Looking for a new ride...

So I'm a big guy (260lb bodybuilder) and I'm looking for a new ride. I currently ride a piece HL Broadcast 5'6" no sweat and can even ride a Yellow Loogey. My boat puts out a huge wave (2800lbs on one side) so I'm looking for something around 5' and am considering the Shoreline Lakeboard fish, Walker F-18 or a shread stixx Ja Mako. I like the price of the Fish best but cant find much info on it and the company hasn't returned my call yet. Any advice?

I'm a big guy too (220 pound engineer - I sit on my tail all day, drink Mountain Dew and eat M&Ms ). My first board was a Broadcast 5.6 also.

I've ridden the JaMako about three times this year. I like the JaMako a lot, it's a great surf style board for a big guy. The new boards are lighter and faster.

Last year I rode the WP F-18. On a medium-big wake it was too small for me. When I slowed my boat down to about 9 mph I could keep in the pocket on the F-18 but it felt like I didn't have enough speed to work with. I rode that board for about a half hour. It cut crazy fast and turned my legs in to jelly. A custom made, somewhat larger F-18 could be a lot of fun.

Best new skim board ride I had this year was on a on a Calibrated Piscus. At Nationals I only had one pass out and back on the Piscus but I loved the board. Mike Armstrong, owner of Calibrated is big guy too, bigger than I am. He rides the Piscus.

The Picus is bigger than the 4.5 Composite X that I rode and much bigger than the Walzer that I rode. The composite X was a better ride for my weight than a somewhat smaller Walzer. The smaller guys I've seen ride the Composite X and Walzer really tear it up, I just need a bigger board.

I ride a Composite X 5.0 and I weigh slightly more than you. Any of the Walker Project custom boards can be made in lengths up to 6' The Composite X is only in 4'6" and 5'. The 4.5 would be to small for you.

Hate, can you give us a bit more info? I always like folks to paint a picture. So...is cost important? Is that the overriding concern? What about graphics? Is minimal graphics important? What about storage, will you toss it around, or make sure that it is set aside safely? Any chance that what you really want to do is noseride a longboard?

There are several boards that would work for you, and all the ones mentioned are good, but if you could give us a better idea of what is important to you, how you intend to use the board...we can narrow it down and make a suitable recommendation.

Fellow body builder, 220. Been trying all sorts of boards this past summer with Ken and Loc from wakeoutlaws. Had a chance to ride a ton of different boards. Had always been on all the usual cwb, hyperlite, liquid force boards. Then this summer started riding the phase 5 drew, walzer, walker project composite x 5.0 and the wakeoutlaws edition walker project board.

My bother in law is also a body builder but weighs in at 290. So we have been having a heck of a time trying everything this summer to get him ropeless. Best thing we found for him was the Walker composite 5.0.

My personal favorite is the wakeoutlaws edition walker project. It is kind of what ed is thinking. A bit bigger F-18. Wider at the front but still fast as hell. Real fast. In fact it is stupid fast.

Talk to Ken or Loc. All fellow big guys. They have been on just about every board and can fill you in on what will work for you.

I have not been on the Calibrated yet but that is on my list to try.

Tim
Wet Sounds

"Talk to Ken or Loc. All fellow big guys."

Hey...I resemble that remark.

Hey we have been talking body building here! That was what I meant!

bodybuilding = Ken and Todd...

um...yeah I think I can see that if I concentrate reallllly hard. Nope, still not seeing it.

the shoreline boards work pretty well, but i would check out some boards on thewakesurfshop.com check out the new wave vehicals. they are from the same make as the shorelines but they are epoxy and a few are much more hp designs. the js model, josh burran model, and the outlaw are all super good boards and woth checking out.

Wow guys thanks for the input I can see the passion you guys have and its awesome. My friends and I have only been riding for about 3-4 months and have fallen in love with the sport. I love trying to describe it to people but you really just have to ride to understand.

So my goals are to be able to catch a little air off the lip, ollie and pull some spins. These are all future goals but I'd like to not have to have a 5 board quiver if I dont have too. I would rate air as the most important to me when I wakeboard I love to fly. Jeff, I'd like to stay around a nickel for the board yes I'd like some graphics and I take damn good care of my stuff but I dont want to have to treat it like a pain of glass.

Thanks for the love hommies.

Hate N Pain, you can checkout the full line of Walker boards HERE. I started riding the Outlaw model that Tim is referring mid-summer and can not get enough of it. The boards rocker is light and extremely fast and responsive making the board very forgiving.

I hate the BUY MINE spiel...anymore. I wish that folks would post useful info, or not at all.

Aerials...

I've spent a bunch of time researching how aerials are done and I'll give you my 2 cents here. These are my opinions, so take them for what they are worth.

Airs are dependent upon two things. First is acceleration. Not speed, perse, but a quick burst of acceleration. The fatest board I have ever ridden is Dennis' 10'2" Infinity, but it doesn't really accelerate quickly. You want a board that when you pump it, it quickly squirts forward.

The second is how high you can lift your front leg up - it's a skateboard ollie. So, YOU might not get any higher in the air, but if you can suck your legs up, the board will get higher above the wake and it will LOOK like you are boosting more air. This, more than anything is a function of how long your legs are. However, a longer board will allow you to ride with a wider stance and THAT aids in pulling that front foot up. You can test this with your stance. Stand with your legs close together and pull your front foot up as high as you can. Then do the same thing, but start with your stance a little wider than shoulder width apart. You should notice the the later, wider stance allows you to raise your front foot higher in the air.

