Surfboards by Diverse

Volume and You

Last modified on 2012-03-22 11:58:08 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

SURFBOARD VOLUME

If you are regular DIVERSE Customer you would have come across a volume measurement on your boards or heard us talk about it before, or you have been browsing our models and noticed the Litre figure after the reccomended board dimensions. I would like to explain some more about it, to help you get a good understanding of how i arrive at the measurement, what it means to you and how to use it to your advantage when choosing a new board.

HOW DO YOU WORK OUT THE VOLUME?
The volume calculation/measurment comes from our shaping software. As i Design the board the software calculates the surface area and the displacement volume. It cannot be worked out as a sum of length x width x thickness = volume. As you can see in the illustrations of boards below many shaped boards with differing volumes can come from the same dimensions.

HOW DOES THE VOLUME AFFECT FLOATATION?
It is important to note that different board contruction methods with give you a different floatation. For example a Dynocore Epoxy board with a Core Fusion Blank can have 10-15% more floatation with the same volume and displacement. So as you read this information please understand it is a general guide for the traditional PU style surfboards we make and you see everyone riding day to day here.

WHAT IS THE BEST VOLUME FOR ME?
Ahh, How long is that mythical piece of string? Ok i will tell you what i have discovered over the last few years. i took the time to find out the weights of my pro riders & advanced surfers that i make boards for, then went thru all the boards they were having the most success with & collected the volume data… i came up with a calculation of .35 litres volume per kilo of body weight. Eg: 100kg = 35litres. So grab your bathroom scales type in your weight on a calculator and times it by .35 = your answer! Now you can test yourself and see what is the ideal volume for a PRO SURFER riding a high performance shortboard in everyday to good conditons is. Now is the time to start thinking of what your skill level is… Unless your at the peak of surfing, just maybe you will need a little more volume than that answer you just calculated!

HOW MUCH DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
If you can see the pics below of the 6’2″ std construction PU Sprint shortboard, you can start to see the effects on your boards design. all 3 boards have the same pencil dimensions on the shape but quite different volume, floatation & most importantly performance characteristics. Regularly at our shop in Tugun we have people come in who have put on a few kilos (most of us do at some stage..) These surfers will want to go up an inch in length. Did you realize that going up longer by 1″ on a 6’2″x18 1/2″x 2 1/4″=25.9l short board you will increase the volume by 300-400ml. Thats can of coke or a stubby of beer..! Yet if you go thicker by 1/8″ the volume jumps up approximately 1.2-1.5 litres. Going wider by 1/4″ will give you a 700-800ml increase in volume.
Here is some more cool information. That 6’2″x 18 1/2″x 2 1/4″ shortboard we have been using as an example with 25.9 litres floatation is very close to the same volume as a Magic mullet fish 5’6″x 19 1/4″x 2 5/16″ =25.7litres or a Twin fin at 5’0″x 19 1/2″x 5 5/16″= 25.9litres…. Then Look a mini Simmons at 4’6 x 21″x 2 1/2″=27.4 litres… thought about riding a 4’6 lately? you see that old 6’8 x 18 1/2 x 2 3/8 semi gun on the used rack at the local surfshop?  its about 6 years old, hardly been used but pretty brown.. it only about 26.5 litres too!

Which board is too small for you?

Low Volume, with narrow Outline, thin Nose, Tail and Low rails. Suits good waves. Like punchy beach breaks and Indo style reef where paddling is not a major concern

Standard Volume, medium Rails, Std Outline & everyday Rocker. This is what our Pro’s choose to ride. Best choice for all round everyday high performance surfing

High Volume, wide Outline, full Rail with Thicker nose & Tail. Paddles like a canoe. For Beginner & average Surfers in fat slow average surf…

Ok Time to Check a few boards out in the Dynocore Store to see what volumes are in stock today..

