I have this old longboard that I’ve had for a long time. It old and battered, and a month or so ago it had a huge ding in the nose along with a nice little delam on the bottom in the nose area. I’ve always liked the board, but found it hard to get into some waves as the nose would not always fit well into the wave when paddling into the wave. Otherwise I was quite happy about the way it rides. Anyway, I decided to shape in a little more rocker in the nose area, there was enough thickness for allowing maybe 3/4" more nose rocker. I stripped the glass on the bottom about 3’ from the nose and shaped in a new rocker with a hint of concave in the nose, then glassed it. After the ‘Frankensteining’ it actually works quite well, easier to paddle into waves without catching the nose. What puzzles me though is that it’s actually faster in trim with seemingly alot less drag. More rocker => more drag, right? It seems to be wrong in this case…
I’ve got a few theories why, but I’d like to hear someone more knowledgables opinion on this. Thanks.
My theory: By lifting the entry there is less wetted surface during trim. Secondly the concave at entry has minimized the increase in rocker that was reshaped into the bottom. The nose is now lighter and does not dig into the wave face as easily. Finally the concave is producing lift and thus the board feels lighter and faster.
Rocker is the ultimate magic in a surfboard, No Worries, Rich
You are probably right, there are a number of factors that play in. I didn’t think of the lift created by a concave, however the nose concave is very mellow so I don’t think that’s the full story. I’m also thinking that the rocker might be smoother in the nose area, which may lead to less drag. Less wet area for sure. Also the change in foil may suit the rail/rocker/fin combo, but I don’t know. One thing that I keep returning to though, the rail in the nose was thinned considerably. So the thinner forward rail will most likely pierce the water much better as the water enter the nose rail in trim. There is another reason for me thinking this, I borrowed a longboard this summer with very thick forward rails, the tip of the nose was maybe 1 1/4" and very blunt. Must be the worst longboard I’ve ever tried. Probably other things going on too, but I keep thinking about those forward rails…
Can really the forward rails have such a huge impact on drag? It might have a serious impact on how I shape a new board also.
Food for your thoughts: Classic gun rails are thicker in the forward area, and they aint slow, and don’t have problems (generally) catching waves. So, you have something of a mystery.