How do you foil a surfboard? The last board I made was a 6’ fish(a modern fish approx. 11 3/4, 19, 14.5). How do you distribute the thickness throughout the board? What kind of thicknesses do you need in the nose to produce a light, floaty, and also a manueverable board? Are you suppose to thin out the nose up to the spot where your chest goes when you paddle? What kind of thicknesses should I use throughout my next board? I have see some of Rusty’s boards that show thicknesses throughout different points in the board. Let me know what it is I can use to estimate my next boards foil. Thanks.
How do you foil a surfboard? Removing foam from either the deck or the bottom will change the foil of a board.>>>>How do you distribute the thickness throughout the board? Foil it.>>>>What kind of thicknesses do you need in the nose to produce a light, floaty, and also a manueverable board? Thin is light, thick is floaty, manueverable could be somewhere in the middle.>>>>Are you suppose to thin out the nose up to the spot where your chest goes when you paddle? I guess that matters on where you put your chest when you paddle.>>>>What kind of thicknesses should I use throughout my next board? I like 1.25", 1.5", and 2.25", though all of my boards have had thicknesses in between these values a some point inbetween the nose and the tail.>>>>I have see some of Rusty’s boards that show thicknesses throughout different points in the board. Let me know what it is I can use to estimate my next boards foil Calipers and a ruler
You choose your rocker, midboard thickness, and rail line. Shape the board bottom to the rail line. You and your tools should feel the foil as you take the deck down to midboard thickness. Think like water.
That didn’t help me at all. If your not going to help then don’t post at all on this thread. I am serious about shaping and I want to know how I can better my skills. All you stated was common sense.
Noodle was right. Sometimes the simplest things are least obvious, even to the most experienced… Here`s a clean, flexible foil from long ago, and one of the fastest to have ever ridden a wave. 
the questions you’re asking are specific to individual boards. Foil on a longboard is not much at all like foil on a shortboard. And foil can differ in the board depending on who it’s being shaped for, how strong they paddle, etc. Try being really specific with the questions, you’ll get better answers.
No, Noodle said it all in the right manner, you just have a lack of understanding. Every board that has a different length, rocker, width, thickness, gets foiled individually, that’s why it’s called CUSTOM shaping. I NEVER measure the thicknesses at the nose or tail, customers get a middle thickness, after that, it is what is NEEDED for that particular board. Like the Pezman article lower on this forum, it becomes a Zen approach to what looks right and feels right. No amount of numbers or secret hand shakes will do any better for the experienced shaper
Changing the thickness in areas of the blank is usually done by opening and closing the foot of the planer. Changing cutting depth in different areas will allow you to change thickness flow. The Hawaiians of old used to start with a square block of wood and after cut out would shape from the middle to the ends to foil. Actually, a shaping video would probably help here. Trying to explain something that has a lot of feel to it just isn’t that easy.
I was responding to the first response, and not Noodle… I guess when I replied it didn’t show the new replies… sorry for the confusion.
Foiling a board is like saying you paint abstract art. Are you a Picasso? Can you copy a Picasso? Maybe after 1000 paintings you can kind of paint like Picasso. Maybe after 50,000 paintings someone will say “hey your better than Picasso” What does Picasso have to do with this thread? nothing. It’s just that foiling (in my opinion) is the deciding factor that separates good boards from magic boards, it’s learned but it’s also in the soul. Either you have the aptitude or you don’t, keep practicing. -Jay
Brett, the Greenough pictue is a or almost a TearDrop foil thick at the nose and getting thinner toward the tail. another kind of foil may be thick at the middle and tapering down toward the tail, and tapering from the midddle getting thinner at the nose. It all depends upon what your trying to accomplish with your foam distribution.
Dale: Interesting photo. On my screen it appears a bit of tail hook has been added. As I understand hook; it usually results in faster planning than normal but can reduce control at higher speeds. No doubt the board would be interesting to try out. Thanks for posting the picture. Patrick
isnt there a sword called a foil…aint that the one that is real flexible…basil rathbone at the top of the staircase whipping air battling errol flynn… the taper makes the effective flex…start at the end take one stroke10percent from the end and cut towards the end move up 20 percent repeatcut towards the end…if the cut depth is static ten percent at the end will be reduced x2 feeding up the length the next 10 percent will be reduced in thickness 10 percent ok go up 30 percent cut towards the tail…see the pattern? the result will be…1x 2x 3x at the tail …you can repeat this this process until the victim blank gets too dawgone thin … at some point …you have to stop and even this excercise in foiling out …incant the spirit EYEBALL say oxo moxo rick griffin guide me…then when the eye dosnt work anymore send energy to the HAND let the hand feel the taper fix it by hitting the high spots use a long 1x4" block with sand paper glued on it …repeat process until you satisfy yourself ( momentarily ) …glass it ride it and before long you will see the flaw …by then you should have started the process agaln and do much better on the next board .creating a flexible tapered shape … foiling?.. thickest point at 1/3? tapering to the tail or release edge as in the case of a fin…ambrose…unless you mean renyolds wrap then that’s a different kinda foil
Patrick, Very few of Georges kneeboards ever had reverse rocker... mostly dead flat, and often "with 2/3 of an inch of vee to help keep the tail in the water". Since they were flexible, the rocker was active. If you look closely, strakes and runners can be seen. One of the distinguishing characteristics of his latter edgeboards and surf mats has been control at higher speeds, over a wide range of waves and conditions. Its interesting to note the tapered foil of Georges kneeboard and that of the high aspect ratio fin which hes holding. Both tuned for harmonious, active flex. 
Wow, great photos Dale! Is that Velo or a later board?
Ryan, A later design. It was one of Georges "edge boards", i.e. triplanes. Unlike Velo, their bottom surfaces featured distinct chines, runners, strakes and removeable fins. They were designed to have a much wider operating range, esp. in weaker, choppier, flatter waves, than his famous displacement hull kneeboard, Velo. The edge boards were Georges final chapter as a kneeboarder. For many years, he`s used ultralight nylon surf mats and carbon graphite sailboards to the exclusion of all else. 
The more I stare at the pics the more complex the board becomes. As I see it, the strakes would accomplish the same thing as hook in terms of a boost in speed given they probably follow a lower rocker curve. The additional advantage of the strakes would then be the control at speed they would provide. But, why add so much vee? It would seem to run counter to the purpose of the rocker and strakes. Mmmm! Perhaps " blend" not “counter” is the way to look at the board. Interesting machine. Thanks again for the pics. Patrick
Is it possible to “beak” down the nose and tail tips from the deck in cases where you don’t want to foil from the bottom up to the deck? Does this always lead to an “old school” look or can you use a couple of bevels to blend the beak giving a more modern look?
may I respectfully interject, stickability ; surface tension as opposed to slideability; making bottom primarily fin dependant for directional stability… Diff opened my eyes to rounded bottom surface tension advantages in that short article vol? #?..as opposed to the grey ghost dead flat Maudie Frickert Cabell duke contest winning board skipping flier total fin dependant design…by the way that was the bob smith north shore edge concept ala bunker spreckles edge boards interpreted by Mike Diffenderfer in the Grey Ghost…hanging at charlies shop in hanalei last known…ambrose…praise George
Patrick, Perhaps this will help. Here`s a few close-ups of my triplane bodyboards… Photo on upper left: chine (red), strake (white 1/4" step), runners (2 red blades) and central, concave planing surface (white). In this type of design, the vee (conic delta) has less to do with loosening up turns, than it does with keeping the tail connected to the water at higher speeds… it also provides a bit of lateral stability. http://digitalstar.com/dalesolomonson/OriginalImages/280028ORIG.JPG 