Better Surfboard Designs!
Thomas Meyerhoffer, a former designer at Apple, did what any designer would do when he was not happy with a product. He created his own. In Thomas’ case, it was his love for surfing and his hatred of existing surfboard designs that got him going. His unique boards are an awesome response and an application of a designer’s critical insight on how people use such products.
Meyerhoffer’s key insight was that the the board isn’t monolithic; instead, it has different zones that need to serve much different functions. Thus, near the front, there’s a “waist” which allows a paddling surfer to maneuver more easily, with less impediments to her arms. In the back, the pointy tail digs into a wave’s surface, providing leverage to maneuver the board during tail rides. For nose rides, the front end is deeply concave, to conform to the wave and offer lateral stability.
Check out Mayerhoffer sharing his thoughts about his designs:
I want one! Pity, I don’t know how to surf.
Via: FastCompany and New York Times.
Chuck Dillon
August 7, 2010 at 9:07 amI have had a meyerhoffer 9’2″ for the past 5 months. I have been surfing for twenty years and this is by far the best board I have ever surfed. However, I would like to see more emphasis placed on quality control. When I first received my board it had small hole in the deck. The company did discount the board for the flaw. Now the rails are getting stress cracks as is the deck.
nick grul
February 9, 2010 at 7:17 amhey i love new designs of surfboards and i am going to start shapeing my own i know lots of people think this is a great board but it looks quite ridiculous i mean from a slaes perspective it is ugly and i dont know how i would sell it i mean i would love to try it out but maybe he could make it acctualy look good love surfing though maccas point represent
geoff polinowski
November 8, 2009 at 8:59 amyer g’day from mackay/queensland australia,yer i recently had a go of one of the mighty ‘hoffs,gotta say i was amazed.normally i hate mal boards,been riding shortboards mainly twinnies most of my surfing life,but i gotta say i definitely had fun,i rode the 9’2′ model,loved the way it turned almost like my superfish,cant wait to have a go on about a 7’ model.just wondering will they come out with airbrush designs.apart from that great design,reminds me of a whales tongue….
Luke Sheppard
August 10, 2009 at 1:10 amSurprised he can turn it at all with those double concaves through the tail – they are DEEP!! Then he’s talking about tail flex on a board made from epoxy? The main problem with epoxy construction for surfboards is that it DOESN’T flex nicely like polyurethane. As for the single concave, into vee, into double concave bottom, well I have no idea how that’d feel. I wanna see someone actually surf it!
In a nutshell, he’s made what looks like a thruster tail section, with a fat nose. This isn’t a new idea – Rusty Keaulana (not sure about that spelling) used to ride pretty much the same thing when he was winning world championships (although admittedly not as extreme as this).
Interesting post though, thanks for sharing it.