Rocker- is lower always faster? Wouldn’t more rocker be faster in really hollow waves?
the way that i figure it the more the board is in contct with the water and its natural forces the faster the board will go.
in a fast hollow wave you shouldnt have to worry about speed, control is the bigger issue and you dont want to take out a lot of rocker because you could peril. and thats not fun on a big fast hollow wave
I’d have to say the more board that is in contact with the water the slower it goes, friction. That’s why hydroplanes are so fast. Most agree flat is faster, the archives are chuck full. Tail rocker is more important to be flat for speed. Keep the nose rocker for sucked out drop ins. Have you ever seen the video “Second thoughts” (my new favorite), speed definitely matters while tube riding these indo monsters, but again you still have to make the drop.
First of all, how do you want to surf?
Flat tail rocker on a fast hollow Indo wave means you’re just zippin along going dead straight on the wall, like a kook with wide eyes.
A good surfer still climbs and drops, adjusts up and down, and given a slower section, bashes the lip at least. Flat rocker don’t work for that!
Then again, on a fast walled wave, a fish might be very fast, but can’t control the speed when turned hard, banked over, and pushed, so is not the best choice.
A good surfer on a normal rockered minigun can make any makeable wave, and throw in some hard turns, climbs and drops. Don’t need to go any faster, just need to learn to surf as well as that guy!
Semiguns and true guns are all about control. They don’t need to be any faster, as your ability to turn at speed is more important than running towards the shoulder.
Especially in fast waves, rocker is important to allow the surfer to ride as the wave dictates, not ride as some guy thinks might be cool regardless of the wave.
Surfers have no problems making Pipe, G land, or anywhere else. The might have problems with wave selection, crowd snaking, making the late hairy drops, making the first critical turn, but once pointed in the right direction near the shoulder, speed or more speed is NOT an issue.