Board Trachting: Third World Surfboards "Barrel Flute"

By Shawn Tracht

I think the thing I like best when working with Jason Kline of Third World Surfboards is that he’s an outside-of-the-box thinker. Every time I talk to him he is as excited and frothing with positive energy as I am about surfboard design. Moreover, being that I’ll ride anything from my finless to my seven-fin to a board that Stretch up in Santa Cruz made me, which has holes drilled straight through the deck, Kline’s Barrel Flute’s unorthodox stature was right up my alley.

Shaper’s Concept
A couple of years ago everyone got into the whole alaia thing and people were trying to surf planks of wood left and right. I always admired the speed alaias could achieve, but disliked the buoyancy issue and their tendency to slide all over the place. I wanted something that would have the same acceleration and trim characteristics, but could hold in the pit of a barrel, handle a strong bottom turn and catch waves easily.

The concept was to have a board for smaller, racy barrels, where one could just sit on the tail and fist-stall to stay in the tube. Since there is no room in the barrel of small waves to pump, you just take your arm out of the wave and the board will accelerate on its own. This application works great for racy, medium to small waves—too fast to shortboard, and draining too much for longboarding.

Since this model is not made for carving, I could focus on applying all aspects of the board’s design towards the “gas-pedal approach.” Thin, sharp rails, flat rocker, single concave, and highly raked, medium-height keel fins. Combine this with the traditional teardrop shape of an old single fin and you have a board that goes fastest when you’re standing on the tail.

The prototype was too fast, so I was later able to sacrifice some speed for a little more maneuverability. The result is a maneuverable board that can make any section and lets you focus more on tube time. It’s a specialty board for sure, but a neat one to have in your quiver.

Surfer’s Take
First off, flat equals fast! I don’t care about anything else right now. Flat equals fast. If you want a board to go fast, then, flat equals fast.

The Barrel Flute is as flat as I’ve ever had a foam and fiberglass surfboard made. There is virtually no rocker. Apply that idea as well to the rails. They are sharp from the back of the tail, all the way up to the nose, and this equals a race machine, because, yes, flat equals fast.

Most of the time, surfboards have sharp rails from the tail to about eight- or ten-inches past the front fins. The idea is that the further your rails are sharp, the flatter the edge of the rail is, and, again, flat equals fast. That being said, most boards, when you feel the rails, get softer and rounder as they approach the nose, and that’s because curve equals performance and forgiveness. Usually, you want drive off your back foot and smooth curvy transition for turning on your front rails. So most boards are made with sharp rails near the tail and softer rails on up forward.

However, the Barrel Flute wasn’t meant to turn. It was meant to get tubed, slotted, pitted, taco-ed, kegged or whatever other great names you have for the barrel. This board was made to get in the barrel and travel barrel. 
“Speed, I am speed,” said Lightning McQueen in the Disney movie “Cars.”  Well, the Barrel Flute has got to be Lightning McQueen’s cousin; it’s built for the straightaways.

It’s a novelty board built for riding tubes. If you take it out on a fun mushy swell, you’ll hate your session, and the same can be said for a bad beach break. But—whoa, Nellie—when you get this board on a steep face and in barrels, flat equals fast, and it’s one of the fastest boards I’ve ever ridden. Rincon barrels are its girlfriend, and El Cap, when it’s on, is the Barrel Flute’s mistress.

It’s meant for small to medium barrels, and if you like challenging your surfing through board design as much as I do, then call Jason Kline and design your next speed craft, whether it’s the “Barrel Flute” or some other concoction you both come up with. Kline is a genius of interesting design.

Third World Surboards

Shaper: Jason Kline

Board Shape/Design: The Barrel Flute

How to Order: Talk to shaper Jason Kline directly for this custom shape

This Board’s Specialty: Small to medium barrels running down the line

Fins: Big Keel Fins / Twin Fins

This board is perfect for: Going straight and fast down the line in the barrel

Surfboard Tester Shawn Tracht’s Normal Shortboard: 5’10" x 18' X 2'

Tracht ordered this board: 5’11” x 18 ¼" x 2” and super flat

Shaper’s Contact info:
Phone:  (805) 459-5834

Website: www.thirdworldsurfboards.com

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Surfer’s blog:  www.surfwanderer.com