New 7-3 Widget...

EPS/Epoxy Widget, 7'3" 15-1/2" x 22-3/4" x 16-1/8"  2-7/8" Blank is 1.7lb EPS from Marko Foam and glassing is by Lucke Glassing in Camarillo, CA.

I'm very excited about this shape. I've been refining this shape for more than five years. My initial design was essentially a 6-8 Fish with a diamond tail instead of a swallow tail. Later I added a double-bump tail to get the board to turn better. Then I moved the wide point back to center. This made them a little more "egg-ish". I made them as short as 6-8 but no longer than about 7-10. Last year I built a 7-2 Widget for Sean that I called the "Zinger", a name I later discovered was used by SD shaper Mike Eaton for one of his shapes. So, back to the Widget name. My design of Sean's board was heavily influenced by some of Rusty's thoughts on "big boy" shortboards. Namely, that width is the big guy's friend. I also incorporated a sloped rail as a way of keeping the rails thin in an otherwise 3"+ thick board. In the year that's past since I built Sean's board I've been on the computer designing, and redesigning a Widget for someone, my size and age. That would be 5-10, 190lbs and 66yr. (I may be short and stocky, but at least I'm old!!)

First, I moved the wide-point back about 2" behind center. This widened the tail and narrowed the nose.

This gives me more planing area and volume in the back half of the board where most of my body weight is located while paddling. It also creates a nice "hip" in the outline which serves as a focal point for turns. While I kept the thickness to 2-7/8", I still utilized a sloped rail to keep those rails nice and thin. 

I kept the low-rocker design I've always used, giving the board both paddling speed and wave speed. 

The bottom contours were modified to include slight belly in the nose to shallow single concave through the middle, and then progressively wider and deeper double concaves through the fin array and out the tail. There is also V in the last third of the tail. Unlike the more common double concaves that end just behind the front fins, these double concaves are not designed to provide lift. There's already plenty of lift generated by the 16-1/8" wide tail. These concaves are stricly for water flow management somewhat akin to the Campbell Bros Bonzer design. 

I like to build the Widgets with a 5-fin configurations as it allows for maximum experimentation with fin sets. You may have noticed the unusual quad fin set I have installed. These are the cutaway keel quads from Shaper's Fins that I mentioned in an earlier post. These low aspect ratio fins will compliment the action of the water-funneling bottom contours in the tail.

I ordered this blank with a 4mm ply Applecore stringer, Knowing that I would be using the color red in the rail scallops, the red-natural-red basswood t-band gives the board an added "customized" look. The glassing schedule was also a deviation from my usual 2-layer deck/one-layer bottom. On this board I chose to use 2, full-length layers of 4oz cloth on the bottom and a staggered, 3-layer deck using all 4oz. One full length layer, one 2/3 length and one 18" length on the tail. The idea was to minimize weight by only putting glass where it was needed. I'm a heavy rear-footed surfer, so there's 3 layers of 4oz where my back foot goes, 2 layers where my front foot goes and one layer where I should never be standing.

I hoping that this board will give me a little more "performance" than my 7-6 Nomad egg. I'll bet a Widget would be just the ticket for more than a few of you out there.

Sean's Zinger...

Zinger 2012

Delivered this beauty to Sean just this morning. The Zinger is the latest iteration of the TPS Widget. "What's a Widget?" you ask? The Widget is a shape I designed as an alternative to the "big fish" shapes that started re-appearing 4-5yr ago. 

7-2 Widget 2008

I used the flat rocker, full outline, and double bump tail of my Mod Fish design, but replaced the swallow-tail with a diamond tail. On the Zinger, I pulled in the nose a tad and added the sloped-deck rail, which allows max volume without a bulbous rail. Other refinements include a shallow single-concave bottom, with double concaves feeding the fin array and a slight amount of "V" starting just in front of the fins running out the tail.

End results is a speedy mid-sized board with high-performance features that can be scaled to the riders size. The dimensions of Sean's board are 7-2 15-3/4x23x17  3-3/8" thick.

Here's Sean and his new Zinger...

Here's what Sean had to say after today's first session:
"Well the waves weren’t perfect, knee to waist, winds picked up as the tide went out. I’m surprised how light the board felt in the water, it did everything I asked. I’ve never covered so much ground in small waves before. I caught everything I looked at, lefts rights, point to the cove. I was ready to go in but a few strokes and I was back out catching another wave, it paddles fast. Stay tuned for some new swell in the santa barbara pointbreaks… thank you!"

Order your new custom Zinger today!!

The Zinger...

After machining

Here's a new shape for the big boys (you know who you are!) I call it the "Zinger" and it was inspired by my conversations with customer Sean, who needed more performance than his 7-10 was offering him. Like all my shapes, I created the design in AKU and sent the PDF to Sean for review. While I hand-shape 90% of my boards, I like to use CNC technology on my more technical EPS foam shapes. The nature of the material makes CNC a better choice. Once we were both satisfied with the shape, I sent the file to Marko Foam, who cut the EPS blank on their CNC machine. Blanks was delivered today.

After finish shaping.

After machining, the blank has the look of corduroy, with grooves left from the cutter head. Sanding and screening leaves the blank ready for glassing.

The Zinger is a hybrid shape with a fairly full outline and flat rocker. The dimensions of this particular model are 7'2" 15-3/4" x 23" x 17"  3-3/8". I used a sloped-rail design to keep the rails thin, and added double-wings in the tail, to reduce tail width. The flatter rocker will help to keep Sean from pushing water while paddling, the full outline will give him maximum planing surface, the sloped-rail will allow him to penetrate the wave face for better hold, and the bump/wing tail will make turning easier. Sean chose the 5-fin set-up for maximum versatility. This board will be glassed with S-glass cloth and epoxy resin for strength and light weight.