Surboards with a Mako (OR) bottom.

[kazi]

I got out twice on Saturday in pretty light winds with a 15m Envy and my Firewire Dominator and had to really work to manage the chop soupy conditions. The swell was about 4-5 feet. Started kiting directionals and strapless for the first time this year.

I had to really control the speed and coundn't cut loose or I would hit a piece of chop and go flying. I felt like I was bouncing around like a cork.

I've heard that OR Mako's handle chop really well because of the extreme concave.
Is there a reason why they don't apply the same bottom to a surfboard?
Are there surfboards that handle chop better, does anyone care?

Surfers don't care about chop because (with the exception of big wave surfing) the wave face is relatively smooth.

I'm just surprised there isn't a market for kite specific chop handling surfboards. Even ocean rodeo appears to just make a regular surfboard. I'd love to shred a wave then slice thru chop..that would be sweet.

[coleman]

I ride a north nugget and they excel in our lake chop. Better than my twin tips.

[kazi]

I ride a north nugget and they excel in our lake chop. Better than my twin tips.

What do you think allows them to do this. Is it the amount of concave? Have you compared the concave of the nugget to a regular surfboard? Is there a difference?

[NYKiter]

I'd love to shred a wave then slice thru chop..that would be sweet.

You can shred on a mako...

[juandesooka]

I have a BWS Drifter and it has aggressive concave, like a Mako. Goes upwind like crazy.

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[kazi]

I'd love to shred a wave then slice thru chop..that would be sweet.

You can shred on a mako...

I plan to get a mako king some day when I can afford it. Right now I have to limit it to one board for surfing and kiting.

I'm glad to hear about the BWS. I'd like to try that.

[NorCalNomad]

I ride a north nugget and they excel in our lake chop. Better than my twin tips.

What do you think allows them to do this. Is it the amount of concave? Have you compared the concave of the nugget to a regular surfboard? Is there a difference?

Actually having less concave will help you more break through chop since the board will produce less lift. Or are you thinking concave is rocker?

Usually boards that do well through chop have less buoyancy in relation to weight since that will make the board not want to float on top of the water so much.

[kazi]

I ride a north nugget and they excel in our lake chop. Better than my twin tips.

What do you think allows them to do this. Is it the amount of concave? Have you compared the concave of the nugget to a regular surfboard? Is there a difference?

Actually having less concave will help you more break through chop since the board will produce less lift. Or are you thinking concave is rocker?

Usually boards that do well through chop have less buoyancy in relation to weight since that will make the board not want to float on top of the water so much.

I think both concave and rocker help in chop as they reduce the surface area touching the water as well as the angle of attack.

I'm just a caveman..and don't know much about numbers and what not, but it seems to me that what makes the mako have such great chop killing attributes is it's concave. But maybe the super thin rails also assist.

[Peert]

Do not forget the oval outline.

There are other twintips with rocker.
There are other twintips with concave (not as much)..

The result of the three is that the force/load of the piece of chop is gradually absorbed by the board..

[plummet]

I found the mako smooth but harsh in shop. It sliced through but could still be slappy. The huge rocker of the mako i think is a little counter productive when considering chop. The reason for this is that huge concave reduces flex. Flex is one factor that improves chop performance.

Rocker is what you want to look for and flexible tips. A high rocker board with flexible tips will be way better in chop. This is talking twin tips..... But the same process would occur with surfboards. a higher rocker surfboard will be better than a flatter rocker board. I remember seeing an underground surfboard that was made like a TT ie thin wood core with some surf rails laminated on. That style of board would be better for chop.

Of course the more rocker and tip flex you add the worse the board will be upwind.