Thought I’d start a meaningful discussion. One area I’d like to see more talk about is board profile. I think I know enough about rocker, bottom contours, and rails. I’d like to get more information about profiles, from nose to tail and rail to rail. So please go ahead and share your thoughts.
Where do you like having the maximum thickness, how thick do you like your tails, why?
Provocative and timely
Just finished this 6-5 volume miester.
Thought is, volume under a padding position
Chest, hips.
The transition from stringer to rail?
Comfort on ribs and taper to function.
Or within reason.
In my opinion , I prefer the float ie thickness and wide point to be directly under the surfers greatest mass when paddling , if you have a large upper body , further forward , if you are an old guy with a big gut , further back , flat decks , fairly soft down rails with a hard tuck , ie with the transition from the flat of bottom to the tuck edge sharp all the way around the board , from the front of the front fins the rail fades into a hard down rail with a defined sharp edge , the thickness of the tail is determined by the thickness of the board overall to keep it both in proportion and for the aesthetics and a thicker board would be for a bigger guy who could sink a thicker tail , I prefer wide pintails and fish tails .
Nice board Matty. Kinda what I’m doing these days, but I’ve been keeping the nose full, and I use less rocker. One thing I’ve noticed about boards I’ve made is that when I keep a reasonably good amount of foam up in the front half, I can move up further when paddling into waves and it helps quite a bit. Even on a 6-7 or 6-4, I scoot a little bit forward when I catch waves, and paddling out I may stay a bit further back. On some of the older boards I have, I didn’t have the thickness distribution right, so I can’t move too far forward. Those boards have the main mass of foam under where I stand, but I do tend to stand further up on my boards. They do seem to catch waves as well.
I guess it might be good to make a teeter totter type of rig and lay on it to see where my mid point is for balance. Then I can adjust where the bulk of the foam should be.
For outlines, I like the pig/nugget shape as much as I do the egg. I think the pig/nugget really loosens up the board.
For rails, I’ve been making a lot of hard edge tucked under rails along the whole board starting from about 18" back. I want to go back and play with a thinner rounder rail in the middle then tucked with hard edge in the tail only. I’ve got a few long boards made by very good shapers and they range from what looks like 50/50 but with a small diameter to pinched and those board work well. I want to see how that will work on a mid size, maybe between 7-10 and 8-6. The hard edge is fast, but it doesn’t hold well on a steep wall. I had my board release on me when the wave starts getting nice and round. Not what you to happen.
Thanks!
Rawson plug just Cali’d it…
Getting the nose right is trouble.
leaned to the thick side.
The stance was considered did what I thought best at the tail.
And I agree on the tucked edge…
Best.
Double when you add FAT rail (with hard edge) to the equation, but you can get away with a lot with a quad and all those rail fins, IMO. I have had board release in that situation even with thin, round rails, but wide tail single fin. Riding Mattwho’s 8-8, quad with knifey rails, I was in that situation and felt sure it was gonna release, but it didn’t. I was going sooo fast, and couldn’t drop down any because of paddle-outers right in the way, had to take high line and hope for the best, made it!
My latest board I went with a completely unorthodox profile, both rail to rail and front to back, and so far it has been working out very well. The thing that made it weird rail to rail was that I wanted a thick board, but not too thick rails, and I wanted a concave deck. This design package was very much influenced by the Stretch Skate Deck boards I’d seen, with his rail channels. In order to get the concave, I had to jump the thickness up quickly, otherwise I’d lose my desired thickness with the concave. I used a rail channel to “hide” the deck bump up, and to keep the rail a bit thinner and the board a bit more user-friendly (“love handles”). The profile front to back was weird because of the step there, kinda like a deck pad wedge. This was just an aesthetic decision based on transitioning from thick step deck to a more conventional tail thickness. But even then, my tail is thicker than most.
You can see the weird profiles in the concept sketch, where its a bit exaggerated to make the point. This sketch was done prior to shaping, as I was working out the shape in my mind. I started shaping with a deck bump in the nose too, as shown in the sketch, but decided I didn’t like it, and blended the deck up front. So far the board has been working out really good, even in overhead surf which it really wasn’t designed for.
I began shaping with dome decks and thin rails, which I still like the look / feel of. Then I moved to flatter decks as I began carrying volume out to the rails. Now this latest is a further step away from the dome, with a concave deck. I don’t really notice so much when surfing, but definitely more comfortable paddling, which is a big deal to me. I was really starting to feel pain at my zyphoid process. With flat decks, and concave deck, the thickness is more evened out, rather than the central thickness of a dome deck. I haven’t noticed a big difference performance or paddling wise, (other than the comfort issue mentioned).
Huck I’ve been using deck channels for 2 things. First to add strength to my boards, second is as a step down from the deck to the rail. I can get a narrower rail and still keep a fairly flat deck with the channel. I’ve also been using the chine rail on the bottom again. Did it quite a bit about 8 years ago, and I’m starting to mess with the bottoms again. All about getting the rail thinner. I also trying to get the mid rail on the midlengths sorted out. Nothing beats a hard edged tucked under rail on the short board. I’m not so sure for the midlengths and longer. I see a lot of softer rails through the middle on boards other guys make.
For me the profile is one area I need to always keep looking at. I’ve made a few boards with the thickness in the tail a bit off, some too thin, others too thick.
Matty, I like making the tails like you did. Don’t do those boxy tails. I like an old school down rail with an edge back there. I have a diamond tail with a knife edge in the tail, like a 30 - 40 degree angle, and it’s a fast board. Was my go to board for the south swells a couple years ago.
Funny but the first bunch of boards I did 10-11 years ago when I started making boards again were really nice. I still ride number 1 a lot, and people tell me I ride it good. #2-4 are either retired or I gave away. I think it was because I was tuned in to what the great shapers were making for me. Here 11 years later I think I’m a bit lost, I spent too much time experimenting with things that no one would ever do. Trying to bring myself back to tried and true looking for that magic one board quiver. I think it lies somewhere in the midlength.
Thanks for the input. Be cool if some others chimed in and give a little insight.
