I see most shortboard rails taper to a hard edge aroung the side fins. What are the standards regarding this (front of the fins, rear of the fins, etc.) and what is the purpose? Appreciate the feedback.
The hard edge is used to allow water to release quickly and efficiently from the bottom. Since the fins are close to the rail, there is no need to soften the rail in this portion of the board for traction. The amount of edge is pretty much a “feel” thing. If the edge is pushed to far in front of the fin, the board can become hyper sensative and tend to sideslip or track. The term “pinched rails” usually means a deck and bottom tapering to a smallish round rail. Kind of like "