A meaningless thread about nothing - what's your volume to weight ratio?

Mr J

Michael Peterson status
Aug 18, 2003
2,250
1,454
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Regional Vic, Australia
Never fear fellow erBBs, I used to be a math teacher! :waving:

Ratio is the relation between two amounts.:unsure: In this case:

Board volume (L)/ weight (kg)

Me: 34.5 / 90 = 0.38
that must be right. Dave Verrall from Queensland an early adopter of shaping software, should be credited as the shaper to introduce volume and volume to weight ratio as useful metrics. He noted that his team riders were at about 0.35. Others have taken his idea further with full charts. The Rusty chart is the only one I have seen that provides a guidance in the right ball park for me, I just took a look. Normally I don't pay attention to the charts.

My daily HPSB answer: 0.438

The Too Long, Don't Read: age 59. Daily HPSB 22.8L. My height 5' 7". Daily driver length 5' 6". Weight 52kg - I'm fine, always been this weight except for a brief period in my 30s when I took up deadlifts and squats. I have a thin frame and due to an ongoing GI condition my doc got my energy intake examined by a nutritionist and it was considered appropriate for me, I eat a decent amount including plenty of protein. I'm surfing a lot, skimboarding and a little skateboarding, so together with some planking exercises and all the stretching I am doing there is no time, energy or inclination left to take up squats and deadlifts again.
 
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Mr J

Michael Peterson status
Aug 18, 2003
2,250
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Regional Vic, Australia
I actually used to ride even less volume when I was younger. I was 165 and rode 21 liters through my mid 20s. This higher volume stuff is a new development for me. Also, Medina rides some insanely boaty boards.

I think that the habit of super low volume boards started when I was a kid. I used to buy second-hand boards from an older friend of mine who was a pro surfer and he also weighed about 10-15 lbs less than me. I basically got into shortboarding by riding those kinds of boards, and now it's just what I'm used to. It helps that I'm a really fast paddler, though.

If I could get away with riding more volume, I definitely would. But whenever I try a board that is the "right" amount of volume for me, (let's say 28-32 liters) it just feels boaty and boggy and weird. So I'm stuck riding 23-24 liter potato chips @ 170 lbs.
I remember that the volume to weight discussions on swaylocks revealed that some of the big blokes were on lower volume to weight ratios than the pros. Although you are not exceptionally big.

Some of the low volume riders insisted that it was easier to paddle low volume boards than high volume boards. This never made sense to me. "more like swimming" said one advocate of low volume paddling. I have also heard of some surfers complain of shoulder problems when they moved to a different style of board. I have not personally experienced this, however I wonder if it is because a low volume paddler must have rear of the board submerged deeper providing a more upright paddling position for the shoulders and that their muscles were simply not accustomed to paddling in a more horizontal position.
 
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Mr J

Michael Peterson status
Aug 18, 2003
2,250
1,454
113
Regional Vic, Australia
My best paddling boar is a bladed out ci flyer f. Weird
Maybe you liked the board, paddled it a lot and it coincided with a period of peak fitness. I am not familiar with the flyer F - this review gives precious little detail about it.

I was probably at peak fitness when confined to my weekend warrior days, was doing some midweek swimming including hypoxic swimming and front crawl with my head out of the water to get that more upright shoulder paddling position. Since having an upgrade in lifestyle volume has gone down, but a lot of that is to do with being satisfied with a smaller wave range now I am older. Stamina can't be the same as what I used to be when younger either. Despite what I said earlier about my "daily driver" I don't drive it daily. Need a couple of rest days a week.
 

Tomay

OTF status
Feb 2, 2010
160
330
63
6’1
170 lbs
surf plenty

it depends on design but I will look at anything from 27 litres to 34. I’m not a huge believer in literage alone -there’s a lot more to indicate how well a board will paddle and what waves it will work in.
If I was strict about it I would probably say 28.64 is ideal.
 
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aldo

Nep status
Aug 13, 2012
639
206
43
Bahamas
57yrs, 5’11 and about 185lbs.
My DD for the most part over the last 6-7 years has been a 5’11 VS Shadow(I have had 2) - no volume given.
Through the same period I also rode a 6’4 slimmed down VS Time Machine - no volume given and a 6’3 Roberts Black Cobra(also slimmed down) - no volume given, as step ups
I have been riding a 5’8 CC fish a lot the last 2 years - no volume given. It has glassed on swept back keels. I love it. I also bought another 5’8 CC fish with futures boxes off the rack recently and hated it. It was the polar opposite of my first one and I could not surf it. Sold!
I also had a CC 6’7 Long Phish for a spell recently - no volume given
My most recent purchase was a 6’6 MOTE Fiji - No volume given

Quite a few years back(6-8) I was riding a Lost Quiver Killer 6’- 33.25l and before that a 5’10 CI Pod @ 31.4l

I think volume is over rated. I give the shaper my dims and a little info about my surfing and they make the board. Funnily enough Simon Jones wanted to know my foot size. Thats interesting! For the most part they have worked very well. I gelled with all of the above boards in certain conditions with the exception of the Long Phish and the second CC fish. The test 6’6 LP I rode felt considerably different than the custom I ended up receiving. I think CC shaped the actual test board and the Oz ghost shaper my board.
Width, rocker, thickness, contours, shape, length and the type of waves you are surfing are more important than volume.
My two Shadows have identical dims but surf slightly differently. Some times you luck out with a magic board and on occasion you bomb out and miss. I have been very lucky for the most part.
 

ZeeHawk

OTF status
Apr 13, 2018
268
200
43
Big Asian Island
I just spent a month surfing in a 3/2 and trunks and all of my favorite boards felt great.
No doubt. I'm in spring suits or trunks in summer and 5/4 in winter and while I can feel the difference in summer and winter it's not so much that I'd think to need boards for each season. Altho if I nail the lottery I'm so doing that! :LOL:
 
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