Less Length, More Volume

“Jordy [Smith] said some of the boards he was riding felt a bit long. He’s usually on a 6'0" or a 6'2" and they were catching when he’d get to the bottom of the wave. He chose to jump on a stock epoxy 5'9" Omni, which has an extra liter of volume, so he had 34 liters on a 5'9" board, which felt really free out of the lip. And when coming down, he felt it giving and he’d get right back up into it. The board didn’t feel short to him. And that’s the thing about the general shape, it’s really balanced. I wasn’t able to tell he was on a 5'9". They may be short in length, but they don’t look small for the rider.”
— Britt Merrick, Channel Islands

More Fin

“I’ve always envisioned making my templates shorter and more compact to fit wave pools, and as they became more of a reality the last few years, I made a conscious effort to engineer my boards to suit a smaller, hollower wave like the Surf Ranch. Between the volume distribution, the surface area packed into a small space, the straighter rail line and the rocker, I believe the Cymatic is ideal for holding speed and fitting the curve of the wave. A straighter rail line reduces the need for more nose length. Because you’re effectively surfing off your rails, you can fit a shorter board in a tighter space. And it’s more conducive to radical aerials, because it’s more like a skateboard or a snowboard.”
— Daniel “Tomo” Thomson, Firewire

“We brought all the models that we’d been working on with each surfer, but within a few days it was apparent that they all preferred to ride shorter boards. Most of them dropped down an inch from what they consider their normal shortboards. Owen [Wright] was the most drastic. He normally rides a 6'2" or 6'3" but went down to a 5'11-1/2" by the end. It wasn’t until almost the last day that Owen had a go of one of Wilko’s boards and had his mind blown. They were shorter with a bit more volume than what he’s used to, but they worked for him in the pool.”
— Darren Handley, DHD

Wilko. Photo: Cestari/WSL