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Shape Design process

Last modified on 2012-01-02 10:45:03 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Using Computers to design Surfboards….
I started shaping surfboards in a Glassing Factory i worked at. I went on with hand shaped custom boards for about 12 years; An invaluable and exciting learning process of hard work and Dusty lungs. Over time the ‘hands on’ approach of handshaping thousands of boards teaches your mind to imagine different waves and to mesh the vast array of surfboard designs to a wide variety of different surfers’ styles. Your hands learn to create a specific shape that is going to become the synergy between wave and surfer. Hand shaping allowed me to develop the style and character of my boards.
Over time you begin to find certain designs that work like a dream; the ‘magic boards’ I like to call them. We have all had them; those ones that just go insane…fast when it’s small, yet loose and holding in when it’s big; the boards that do exactly what you want them to do and when you want them to do it. Well, the busier you become hand shaping boards, the more of a toll it begins to take on you. Duplicating the proven ‘magic boards’ becomes time consuming, backbreaking work. Try holding a planer in your hands just above waist height and being on your feet all day buzzing away foam. Your back, wrists, elbows, knees and eyes start to hurt. You start to have no time to do the very thing that lead you into that path..Surfing. You start spending one afternoon a week at chiropractors etc.. And at the end of the day you can’t be assured every board is going to stay at that magic level you want.
Along came Shaping machines.. the first ones i used helped me get a basic profile down and eased the reproduction process, but i lost the ability to do it my self as the earlier software was adapted from high end boat building cad/cam programs etc. Then i was introduced to the APS3000! So since 2004 I have been using the APS3000, along with BoardCad & the industry standard Shape3D. Each board is virtually shaped on these three-dimensional design programs. I start by choosing from one of a series of proven ‘magic boards’ I have on file. Design it, Cut it, and tweak it myself to create what i had imagined in my head.
These are my best handshapes (and more recent computerized modifications) developed over time through feedback from team riders, individual customers, friends and from just going surfing.Then I adjust the length, width, thickness, rocker, rail shape/ volume, and bottom contours to complement and enhance each particular surfer’s style. Recording all the changes and refinements. Sure beats the complex measuring system i used to use to record the boards in the big box of of notebooks i have put away in my shaping toolbox. Every surfer has a different way they approach a wave; the Computer design software allows me to customize the board to the surfer, the type of waves they ride and the direction they want to take their surfing.
The true beauty of this system is two-fold: The shaper/ designer can spend time designing and refining boards, interacting and catering to customers. And the surfers (that simply want a great board which is dialed in specifically for them) can get consistency, quality, and  quick turnaround for their custom board.All files are kept on a database so your ‘magic board’ can be identically replicated at any time. Let’s say your magic board is/was magic, but now you’re 10 Kilos heavier and it is feeling a little small…we get your file, pull your board into the design program, add 1/8″ or 1/4″ thickness to it keeping the rest of the shape the same…Or let’s say your magic board is perfect at your local point break, but you want another board just like it but slightly looser at the beachbreaks….so….we grab your file, add a little more bend to the rocker between your feet, or a little kick out the last bit of the tail off the back fin – and there it is; perfect, fast, loose and holding in through the tight spots! ….Or let’s say you want to put this outline on that bottom curve….this same board with a flatter deck and fuller rails, or vice versa…
The capabilities of the Computer design process are limitless really and help board design to move ever forward providing us all with better boards. I even use machine stuff-ups to create more crazy designs to test and try keeping evolution alive…

The shaping machine has opened my time up to working more with material components. testing and tweaking different products on the same shape, getting to understand the dynamics and properties. So Dynocore™ was born. the result of testing and designing all those shapes with an amazing array of new tech materials! Oh and I know what to change on your favourite shape to when you change to Dynocore™ too!

Board Rail Standardization measurement

Last modified on 2011-11-17 12:18:00 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

 This is a pretty good way for common board rail standardization.
Helps things a lot as a customer can measure his board himself in a far away place and give you a dimension.. much clearer than low, medium or boxy…
Measure the board thickness in the centre, then the rail thickness 30mm in from the rail apex… do the math (100 divided by the centre measurement times by the rail measurement equals rail volume percent) and you have your rail volume percentage..
 Many shapers have a different view on rails and their volume tag. maybe longboards and unusual designs might still need some clarification. But this would certainly aid online board descriptions…
Just give me some time to add it to all our board model info on our website..