Shows
The Dust UpEp 29 - Surfboard Design Elements - Fin Placement and FinsIn this episode, Luke Howarth from Howie shapes and I discuss fin placements and fins. Fins can seem like a simple aspect of a board to some and extremely complex to others. We both love fins and learning about them, but we are not fin experts. I would suggest many shapers have concentrated more on their designs over the last couple of decades since the introduction of fin systems. The good old days of purchasing a board with the fins selected by the shaper to work best with the board would simply be glassed on. There was no se...
2026-03-081h 55The Dust UpEp 26 - Surfboard Design Elements - Foil / FlexIn this episode, Luke Howarth from Howie shapes and I discuss the subtleties of a surfboard foil or profile. The distribution of foam in a surfboard is often overlooked but it can have a big impact on how your board performs.We chat about the evolution of foil in a surfboard and how it relates to the different styles of boards. I ask Luke about what he thinks of 'swing weight' which is a term commonly used in discussing bigger boards and explain why I prefer to focus on 'momentum'.You cannot talk about surfboard fo...
2025-08-161h 12The Dust UpEp 18 - Surfboard Design Elements - RailsIn this episode, Luke 'Howie' Howarth and I discuss the alluring and sexiest design aspect of a surfboard... Rails. Rails come in all shapes and sizes to best satisfy the shaper's accompanying design ideas. The perfect rail is different for different styles of surfboards. We discuss some of the shaper's rails that we like as well as what makes a bad rail in our opinion.I throw a few different rail designs at Luke to get his ideas as well as give an insight into deck channels or ' love handles' and what I learnt fro...
2025-03-2559 minThe Dust UpEp 12 - Surfboard Design Elements - Bottom ContoursIn this episode I welcome Luke 'Howie' Howarth to discuss the all important surfboard design element - Bottom Contours.The bottom contour of a surfboard can be described as either flat, convex or concave. Its the detail within these three categories that determine a surfboards performance. What is the best bottom contour for a shortboard, fish, midlength, or longboard?Bottom contours are used to blend the centre line rocker to a shapers desired rail line rocker. We discuss the various forms of vee bottom shapes, single and double concave bottom shapes as well as channels and...
2023-08-131h 08The Dust UpEp 10 - Shaper Interview with Luke Howarth - Howie ShapesIt's been a little while since we put out a shaper interview and with good reason. There has been some restructuring happening with The Dust Up and before we welcome Luke Howarth to the team, we wanted to take an opportunity for him to introduce himself to the listeners.Luke was introduced to the ocean at Avalon on the northern beaches of Sydney when he was only 2 years old. He built a long and healthy relationship with surfing that would eventually see him compete at a high level and gift him the chance to start shaping boards. A re...
2023-06-021h 16