Chine Rails

I’ve searched the archives for info about chine rails and it seems that lots of the old archived stuff is no longer available, so I thought I better ask for some help.

I’m planning on making a single fin, with a similar outline to this

though not a bonzer, approx. 6’2"x20"x16"Nx14.5"T widepoint 3" up from middle.

I was wondering what effect chine rails would have and how far up should they go? Should they right through the tail?

Any ideas would be more than welcome.

AB,

From what I understand they are to make the rail/board more forgiving. Also that you can make a thicker rail more sensitive with chines. I have them on a G.L longboard that works great. I used a chine in the first 8" of the nose of one of my fish to reduce the nose from catching in hard turns(lift…)…I couldn’t tell the difference but the board goes well with no catching. Have fun…

Hi,

take them to the wide point of the board, no further back.

They’ll help stop the hip rails catching and give you good release off the top.

But if your rocker is spot on you probably don’t need them.

I had the chance to ride Mike Eaton’s ultimate bonzer; highly flexible triangular “feeder” fins with a steep, near vertical twin fins. No center fin! Mike put chines from just behind wide point back to the feeders. The tail has two really deep concaves out the back with smaller channels between the feeders and the twins. Very shallow/subtle single concave from mid-point to the rear concaves.

The chines give you good release and a crisp feel yet are not catchy. You are right about the rocker but I think Eaton has good success mixing them with deep concaves.

By the way, the “Ultimate” Bonzer was a pretty interesting ride. We were in shoulder to overhead wedges that funneled into soft walls. Your back foot felt like you were standing on rotten pumpkins but when you rolled it up it felt very positive (in a loose kind of way). Would NOT spin out. Great off the top too. Didn’t really feel the notorious “kick/fifth gear”. The board was very quick rail to rail which was surprising as the outline was quite full. It paddled like a 22-incher it was, but went rail to rail like a 19-incher.

There’s a whole lota something going on beneath your back foot though…

Hey Lee, I believe he calls these boards “zingers”… for what that’s worth.

I think these boards take a lot of getting used to. My tendency was to overcontrol it. Good for a subtle surfer, which I am not!

I’m with Oceans on this one, though I admit to limited experience.

I was working with a guy back in the early eighties who, through contact with his worldly shaping buddies discussing the what-are-we-shaping-this-year trends, started shaping chines on nearly all his stock and custom short boards.

It was shaped in from the tip of the nose all the way down to about the fins, or flyers as there were lots of them back then. Very normal rail profile and the chine was very small, almost non existent, softish edges sharpening up for the tail third.

In order to learn I shaped myself one, a 6’2" single, hard on both edges, nose to tail, and a fairly large chine. I wanted to feel what was going on. After half a dozen surfs I didn’t like it, so I sanded edges off, surfed it more and eventually filled the chine in. Glued on foam, shaped, glassed, etc, and got it to look like new again. It was transformed back into a normal board, surfed well, and had a long and happy life with one of the grommets who always scammed my old boards.

More recently though, mid 2004 actually, I rode a custom 6’ Glyder, a modern 3 fin fish shape by Shane Stedman. I know I’m not a three fin fan, but I won the board. The rails were chined nose to flyer, softish edges but very pinched, domish deck. Single concave to very slight vee, very square edges around the tail. Wider than I would normally ride with lots of tail kick.

I was a little sceptical at first, as I hadn’t surfed in a while, but the board just plain ripped. I’m 45, pretty fit and flexible, but I had probably only surfed a few dozen times in the last few years, and amazingly I felt like I was surfing like I was back in my mid twenties, and the board felt like I’d been riding it since then.

Whether it was the chines, the shapers experience, or my approach, I don’t really care. But I have no more bad words to say about chines, three fins in small waves, or the fact that age has nothing to do with it.

Have fun with your new board.

Zingers take a while to get used to since you have to adjust to using your front foot for control (as most quad fin setups). Since you’re not really turning from the tail anymore the chine, rail transitions, and rocker are different from what you would expect on a thruster. On 3/4 to OH waves, Bonzers and most quads can be successfully ridden with more muscle on the rear foot, but they will seem slow if you try and ride them this way in smaller waves. I was never able to get the front foot thing down well, but those who have never seem to want to go back.

Chines: don’t care for them. In fact two many strange edges on surfboards make them less stable and more uncontrolable.

Hi guys I wanted to bump this thread I am planning a board a bit like armband has discribed in the post above.

You guys got any more design input on the usefullness /purpose and placement on the board of chined rails board I am hoping to shape will be 6’6 or 6’4 by 23 by 3 with a fuller round tail a bit like the sweet potato set up for a mushy beach break

Cheers Antony

Any Imput guys?

Cheers antony

Any Imput guys?

Cheers antony

Hi Twistedstump -

The chines create edges which can work for and against you depending on the situation.  While arguably less efficient, a rail that just lifts/blends gradually without an edged panel (typical belly) is going to be less problematic.  Just my .02.

 

Chines are squared off roll. Zingers were my baby.