i’ve got a point of contention with a rider. he loves lots of “flip” nose and tail. i go along with him on longboards, but i have a problem adding a lot of tail rocker to shortboard blanks. i’ve been hiding it by having it placed in the last 18 inches of the blanks so that it’s not so much flip just more rocker (+1"), but i got to thinking, if i’m straightening the rocker with concaves throught the middle, would the additional tail rocker be more efficient if placed at or near the tail? any ideas? personally, i like less tail rocker for more drive/speed which in turn gives me looseness. i.e. no speed = bog, therefore no turn.
Pretty much any time you add more curve you sacrifice speed. concaves will give you back some of the speed but always a comprimise somewhere between down the line speed and looseness and turning. Keep in mind the modern shortboard has generally alot of rocker and is designed to generate speed through turning or pumping and excels in square turns off the bottom and vertical moves BUT at the expense of straight line speed. If the person riding this board isnt constantly turning the board will seem slow and lifeless. A recent trend though seems to be the low entry rocker with heavy tail rocker which is faster down the line and and will still do the extreme turns. If you want the illusion of flip though you can scoop out the deck some.
It’s also important to keep in mind what kind of waves your rider is riding. If it is’t pipeline, then maybe a lot of nose rocker is a good idea (of course, flat nose rocker will get you into the pipe earlier). If the dude is surfing Tamarack, like I do, then rocker is a bummer. In fact, one of the really skinny closet doors works really well there (the hard rails need to be softened, but the rocker is great). All kidding aside, the other email answered it perfectly. If the guys is always on a rail, then rocker is great. The more the merrier. But if the guy is honest with himself, he might consider what the other comment was: Less nose rocker, more tail rocker. Tail rocker is awsome, as it allows you to turn sharp and bury the rail, thus going up vertical and blasting throught the lip, much like my typical ride. [smile] I had a Byrne once with a ton of rocker. I couldn’t catch a wave. Then, I grabbed my old shortboard from the eighties with the flatter nose rocker, and had my shaper duplicate it (he didn’t mind because it was one of his boards). He duplicated it perfectly, and it’s the best shortboard I have ever ridden. Yeah. Now I surf exactly like Slater, only with a little more control on my ariels [wink]
id agree with the previous poster on lowering the entry rocker and keeping it low through center and the at about 18" from the tail start to accelerate the tail rocker to the desired amount in the tail. everyone that we have riding this configuration likes it alot, the lower entry is faster down the line and carries through the flat sections much better. Take offs are much easier also.