roundtail or squash

Here’s the situation. I’m shaping a 6’2 and was going to make it a roundtail, but am not sure what it will do. I was thinking it would stretch out it’s range a little, and make it a little more versitile. I’m not really sure what to expect though. I’ve searched the archives and nothing on roundtail shortboards popped up. I haven’t really seen anyone around with one to ask about it either. When I said round, I mean round like a frisbee not like a round pin. Just looking for any kind of feedback I can get. Oh yeah, east coast, mid-atlantic. --Thanks, Dave

Most of what I have read says that tail shape dosen’t matter as much as rocker and rails. My thinking is that most turns, bottom turns, top turns, and cut backs are arcs, so why not shape your tail to fit that configuration. I like round tails on short boards. In my opinion, go with the round tail.

I perfer roundtails also, but maybe thats because my first shortboard was a roundtail… Anyway, east coaster here too… i’ve found that on most waves that i can find on the east coast, round tails are a little more speedy. but other than that , i cant feel much of a difference.

Roundtail with G3000’s…SHEESH, hurry up and finish it so we can try it!

I like to carve hard, and for some reason all the roudtails I’ve had have been uniformly unsatisfactory. I reason it may be that there are no “points” to push against. Everything just mushes flowingly. Or flows mushingly. Pintails carve hardest, along with swallows, then squashes follow. Round seems to flow smoothly with little to resist. Resistance is good to have when you want it.

I had a round tail a few years back, it did wonders for my back hand. I then moved onto a swollow tail. That was OK but now I am busy shaping a round tail for myself. As my new local is on my backhand. I dont know about other folks but I find it does struggle a bit if you get caught in the white water. Cheers

Grant, Don’t scare me like that! I’m just about ready to glass a swallow tail speed egg. I’ve surfed everything but a swallow tail through the years. I figured I’d give it a go. What’s the scoop? be honest before I glass it! Please!?

Howzit Shane Sorry to scare you like that. The swallow tail I had was my second best Board it is a better all rounder. My reason why I am moving back to a round tail is becauseAlso my local has more backhand waves. I have grown heavier I am forced to surf wider boards. But I have small feet. Which makes wide tail boards a bit difficult to apply leaverage on the back foot in turns. Thats why I have switched to a round tail. You are talking about a speed egg or fish type board I would stick with the swallow. The boards I have refered to have been 3ft to 6ft wave boards I now ride them 1 to 2 inches wider. Post some pics when your done. Hope this helps Cheers Mate

As a kid growing up, I had a couple swallow tails and didn’t think much of them because I wasn’t a very good surfer. Then, starting around 1985 I used exclusively squash tails because that’s what my shaper made for me. I had no idea what I needed, so I just let him do it. Now, it’s 2003 and I just bought my first swallow tail in about 18 years. It has three wings. The sucker FLIES! It is unbelievably responsive, and makes the full turn on the cutback so that I can actually bounce off the soup. I haven’t gotten to where I can do the off the lip on a roundhouse, but bouncing off the foam is a good start. I am thrilled at the way it rides. Plus, it releases faster on the takeoff. This is super important on speedy, beachbreak type of waves. You need to get to your feet and pump quickly. Swallow tails allow this to happen much faster, because they aren’t sticking to the wave face as much. plus, it helps to have a wider tail. I like 15.5 on my 6,8 shortboard. That also gets going faster. For waves under six feet, a wide tail, middle, and even nose is essential in my opinion. Something racey isn’t good for small waves. It’s too slow. But that’s the concept right there: What kind of waves will you be riding? I think the squash is so prevalent because most kids only have one board, and they need it to work in smaller surf and large surf. The consequences of poor design really only come out in larger surf (painful consequences, that is), so shapers tend to be pretty conservative in my opinion. Look at the tri-fish designs. That’s what I call them. Some people call them fish, but they aren’t. However, they get their ideas from the fish of the seventies, mixed with the eighties outline, and the nineties bottom rocker. They are everywhere. And they usually have some kind of fish name like Sashimi, Pirannah, Hogfish, etc. Everyone is making them now, and they work for lots of surf, especially small surf which is 90 percent of what we have in California, Florida, South Shore of Oahu, etc. And like I said, it takes real surf to really be able to see the effects of a pintail, squash, etc., but a swallow tail shows its abilities in even small surf. that’s why I am now hooked on swallow tails and wings. But please don’t get me started on channels. I have NO idea what those things do. Bottom contours, to me, are a total mystery. I never thought about it, but am now starting to get curious. But, again, it all comes down to the kind of waves you will be riding. If you plan to ride Lani’s, that’s a whole different design than Pipe. I mean, mushy reef break (relative to Pipe) versus Pipeline is a huge difference. I wouldn’t be afraid to take anything out at Lanis, but Pipe? Heck, I won’t even paddle out there, but if someone put a gun to my head, they also better put a gun shape in my hand, so to speak. It makes a difference. In CA the comparison would be like Trestles (any design will work well or moderately) or sucking out, low tide Blacks (better know what you’re riding). Get my point? It’s all about the waves.