a friend of mine just bought a used noserider…9’6" 23.25 single fin with concave under the nose, very thinned out on deck over concave and a scooped out tail – what does the scooped out tail on the deck do?
The concave area on the deck works sort of like the spoiler on a race car. As the water rushes over the deck of the board, when it hits the concave area at the tail it pushes the tail down which lifts the nose out of the water allowing longer noserides. I believe the first use of this design was by Bob “The Greek” Bolen on his Eliminator model. I had one in the 60s, and recently purchased his limited edition Eliminator model. Great all around board. They have a step in the deck, the concave area at the tail, but no concave under the nose. Aloha, OL
Tim, The deck/tail shape described above will perform even better (noserides and quick tail turns) if the rear (bottom) rocker is increased a bit in harmony with the scoop on the deck, i.e. many of the most efficient noseriders employ a high pressure, softly rolled vee and accentuated rocker with a low pressure, dished-out deck in the rear, appearing just ahead of and often subtly peaking around the base of the fin(s) and then flattening a little as you near the tailblock. If not taken to “extremes” (unless you ride very extreme, hollow, smaller waves), these design characteristics offer an effective counterbalance and leverage point to utilize when shifting your weight forward on the board or back and turning off the “sweet spot” that this design has the potential to focus in the tail section. Ironically, even though these design elements are actually working (at speed) as completely opposing forces, a concave placed in the nose (on the bottom) and a concave placed in the rear (on the deck) can work together to achieve a balance, allowing the magic of noseriding to take place. The essence of shaping surfcraft is nothing less than the potent alchemy of blending opposing forces.
My buddy and I custom bought “Rod” longboards here in Houston in 1967. They were built in Laguna Beach, CA. Mine was 9’4", transclucent color rails, and had the deck/tail scoop. It noserode great, but required mass quantities of wave power to move and turn. I really liked it and finally wore it out a few years ago. I had no idea who built it. Do you know any history on Rod Surfboards? -Noodle>>> The concave area on the deck works sort of like the spoiler on a race car. > As the water rushes over the deck of the board, when it hits the concave > area at the tail it pushes the tail down which lifts the nose out of the > water allowing longer noserides. I believe the first use of this design > was by Bob “The Greek” Bolen on his Eliminator model. I had one > in the 60s, and recently purchased his limited edition Eliminator model. > Great all around board. They have a step in the deck, the concave area at > the tail, but no concave under the nose.>>> Aloha, OL