The measure of nose and tail rocker, although very important, is secondary to the configuration of the rocker throughout any surfboard.
Greg Weber and Taj Burrow have been working to develop boards that are very versatile - that perform a variety of high performance maneuvers from various positions on the board. (Keep in mind these are shortboards from 5’ 10" to 6’ 2" under the feet of one of the greatest surfers of the moment.)
Current shortboard design features three primary rocker designs: staged rocker, continuous rocker, and any “hybrid” combinations of rockers.
Staged Curves Rocker is a bottom curve that is relatively flat through the mid section of the surboard with accelerated curves in the entry and tail sections of the board. The staged curves rocker is a radical extension of continuous rocker where the rocker in the mid section of a surfboard has been “flattened” to dial up the speed and projection of a shortboard out of it’s turns. The extent that these flat and accelerated curves transition into each other is critical to the successful application of this design. Smooth transitions allow the board to maximize performance and prevent the board from pushing water - bogging and slowing down. Poor, interrupted transitions will cause the board to drag and lose speed.
Continuous Curves Rocker is a bottom curve with no flat spots that still flows from greater curves in the nose and entry of the surfboard to lesser curves in the mid and tail sections of the board. These smooth and continuous curves allow a surfboard to turn with relative (to length, template, and bottom contours) ease, yet develop speed, and project well out of turns.
(Hybrid Combination Rocker is a bottom curve that draws on the relevant features of continuous curves rocker and staged curves rocker. These rocker patterns are applied primarily to the wide variety of hybrid surfboard designs. To accomplish the varied goals of these designs shapers will combine the smooth even curves of the continuous curves rocker and the flatter curves of the mid section of staged curves rocker to maximize performance.)
Taj and Greg Weber’s design is a continuous rocker design, with moderate curve throughout. Curved and flat elements of rocker are reduced. Blending and transitions between these rocker elements is not such a difficult task as blending the more pronounced curves and flats of a staged rocker.
Moderate curve throughout a board allows a shaper to drop the entry and nose rocker a little as the soft curves in the middle of the board facilitate the nose and entry fitting into the curves of a wave
(as opposed to a flatter mid section found in staged rocker designs which usually require a little more lift in the entry.)
Blank selection and custom rocker are important / critical to achieve a good result. You can reduce enrty rocker dramatically by starting the shape a little further back from the nose of a blank. Remember to consider how this effects the rocker in the mid section and tail of the board.
