'2 blank, minimum. Then you have to consider blank thickness, and how much foam you have to take down to get to the desired thickness. Then you have to consider rocker, and how much you want to shape in, versus just going with the natural rocker of the blank. Your shaper should be able to help you with this...
^ +1 for Da Crew... go 9.6. Lots of classic noseriders were all 9.6. Then you don't have to do as much "eeking" using the shorter blank. And it will balance out the quiver with the 10'.
There are many aspects of a nose riding LB that come into play well before the length of the board does. Nose rocker, nose concave, tail rocker/tail kick, width, type of rails... all heavy factors in board design. Deciding over an inch in your length is a massive waste of time. I recommend a 9'6" x 23" wide. Flat nose rocker, large tail kick, 50/50 rails, deep nose concave, wide nose, square tail, big single fin. The extreme length of your board will actually work against you when your on the nose. think of your board like a wrench, with the tail locked into the wave being the wrench on the bolt. what will be easier to turn that bolt? a long wrench with tons of leverage, or a short wrench? the long wrench. So when your perched up there, almost 10 feet away from the tail that is locked into the wave and holding the board from flipping over, you want to minimize the leverage your weight has on the nose. not increase it. That's why most nose riders are 9'6" and under.
They are the pros, let them decide the final dimensions. Then when you get it u get a surprise. Christensons are nice. I follow him on the instagram. I'm 5'9 155-160 and i have a 9'7 noserider.
Measure it along the bottom... you'll have a 9'9 Tip-to-tip on the deck side... a 9'8 Problem solved.
All commentary appreciated. I'm definitely aware that width, rocker, thickness & fin are very significant factors. I'm not quite that green. They suggested 9'8"-10, 22 7/8, 2 7/8, and the Dead Sleds all have a pretty good tail kick with minimal nose rocker. I'm leaning 9'6" to 9'8". Good point that one tank is enough. It's the truth.
no wax on and none off grasshopper asks unanswerable questions. we must temper our knowledge w/humility.
Don't be swayed by those here telling you to go down to 9'6". I'm 5'9" x 140" and I ride a 9'6" x 22 3/4" x 2 15/16". You should go much bigger since you are so tall / heavier. I would even lean towards the longer end of the scale since I feel that christensons are pretty thinned out and he likes riding 11' plus boards himself- meaning he favors length and that will trickle down to all his designs. For instance, I feel his fish isn't the best design because he is a 'length' shaper and he simply can't make a drivey board that is short. Plus- his whole team is skinny hipsters, and they ride 9'7"s If I were you I would go 9'10"-10'1" like they said, but wider and thicker like 23"-23 1/2" x 3 3/16"
Fins, I gotta disagree with you on your physics but I'd be happy to be proven wrong. IMO, the length will definitely help a noserider. I think the others are right that most boards are <9'6" because it's more economical to make them that way. A lever needs a fulcrom to function. If the OP is 195lbs and we can assume that the fulcrom will be the water behind his back foot (or somewhere close) so he will be on the short end of the lever when on the nose allowing the long end to be covered up with more water. This will let the force applied to the back of the board be equal or greater than the riders weight allowing for a noseride. The reason a noserider should have a big fin is to stop the tail from sliding down the face and allowing the wave to break on top of the board putting down more force on the tail and lifting the guy on the nose. Just my thoughts, there aren't any letters after my name.
I'm no noserider, but I would think that board width, board weight, rocker flow, foil flow, concaves, rail characteristics, fin details and probably some things I'm forgetting would all make more impact on how a board noserides than the four inch difference in length between a 9'4" and a 9'8". So much so that a capable shaper could make a 150 pound or a 190 pound customer a perfectly good noserider in any length in that range, and a little ways outside that range as well.
