I notice a lot of soft railed longboards have fin placement closer to the tail. Why?
Very often the fin overhangs the tail.
Is there a relationship between soft rails in the tail and fin placement?
DT’'s model T has its box set at 4" from tail while a performance longboard is usually around 6".
Bobsie,
Having a box further back allows the fin to be placed further back which in turn allows the board to get "locked in". Turning suffers but noseriding will benefit from the box being placed further back. I am not sure but I would assume that the softer rails are due to the fact that the board is already set up to be a nose rider with the box being placed further back so you don't really need hard rails for turns when with that set up the fin isn't going to let you do it anyway.
Well I have seen these boards in the water and i wouldnt say that the turn-ability has been affected too much.
Perhaps the soft rails in combination with the large fins find an equilibrium that makes turning easier.
look at Tom Wegener’s design articles about soft rail boards and big fins.
I was glad I got turned onto his articles.
http://www.tomwegenersurfboards.com/articles_page.htm
(b.t.w. soft rails, not just for nose riders)
enjoy