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simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:35 am
by flojo
A general question to the forum-I see a lot of very short simmons type shapes for sale on craigslist etc. some of them are 5 feet or even a few inches under in length.
also generally pretty wide with a pretty parallel rails and low rocker-has anyone here tried one of these as a prone board?

Just curious .....

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:35 am
by GeoffreyLevens
Never have done. But ponder the volume which is for arm paddling only followed by standing and skimming across relatively flat waves. I'd give one a go if nothing else was available but seems like it would be heck of a lot of board to wrestle.

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:49 pm
by Uncle Grumpy
When I first went prone several years back, one of the first things I tried was a "mini Simmons" style board Terry Martin shaped for me from I blank I glued up.

Image

It ended up being just way too much board for me but I'm pretty sure it has much less volume than one of Jeff Chamberlain's megaplatters.
Different strokes for different folks. ;)

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 12:03 am
by rodndtube
The Wally Froiseth boards and there progeny come rather close (Gordon Theisz boards patterned after Froiseth's).

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 7:00 am
by bgreen
Five years ago I asked about the Simmons-Froiseth connection and John Clark relayed this to me: "Wally said Bob Simmons didn't influence his board designs at all. Wally already had his designs worked out before he met Bob. But they tried to
learn as much as they could from him about resin and fiberglass. Wally said at that time there were too many chemicals to mix for the resin, but things got better with fewer chemicals as time went on. That 1949 California trip was the only time Wally ever met Bob Simmons".

A bit later, John Elwell, wrote me: "Bob...

Another thought; I wonder if Wally Froiseth had any earlier experiences worth commenting on with dual fins on his boards and if he set the fins straight or knew that they should be toed. He saw Simmons dual fins when Bob surfed in Hawaii in 53. "

Untangling these things can be difficult.

Jeff Quam rides a Simmons style board at times.

Bob

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 11:39 am
by soulglider
i miss terry. heck of a great guy and shaper.

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 10:47 am
by Uncle Grumpy
soulglider wrote:i miss terry. heck of a great guy and shaper.

+1
Terry was one of a kind.

Tim, Do you know Terry's son Josh?
He's very much like his dad and is an excellent shaper carrying on the tradition of Martin Shapes.
He shaped a couple of Jeff Quam's boards IIRC.

Image

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 3:45 pm
by bgreen
JQDeck2.jpg
JQbottom2.jpg
I'm pretty sure Josh shaped this one, which Jeff organised for me. It's very low rocker, probably too low for me, but I surfed some really fun days in it.

image006137xx.jpg

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 10:47 am
by Uncle Grumpy
Coincidentally I saw Jeff Quam yesterday; he stopped by to show off the new chambered balsa bonzerish collaboration board he and Josh had just done together.
I have a picture and will try and post it later.

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 12:23 pm
by soulglider
Grumps, I dont know him but i'm looking to try something differnt from a differnt mind. i know my boards are the best by far, no ones compare, but, im getting a little stagnant in my shapes and in my mind, whats left of it. where do i find him brother man?

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:53 pm
by Uncle Grumpy

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2017 10:10 pm
by soulglider
Thanks grump

Re: simmons type stand up for belly riding?

Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 4:44 pm
by Atlantasurfer
A few years ago, I picked up a used simmons-shape standup surfboard. I love it as a paipo. It works great when the waves get sloppy and mushy. I have limited days at the beach, so I try to be ready to surf a wide range of conditions. My only complaint is that the board is not really compatible with airline travel. The skegs are glassed on, and the fiberglass on the deck is so thin it gets a pressure ding when you stare at it.

For travel, I love my Frankenboogies. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=681