Forums > Windsurfing Wave sailing

Is it time for a fresh take on asymmetric boards?

Reply
Created by ChrisK97 > 9 months ago, 15 Apr 2014
ChrisK97
10 posts
15 Apr 2014 5:32AM
Thumbs Up

Chris Jackson (CJ Surf Designs, Cornwall) talks about some interesting ideas and a fresh look on asymmetric boards and fin set ups, keen to keen what everyone thinks.

http://www.blackprojectfins.com/2014/04/14/is-it-time-for-a-fresh-take-on-asymmetric-boards/













Mastbender
1972 posts
15 Apr 2014 8:15AM
Thumbs Up

No.
Mark Angulo was the only person I knew of still making them for himself (mostly), then he moved to Florida, end of story.
But you have a nice looking 'symmetrical' board there.
Or is that supposed to be an asymmetrical fin setup? A different animal, hard to tell from your pics.

westozwind
WA, 1415 posts
15 Apr 2014 8:30AM
Thumbs Up

Well it's testing time in Maui, and we've done quads and thrusters now, so why the hell not. Bring back the assy I say!
Coming soon to a shop near you. I reckon Starboard will be first.

Dean 424
NSW, 440 posts
15 Apr 2014 2:20PM
Thumbs Up

Interesting, I can see that one of the thruster fins is for going upwind and the other for the wave. Just a matter of changing the outside fins depending on wind direction/break.

Cambodge
VIC, 851 posts
15 Apr 2014 4:20PM
Thumbs Up

All my boards are asymmetrical! On the bottom they're kinda smooth, concavey, channelly, pointy-uppy at the front with fins sticking out towards the rear whereas on the top they're kinda dome-y, rough and have strappy-loopy things sticking out towards the rear.

McSmurfin
85 posts
15 Apr 2014 3:15PM
Thumbs Up

I've been wondering when someone was going to start pushing assy fin setups, kinda makes sense for multifin setups as it's easier to muck around with and you can swap them round for going different directions. Sure Starboard would love to bring assy boards into production - now you need a Lefty and a Righty new board every new year model ;)

@ Al Planet - There's a ridunculous amount of assy surfboards and surfboard fin setups out there, including finless and 2:1 side fin setups and all sorts: www.google.co.nz/search?q=rabbit+foot+surfboard&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=EMtMU_uUIsSLkQXjh4GYAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1421&bih=779#q=assymetric+surfboards&tbm=isch&imgdii=_


Plenty more exploring to be done in the board world :)

whippingboy
WA, 1104 posts
15 Apr 2014 3:17PM
Thumbs Up

Nice looking board,

I'm guessing its for riding left handers.

I had a couple of assymetricals (22 years ago , they used to be the go in Geraldton !!), Polakow killed the assy's off with his Strapper single fins.

Would be interesting to see the new generation riding them, they were awesome for bottom turns on big waves.

I believe there were assymetrical surfboards (Wayne Lynch ?)

Ian K
WA, 4155 posts
15 Apr 2014 4:18PM
Thumbs Up

I've always wondered about speed boards. Once you've gone down the path of asymmetric fins, asymmetric booms, (the sails have always been asymmetric) why stop at the board? Surely a symmetric board is not the ideal if you only plan to sail fast on a starboard tack?

waterpistol
NSW, 125 posts
15 Apr 2014 8:27PM
Thumbs Up

Asymmetrical boards were okay but I guess that the benefits were too subtle to justify mass production. I kinda wish I kept mine for historical nostalgia.

Bone74
380 posts
15 Apr 2014 6:48PM
Thumbs Up

Still got mine
Paid $150 in geraldton 20 yrs ago
Geoff Hillwood wave scalpel





Carantoc
WA, 7173 posts
15 Apr 2014 9:12PM
Thumbs Up

Asymmetric footstraps as well. That is rad.



I used to sail a thruster as an asymmetric, but by removing one thruster fin completely, so a large rear and a single front thruster on the bottom turn side. I figured tight bottom turns but loose slidey top turns.


The idea came to me one day when I broke a fin and couldn't be arsed to fix it. Unfortunately I can neither crank a bottom turn nor slash a top turn so I didn't really see much difference.


John340
QLD, 3363 posts
16 Apr 2014 8:43AM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote
Mastbender said..

No.
Mark Angulo was the only person I knew of still making them for himself (mostly), then he moved to Florida, end of story.
But you have a nice looking 'symmetrical' board there.
Or is that supposed to be an asymmetrical fin setup? A different animal, hard to tell from your pics.


Its not just the fin set up, if you look at the photos carefully, the centreline to edge width varies from the starboard to port side. The starboard side is significantly narrower from the tail to about halfway up the board. The question is, Does it work?

Al Planet
TAS, 1548 posts
16 Apr 2014 11:17AM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote
McSmurfin said..

I've been wondering when someone was going to start pushing assy fin setups, kinda makes sense for multifin setups as it's easier to muck around with and you can swap them round for going different directions. Sure Starboard would love to bring assy boards into production - now you need a Lefty and a Righty new board every new year model ;)

@ Al Planet - There's a ridunculous amount of assy surfboards and surfboard fin setups out there, including finless and 2:1 side fin setups and all sorts: www.google.co.nz/search?q=rabbit+foot+surfboard&es_sm=91&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=EMtMU_uUIsSLkQXjh4GYAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1421&bih=779#q=assymetric+surfboards&tbm=isch&imgdii=_


Plenty more exploring to be done in the board world :)



OK so maybe the surf industry is not a good example of the utility of asymmetric shapes there is no doubt that they have tried a lot of alternatives including all the finless shapes, a trend I don't expect to see in windsurfing and I don't include Mike Waltz sailing a door as part of a fin free design culture. Ian K mentions speed boards as a more likely area for experimentation, as most speed strips only work on one tack and asymmetric fins are already in production.

I guess nothing should be ruled out, even Nobby Rash riding a board shaped like a nob?

Mastbender
1972 posts
16 Apr 2014 10:53AM
Thumbs Up

Select to expand quote


OK so maybe the surf industry is not a good example of the utility of asymmetric shapes


Hold on, now I have to go back into my personal historical file to show you something.
Here's a couple of my asyms circa 1967, (the left two) see the tail blocks, it depended on what you wanted it for. If you wanted to make your bottom turns more rad, it went one way, if you wanted to make your top turns more rad, it went the other way.
Then the boards started to become shorter, so the asyms faded away. But as you can see, they go way back, and some were swearing by them.
Me? I told myself they were working,,,,,,,,, ehh.





R1DER
WA, 1471 posts
16 Apr 2014 9:35PM
Thumbs Up

Ive got some plans in the pipeline for a big asymetrical quad wave board, moving the centreline fins straps etc will give me a narrow feeling board on my bottom turn side, but I'll have the width of an early planing wide board.

I like what Chris has done www.cjsurf.com/category/home/



Subscribe
Reply

Forums > Windsurfing Wave sailing


"Is it time for a fresh take on asymmetric boards?" started by ChrisK97