outline curve/width

the board i have been riding lately, with much success, is a hearty 20 1/4 inches wide. its a 6’6, wide squash. what i am wondering as i think about how this board is performing and how i would like my next board to perform, is how does width affect the way the board performs? i have heard many different things about width and outline curve, so i’m hoping for something definitive. a little info- i am 6’2 180 lbs, an intermediate shortboarder (i can cutback, carve, do floaters, and lip hits, but i dont really rip… im just pretty good), and i surf backside about 75% of the time. my board gets me into waves and bottom turning really well, it feels pretty good through carves and has good range, so for my next board i don’t want to change very much. the only thing i would want changed is if it could somehow just generate more speed (just slightly), and turn tighter. could this be acheived by making the board 19 1/4 wide maybe? i understand that riding a board 20 inches wide is pretty far off from the norm… what is the difference wider vs. shorter?

Outline and width are integral to lots of other design features. You’ve basically asked, “If you have a minute, tell me everything you know”. To pick up design relationships, hang around… or search the archives. I’m gonna try and throw in a couple of points. When the wave pushes you hard enough on ANY board, you’re gonna go fast. Sometimes you have to glide to get into the pit, sometimes you have to turn to get there. It’s up to the surfer to get him/her self into the pit when the wave is pushing. When you’re surfing at 30 mph, a ski will turn best. But a ski won’t let you paddle into a wave, or let you glide into the pit, the power producing part of the wave. For that you need width and floatation. A longboard is arguably the fastest form of surfboard. A longboard generates speed slowly, collecting power from the pit. Then it can scream out of the pit, never to see the wave again. Bottom line, surfing speed is up to the surfer. Get a stick that you think you can take into the pit when you want to go there.

Like Noodle stated their are a whole bunch of variables that effect board speed and manuverability. There are all kinds of resources out there that address these variables. A lot of the boards I ride/shape are like the board you mention, and I am about your same size. If you like the float and wave entry of the current board, then I would not go with a narrower board. You will give up the float you like unless you go thicker on the narrower board, thus giving up sensitivity (there are always trade offs). If you are just looking for more drive you could accomplish this with different bottom contours or slight rocker adjustments. I don’t know what you have now, you might want to try a triple concave or a different fin placement/template. If you want to tighten up your turning radius, minor adjustments in tail shape/tail width can do this (ie. you could pull in the planeshape of the tail in the last 6 to 8 inches). I would try to fine tune the design you like, instead of going with something different.

i like my shortboards a little wider than avg, like 19.75". this lets me go thinner and maintain some paddling/planing ability. going faster and turning tighter are two diff. design problems, pretty opposite the way i understand it. getting it to happen together is the big trick, isn’t it. there’s so many variables to consider. for instance you may lower your tail rocker to get more speed and pull in the tail outline or put in hips to effect tighter turns. i wouldn’t change too many variables at once, and the ones you do change do in small steps. may we all find the perfect board…