SQUARE TAIL

This tail can take the thrusters fin set up to its full potential, with a straighter template line through the back of the board, giving you drive. More area in the tail gives you buoyancy under the back foot and area giving lift release of the tail, good for small waves – fast and snappy.

ROUNDED SQUARE

This tail works under the same principal as the square tail. When you round the sharp corner of the square tail off slightly it makes the board looser with more curve in the rail and more positive.

PIN TAIL

If you have a pin that is narrow in the tail (12’ to 13) your surfing (turns) will be drawn out and powerful. These dimensions are most commonly found in guns and semi-guns because you can hold the board in the face of the wave.

With a wider tail (13’ to 14+) they’ve more area under the back foot and more curve in the template making the board extra buoyant in the water, looser and easy to turn. They are more suited for smaller conditions.

ROUNDED PIN

This tail works under the same principal as the pin tail, with more volume and curve in the tail this board is good for small surf, the more curve the looser it gets.

SWALLOW

Most retro and fish boards have swallows, as a square would be too slidy with a wide tail. The swallow has the hold of a pin and the drive-release of a square. It’s down to personal preference some people like them and some don’t. You will find swallow tails in all ranges of boards.

RAILS AND DECK THICKNESS

Rail and deck volume is mostly down to a surfer’s body weight. For your standard shortboard if a surfer were 10 stone he would have around 2.75 inch, 11-12 stone 2-3/8 inch, 12-14 stone 2.5 inch and so on. If the rail is too thin the board will not release quickly enough. If the rail is too fat the board will feel too corky. You must find a good medium between resisting too much or burying too deeply into the wave. The centre thickness and deck contour dictate the end result of the rail, but you can cheat by having a flat deck and boxy rails or a thick deck with thinned down rails depending on the waves you’re surfing i.e. slow or fast, sucky or weak.

BOARD TEMPLATE OUTLINE

The outline (template) consists of 3 measurements, the width 12 inches down from the nose, the widest point (centre) and 12 inches up from the tail. Join these together and the measurements dictate the outline.

BOTTOM CURVE (ROCKER)

The rocker is one of the most important design features in a surfboard and will dictate what you do on the face of the wave.

We have tried and tested rocker lines but are always trying new combinations, best left to shapers in most cases.

BOTTOM SHAPE (CONCAVES)

Choice of bottom shapes to choose from:
Flat entry with vee in tail, fun boards, long boards etc.
Single to double concave.
Double concave.
Reverse vee double concave
And more…

Concaves became popular in shortboard design when surfing got faster and more radical. The need for speed and manoeuvrability led to banana rockers and huge concaves and then came back to a level. Everything evened out and smooth flowing lines are the go to this day. Concave is good and gives the board lift and a bit of a turbo boost, but maybe not too much and definitely in the right place.