Might be old news to some, but I just found this... http://swellnet.com/news/depth-test/2016/05/16/banana-slater-designs-review-sorts Relevant or ridiculous?
I like the thought of effortless turns...in steep, glassy, barreling surf. Especially when your coming out of bottom turn (steep fast drops ) and you throw it up into the pocket to get slotted. Have you tried to shape one LB?
Without knowing exactly what the rocker numbers are, I can't say... but probably not. I am a big believer in continuous rockers (Weber calls them "blended") in boards for good surf, though, and I've been doing it for years with great success. But I think he's talking about some really, super rockered out boards, though... probably too much rocker for me to paddle effectively unless I increased length beyond what I'd typically ride. But the theory makes sense to me, and I've found some applications for it that does work... again, in boards designed for good, barreling surf.
Interesting point about the paddling. What do you think about increasing rocker and a wider shoulder together? This is one thing I focused on with my custom for Indo ...I wanted to make sure I had a good board for barrels and could paddle it well. I'm not as strong of a paddler compared to a decade ago ( shoulder)!
Interesting read and relevant! We just need some waves to try one out on lol I agree about the paddling aspect- that would be the bummer for me, I like boards that paddle effortlessly - then you know.. You can do the two paddle drop in
I've never been to Indo, so I can't really say what works and doesn't work in those kinds of waves. But here's what I've come to understand about shortboards: Since you're board's not planing when paddling, things like bottom contours, rail profile, tail rocker... don't matter. The drag you're concerned with while paddling is related to form drag... which is particularly affected by rocker, nose width, foil (thickness flow), and volume. Obviously, more rocker... especially entry rocker... and especially combined with a wider nose... creates a lot of drag while paddling. Combining that with foil will determine where you lay on the board when paddling... if the balance of the foil puts more foam/volume forward, you will have to move forward on the board to paddle most effectively. Moving forward pushes the nose further down into the water and the tail up. The reverse is true with the foil balance more aft. When you combine these 3 or 4 elements... entry rocker, nose width, and foil/volume... they dramatically effect how much form drag the board creates when moving through the water at paddling speed. So the easiest board to paddle is one with low entry rocker, and a balanced foil and volume distribution... thick point and wide point around the middle of the board, and a nose as wide as the tail. But that's not what works best in fast, curvy, barreling waves. Performance shortboards that work best in barreling waves have lots of rocker, a narrower nose, an overall thinner foil/lower volume (more related to increased flex than actual volume/float), and the balance of foam slightly aft of center (has more to do with getting the bottom contours to do their magic). So... each individual has to come with some compromise of those design elements to match their individual needs, understanding that enhancing any one of them necessarily compromises some aspect of performance.
I still think the design is relevant if you have the opportunity to reguarly ride waves with a lot of power. Otherwise, they take up rack space imho. Closest board I've had comparably was a CI Proton. In a curvy face the board was unreal...the flatter the wave became though (as indicated above) the less I liked it. Kept it for two winters and hardly rode it through the late spring/summer. But when it was on...such a solid board. Pics below should illustrate LB's comments...
This is so hard to do. You want and can to ride like you're 20. But you have to realize that you paddle like you're 40.
I had a Lost F1 for a little while, that thing slid into steep waves like a hot knife through butter.
Totally makes sense. I don't feel my board had "drag" while paddling but my turns on smaller, softer waves or towards the end as they "shouldered" out towards channel, felt a bit stiff. Naturally speaks to your point ( I think). It"s actually sort of liberating when you surf boards with low/little rocker all the time then ride one with some rocker. Slater's turns do not seem as fluid in that vid. Thanks for breaking it down LB!
One of the biggest complaints during the period of popularity for those boards were the slidey, powerless surfing that was being done by the young 130 pound Banty roosters who were surfing these over-rockered potato chips on the pro circuit. Ke11y was at the forefront of this movement, but as we all know by now, that freak could ride a hand plane at Teahupoo...so he don't count. A lot of the surfing mainstream followed suit and quickly found out how difficult they were to surf in normal average surf. The boards fast fell out of favor and were replaced by the renaissance of the Fish and other flatter, fuller boards. Maybe the boards will perform better with those modern tweaks? Guess we'll find out.
My biggest complaint was how easily they snapped. You can't design a board better to snap... thin, highly rockered, and lightly glassed. So maybe the construction is better this time around too.
