How important is the weight of a surfboard to its design?

What do you consider to be a good surfboard weight?

How much should your surfboard weight? Well…. It does depend on what kind of board you have. Like, if you have a PCB.. ( Pro Circuit Board … not to be confused with something electronic )… that is between 5’10” and 6’2” then you will most likely want your board to weight not more than 5lbs 6ozs. Or, if you have a traditional long board you’d be happy if the thing weighted about 22lbs or more.

Then of course there are all the other surfboards. From Fish to Fun Shapes, Eggs and Hulls to Speed Shapes, Mini Tankers to Performance Long Boards, and everything else out there.

Most guys don’t know what the weights are of their boards. It’s mainly a ‘pick the board up and see what it feels like’ type of deal. If it feels light then it’s light or if it feels heavy then it’s heavy. You may be surprised to find out the board that you think feels light is not the actual weight you think it might be. In other words… boards that you think are light when you actually weight them they may be heavier than you thought.

For instance…. A guy may think his 7’0 fun shape probably weights around 7 and half pounds. Then when the board is weighted it’s 9 pounds… and all along the guy was thinking the board felt light. And, loved the way it surfed because it was nice and light. So what happens to the way the board surfs after he found out the board was heavier than he thought?

I wonder what would happen if you had 2 boards, same size, same shape but, one was a little heavier than the other. Surf the heavier one until you get used to how the board surfed. Then after say at least a dozen go outs you switch to the lighter board. If one board was a pound and a half more in weight how much would you notice the weight difference in the water? Would you be able to tell at all? It would be fun to experiment.

So what makes up the weight of a surfboard?

First is the foam. EPS or Polyurethane. Each comes in different weights.

Second is the stringer. What width and what kind of wood. Also how much a certain stringer weights will depend on the make up of the wood itself… like 2 stringers of the same species of wood and the same width may be different in weight because one piece of wood might have more sap in it which could make that particular piece of wood heavier. We’re talking ounces here.

Third is the glassing schedule. What weight fiberglass cloth is used for laminating. 4, 6, or eight ounce cloth. How many plies and patches. Each fabric weight will use a corresponding amount of resin to saturate. 4oz cloth needs less resin to saturate than 6 etc.

Then at the end of it all is the fin system and fins. Some fins weight more than others and can add a few ounces to your board. If you’ve got a PCB the fin weight may be important to you.

The end result is a board will weight what ever it weights. I find it interesting that we know what we are riding in length and width and over all shape but seldom if ever know what weight our boards really are.

D.R.

5'6" Perimeter stringer stubbie quad weighting in at 5lbs 14 ounces with fins.