Acceleration, can come from a few sources. One is the fin count. More fins and more fin area create more drive, so a thruster is going to provide more drive or acceleration than a single fin. Also, a set of 4" fins will give more drive than a 1.5" fin. Further the 3 fins in a thruster will give more drive than a single trailing fin.

IMO, a flat bottom contour will aid in getting the most acceleration and terminal velocity.

In order to push down on the tail, to raise the nose (think skateboard ollie) you'll want a couple of features. One is some rocker through the tail. Now, I'm not saying that you can't ollie a board that is flat as a pancake, but a little tail rokcer will allow the board to roll up the face of the wake. Too much makes it a slug. Too flat and it won't air as high. Another is you want some width in the tail. If you push down on the tail to bring your nose up and the tail buries you limit the amount of air you'll get. Look for a "wide"'ish tail. The tradeoff here though is that rail-to-rail gets more sluggish with tail width.

Lastly, you'll want sharp unforgiving rails for release. You'll read lots of advertising claims from the likes of Inland Surfer, TWP, Shred Stixx, New Wave Vehicles as on the JS Model...these folks design their rails to release water. A good aerial board won'r be for the general masses where it's "easy" perse. Soft rails cause water to wrap around the board and suction it down. Sharp rails will release water quickly.

So...what you want, IMO, is a board with the following design characteristics:

1) Longer'ish - 5' to maybe 5'4"
2) Wider tail - avoid a pin
3) More fins (although - I haven't ridden a good quad yet - there may be some, but I haven't had one under my feet)
4) Deeper fins are better for generating acceleration - but effectively 5" is the max.
5) Some tail rocker. Lay the board on a table or the ground. If there is some tail rocker, it will aid in rolling the board up.
6) Not much nose rocker - to allow the board to plane easily...but it's gotta have some.

I'm not trying to say that short list is rquired to air a board out, but IMO it makes it easier and will also allow you to generate bigger airs.

Of the boards mentioned...

JaMako is ok. It has most of the characteristics, but I'd worry about the length at your size. Maybe give Jerry a call and talk to him about what you want.

The F-18 at maybe 5.0 or 5.2 and Comp X 5.0 are both ok also. I don't like the rails on the Comp X, but the F-18 - Mike can sharpen the rails up. I'd give Mike or Dennis a call and talk to them also.

I like Johnny and his board has all the characteristics, but I'd worry about your 260 pound frame on that board. I think you might be a tad large for it. Shoot Johnny a PM and see if they can work with you on it.

IMO the Shoreline Lakeboard fish tail is a bit narrow for your frame.

The Lost Placebo surfskate in the 5 foot model has some good characteristics also.

So...that's my opinion and why. All of the boards will meet your handling criteria, all of them have some form of graphics, TWP can custom paint one if you want.

I don't have a stock recommendation for you, mostly because of your size. Personally I'd give Jerry, Mike/Dennis and Johnny a shout and see which one is most responsive to getting you a board that fits the bill - then pull the trigger with that guy.

(Message edited by surfdad on November 10, 2007)

Dang Jeff, you should write a book

I think I just did.

Wow Jeff just wow.

I saw some quad on Inland surf pages
http://www.inlandsurfer.com/album-2007_detail.asp?ID=119&page=2

Wow Jeff, thanks a lot. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to share with me your "expertise" in this area. With all the sports I have played in the past I have always researched the equipment heavily and usually wound up with the top off the line product's. Why not have the best if you can swing it.

Jeff, what do you think about the Walker blunt fish for my needs/desires. If I could get that style in a 5'2" I think it could be excellent. With regards to the fin size do larger 4" fins make it more difficult to spin or do you just sort of spin around them? It sounds like larger fins are needed for me so I will have down the line speed that will allow me to ride further back, yes?

So I need a longish board with an ok rocker and turned up rails that will allow me to release of the water. It's starting to sound more and more like I need a tailored board much like my shirts and suits.

Any takers out there? You threw out some names but I'm sorry to say I dont know who they are other than Mike.

hey man, im johnny, the one with the js model. if you have any questions feel free to email me.

Dennis posted at the top of the thread - Johnny just above this post. If you click on their name/handle which is in blue, just after the "By" your browser will take you to their contact info.

The folks at www.Wakeoutlaws.com have access to most of the manufacturers and can get what you need done. Their site has a contact info and would be a good place to start. They have a "lowest price on wakersurfers" blurb on the site that would be worth checking out. They are good folks.

Jerry Price is with Shred Stixx and you can find him at www.shredstixx.com, or alternatively at www.wakeoutlaws.com.

Deeper fins change the way that you spin a surface three. You'll do it up off the lip where the fins will break loose and then you'll come back down the face. The last time we were out Dennis, who is about your size and rides a 5'2" TWP Bullet with 3.5's floated around a perfect 3.

My guess, on the "ride further back" question is that while you can RIDE a smaller board, they just aren't suited for your size. Once you get a board that fits you, you'll find that you can ride anywhere on the wake.

Cool guy's I'm stoked. Thanks again.