im not sure if this has come up in the past, but i never saw anything in the archives about it… why are surfboards still symmetrical, when nobody surfs with the exact motions frontside, as backside? the only board i can recall seeing that wasnt symmetrical in shape, is one of the longboards on the channel islands website. ideas?
Danny: I would bet that the symmetry of surfboards has more to do with human nature than design. Shapers have, for the most part, probably followed suit to prove their skill as craftsmen. Why it still continues is probably the result of cost effectiveness and what surfers expect a board to do in a given turn. As I recall, learning to do a top turn was very difficult(actually it still is). Perhaps if I had learned on an asymmetrical, that accounted for the difference in front and back turns, it might have been easier. Actually one of the reasons I plan to buy a mat is because the surfers who ride them all mention the ability to change a mats shape(symmetry) while surfing. Interesting topic-thanks for posting it. Have fun. Patrick
Carl Ekstrom, of Flowrider fame, has a few patents on asymmetrical surfboards. Don’t let them deter you from making your own. Ekstrom is one of our sports more creative types along with Morey (Y), G.Greenough, et. al. Rob Olliges ps. longer side is frontside bottom turn, shorter (curvier)is cutback rail. Usually works best on a wave that breaks one way.
here’s a similiar take on assymetry involving snowboards, or in particular race snowbaords. In the beginning, folks thought that an assymetrical design would better position the riders to take advantage of optimum edge angles for the respective backside and frontside turns. The difference in the offset was ideally matched up with the difference in center of power of the rider…that being the toe side edge is (in theory) shifted roughly 4-6 inches towards the nose of the board. This offset would allow the rider a more seamless transition edge to edge from toeside to backside turns. This design was most prevelent in slalom race boards where extremly quick edege to edge turning was necessary. I personally have ridden an assymetrical slalom board and a symmetrical slalom board of the same length and could tell absolutely no difference between the two. Likewise the snowboard industry realized that there was no benefit in this design and more or less gave up on the assymetrical concept altogether. Translate this to the surfboard, where edges are not nearly as sharp as those on the surfboard and the concept has even less merit. I suppose that the idea is still out there waiting for some ingenius shaper to create something that actually makes a difference. Who knows perhaps that person is you. Drew
Check http://www.pipedreamsurfboards.com.au/101819.php for one example of rail configuration.
Crossfire surfboards of agnes water do a lot of assymetrics. they look and work quite well.
yes we do surf differently on our backhand vs. our forehand. however, the motions, i.e. pressure on rails is similar, no matter how you change your body movement. personally, i never understood why you would want the forehand side to be the one to draw out your turn. for me at least, i’ve always had an easier time making sections frontside, so it seems like that would be the short rail, to allow for tighter arcs off the bottom, then i need a short side for a tight off the top. sounds like i need symmetry.
All my boards are assymetrical, but I still love them the same…