What can I say, two of my best board (8’ & 9’ semi/gun tris) both have 2.25" thick round
rails in the middle of the board, going to 60/40 about a third of the length from the tail, then 70/30 about a quarter of way from the tail, then hard 90 degree edges from about 5" in front of the front fins. I find I really
like the front foot control of a rail that sucks into the wave, and it
seems way more forgiving in choppy conditions. Compared to boards I have/had with “tucked edges,” I don’t find my round rails lose speed, and they don’t want to push out of the wave face.
I am going to put some “putty” on the rails and put “tucked edge” on one of them to
see how they go - as the ones I’ve ridden with tucked edges in the past did not have nice and
fat rails, and see if I feel any benefit from the “release.”
I wrote this to see if anyone else out there likes similar rails on similar boards.
I did not mean the tucked edges lost speed - I mean, to me, the non-tucked edges seem just as fast.
Been a while, but my recollection is the tucked edges weren’t as “forgiving” in mushier/flatter wave faces while trying to turn/cut around/back - they seemed to bog down.
My experience is that fat rails make more forgiving boards - great for hitting foam sections and roundhouse cutties.
The tradeoff for me was the decrease in manoeuverability - they seemed tp promote horizontal lines. Adding vee to loosen up the rails cut into speed.
Now I’m going flat bottoms and micro rails (1" thick and 1" in at midpoint, 1/4" in tail). You sink real quick in foam, so sink into the foam in roundhouse cutties but the board finds solit water beneath the foam and I think exit the turn with more speed than staying on top of the foam.
I have ridden quite a few, that’s why I’m experimenting along those lines now. Not quite as fat as you’re talking about though.
Generally speaking, the rounder rails work better in slower surf at slower speeds, and the thinner tucked rails work better in faster more vertical waves. They tend to hold better, although everything works every where to a certain degree. IMO, the fatness of the rails is a personal preference, as there is no one thing that works well for everybody. Look at the way old school longboards with fat 50/50 rails and thicker fishes work better in choppier/mushier/slower surf. Some people like the real fat rails because they don’t hang and catch or sink too deep, and seem to stay on top of the water better. Especially on the 8’ - 9’ boards you mentioned. But everything is subjective.
I too like rounder rails on longer boards in slower waves.
I think you’re right, and I agree with you about tucked edges not being any faster in slower waves. I believe the difference comes more into play when the waves are faster, and the rounder rails seem to loose their effectiveness, and you need some holding power. At which point probably varies from surfer to surfer. Like a speed limit that was mentioned in the link. At least to a degree. Similar to the way some people might think a high performance longboard with a 60/40 tucked edge will ride more like a shortboard at their local break, then turns out to be a go-to travel board in the bigger, steeper waves of Mexico and points south.
I’m curious of the results you get if you temporarily add a tucked edge to the round rails that work well for you now, and see how it does compared to that. Please post the results along with more detailed data about the rails/rocker and board.
Thanks Ozzie - I’ll definatly post the results… I’ll get to it soon, as soon as I shake this viral invasion in my head… Ha!
I would like to point out, I’m using the big round rails in the biggest, roundest, fastest, etc. wave that I can find anyway… And, I like 'em! I still think the “forgiving” nature in choppy conditions is one of the best things, as well as my perception that it helps with my front foot pocket ridding - Don’t forget, I have sharp 90 degree edges in the last 20% for release in turns… Anyway - I’ll put my horn down now… Ha!
Having surfed since I was a kid and being pretty well travelled most of my boards had really low rails for high performance surfing in decent waves. I was also young, fit and enthusiastic and I hated fat rail boards at that point . I am now in my mid thirties, havent been away for about three years ( stuck in cornwall) and do other stuff than surfing. All my boards have changed dramatically so I dont have to work as hard when I havent been in the surf for two weeks, shorter, wider, thicker, but most importantly much fatter rails. I love em too!
My surfing has slowed a bit but power and resistance through turns is much better. I often notice that way too many kids around our local beaches go for really skinny boards and flap like they are having a fit which just looks sooo ugly! As rob machado says " learn to love foam. It is your friend!