Boards boards boards

[JonModica]

Hey all,
Thanks for all the kind remarks from my previous posts. Im stoked to see so many nice people who like strapless riding! Im not gonna point fingers, but its nice that the strapless style of riding has not attracted negative individuals like some others........

ANYWAY I have been getting alot of private messages about the boards i've been using...so i thought id throw up a bunch of prototypes and write what i learned from each....
The boards are in chronological order of use..

[JonModica]

#1 This is one of my favorite boards of all time. A local shaper in FL (Drew from Inspired Surfboards) made this one for me about 4 years ago.
Its a 5'6 by 19
The fuller nose made it really easy to throw big airs, and the bump round pin tail made it loose and fun!
I broke it 3 times before I finally retired it.

[JonModica]

#2
This one might look familiar.
The is a 5'6 by 19 SOS. This board was just plain fun. It was a big air machine and really performed well in chop.
It was one of my fastest boards due to the deep concave and REALLY sharp rails, sadly this board didnt perform well in bigger surf due to the faster shape.
This board taught me a valuable lesson about bottom shape and caused me to rethink alot of my basic assumptions about concaves.

[JonModica]

#3
This is a 5'6 by 19 1/4 Rogue Wave shaped by Lee Britain.
This board was AMAZING in so many conditions. I asked for the wide point to be farther forward, causing the tail to have a longer drawn in area which made it really easy to hold a bigger wave. The fuller nose gave me more volume up front so it was stable too. This was the first board i preffered as a quad instead of a thruster.
Usually im a three fin guy, but because the tail was so narrow and pulled in, the board tended to be sluggish. By putting a quad in it i was able to decrease drag and speed this sucker up!

I tried to not do too much with bottom shape with this one. Sadly i missed the lively feel, so for the next one....

[JonModica]

#4

I had spent alot of time at this point on my computer using shaping programs to make boards, this is my first design that I did. I took it to a good friend of mine to have cut out. He looked at the file and made some tweaks for me. I had one of my oldest friends Nick Bowers vacuum bag it for me. he does some amazing work. I'll post his link later...you'll see why
Again, its a 5'6 by 19

I finally found this right bottom shape with this board. I don't like to give away all the secrets to my boards, but I will tell you a single to double concave, with a slight V out the tail....is the best!!

[JonModica]

#5 & #6

#5 (longer board) okay, this is my latest and greatest. I have surfed this board up to 8 foot faces, kited in 10knots all the way up to 35.....and this board does it all.
This one is a hair longer 5'8. This big changes on this one was creating a bigger hip on the tail. Giving me board tail area right in front of my foot helped alot in the lighter smaller stuff and kept the board drivey with staigher rails, but them the hip made the very tail of the board small enough to handle a bigger wave.

#6 This board is shorter and wider. I gave it a wing and a fish tail to get it really loose. This is a small wave, super fast, and super loose fun board.
Basically, it is a good experiment.

[JonModica]

AND FOR THE FINAL BOARD>>>>>>>>>>>
My good friend Nick Bowers shapes these, but he taught me how to make this one!
check out his website........
http://bdboards.com/

[mattv]

Jon,

So when are we going to see a Modica Pro model for sale?

[Kaito]

Thanks for sharing the pics & for sharing all that you've learned thru all the differences of each board!
I'm currently waiting on a custom skim that I added most of the ingredients for. Fingers crossed it comes outta the oven a winner and rides like I envisioned..

Loads of great info in your post Jon. I know I learned a thing or two!
- Thanks again!
K.

[tswierkocki]

Hi Jon,

Do your boards have standard surfboard fin toe in or do you set them up a bit straighter? My favorite paddle surf board is the Lost Round Nose Fish. I'm looking to get a RNF made specifically for kiting. Any recommendations on tweaks to this shape for kiting in choppy conditions?

[JonModica]

Hi Jon,

Do your boards have standard surfboard fin toe in or do you set them up a bit straighter? My favorite paddle surf board is the Lost Round Nose Fish. I'm looking to get a RNF made specifically for kiting. Any recommendations on tweaks to this shape for kiting in choppy conditions?

I use a standard fin toe, but i actually have my front fins a hair farther forward than a standard surfboard!
-Jon

[CraM]

Hey Jon - how tall are you? Weight?

Just curious!

thanks!

-=c

[JonModica]

Hey Jon - how tall are you? Weight?

Just curious!

thanks!

-=c

You wanna ask me out too? sorry bad joke

I think im around 5'11 and 170lbs

-Jon

[davejayc]

Hey Jon!

I noticed you don't mention much about preferred rocker.

Many of those boards look like they don't have too much rocker; is it safe to say you typically like a flatter board??

Thanks,
DC

[JonModica]

Hey Jon!

I noticed you don't mention much about preferred rocker.

Many of those boards look like they don't have too much rocker; is it safe to say you typically like a flatter board??

Thanks,
DC

Hey DC,
Most of my boards are flatter, but i am certainly going with more and more these days.
I'll post a pic ASAP
-Jon