If the tail of the board is popping out of the wave while your on the nose, which would help the most, say I keep everything else the same. Do I make the tail thicker or thinner?
I don’t know if its a thicker vs. thinner thing, although too much bouyancy would be bad…
I find tails stick in best when they have a lot of rocker, starting late (not continuous), and very soft but kind of pinched rails - like 50/50’s looking like the pointy end of the egg. The softness creates drag while the thinness of the pinch allows submersion.
But heck, Al, you probably know more about it than me anyway 
I think its a more of a matter of the tail/nose rocker, fin shape and rail type to hold the tail down. If you look at the traditional nose riders, the nose rocker was flatter and the tail a more kick and 50/50 rails allowed water to flow over the board and keep the tail down. All thinks being equal, I would go with a thinner tail.
D
The question is really being asked because of someone telling me that I’m wrong. I could not agree with you more everything that you have said is just the way I said it. I have my thought on weather a thicker tail or a thinner tail would help cause the tail to want to pop out of the wave. I’m just looking for other peoples thought on it, and what a better place to ask then Swaylock’s. If I went into a shop and asked the shaper he would tell me that it had to do more with the??? and the ??? but if you did???. No I want to know which of the two would make the problem more sever.
By the way Benny think for give me so much credit it is more then I deserve. AL
Quote:
I don’t know if its a thicker vs. thinner thing, although too much bouyancy would be bad…
I find tails stick in best when they have a lot of rocker, starting late (not continuous), and very soft but kind of pinched rails - like 50/50’s looking like the pointy end of the egg. The softness creates drag while the thinness of the pinch allows submersion.
But heck, Al, you probably know more about it than me anyway
i’d go thinner tail with soft rails that suck water over the deck of the board & help the tail lock in when the rider’s on the nose. rails with edges release or slip out. also, like people have said, rocker in the tail helps you slow down & stay in the pocket which is where all good noseriding happens. if the board’s too flat you shoot out on the shoulder.
On fin[s] …
can you move / change fins on that board ?
is it a single fin ?
would a deeper or rakier fin help ? further back , if there is a box in the board ? more base in the fin ? [ I don’t know , not being a good noserider myself ?]
cheers
i forgot to mention, a big, deep, stiff singlefin right on the tail helps too. it really enables the tail to be buried deep in the pocket to counterbalance the weight of the rider on the nose. deep hatchets or Ds do the trick for me.
Hey Al,
All things being equal is just about impossible when it comes to surfboards; I’m sure you’ll agree. With that said here’s a stab a longboard tail function:
Tail rocker and foil along with rail shape have lots to do with how a longboard acts when you’re out there hangin’ heels like you always are, Al. I think more bouyancy in the tail, harder - down rails and less vee in the tail section all contribute to more release and thus make it easier to pop the tail out when you’re on the nose. More neutral rails, more tail rocker and less bouyancy will make for better holding power. When it comes to wide tails and narrow tails I’ve always thought that because a narrower tail tends to run deeper in the water it has more holding power. (and then there’s fins, but we don’t need no stinking fins (-;
That’s my three and half cents.
Seaya in the line up mate, Rich
The john kelly story
to keep the hot curl planks from sliding ass
the started adding v
the contouring of the aft bottoms increased
SUCKaTION
them penatrators
and snubs and
specialized noz roiders
was all about sucking into the wave
one turn then on the nose
not the best most articulate turn
but tonz o’suck
but all other things remaining the same in the contemp design
We must MUST
add FIN AREA
then most important is tecnique
monorail monique
dowm the centerline dynamic.
YOU TWIST YOU SPIN OUT
unlearning the tri fin turn dynamic
is most critical to not loosing
SUCK ING TAIL.
watch the guy spin out
he may have Chubby Checker on his I-Pod
…ambrose…
poppa zu ba popa popa zuba
or maybe joeyy dee and the starlighters
roulette november 1961
How ironic, I had alongtime customer that i am currently shaping a new mal for ring and say my old board just spun out I want the next one an inch narrower in the tail. the last one is 13 @8 inches round pin I personaly don’t think it is width as it isn’t that wide . might have just been a critical wave . comments apreciated.
thin, knifey, kicked, scooped…wingnut anchor fin
if you look at some historical noseriders, say the surfboard hawaii model a, or more modern noserider, done by an old master, bud gardners line of noseriders, you’ll see a moderate roll in the bottom and rails in the last 2 feet or so, raising up to the top of the tailblock at the level of the deck. in other words, the exact opposite of hard down rails.
now, some guys can ride anything, and do anything with them. but a guy like me needs all the help he can get. i find that a rolled bottom and high rail carried out all the way to the tailblock as above to be superior to either down rails or a soft 50-50 rail in the last 2 feet of the board, for ease of noseriding. i think the thickness of the tail is a non factor. the tail thickness should be proportional to the rest of the board.
but hey, its just my opinion of what works for me.
agreed peterg. ‘uprails’ in the tail work for me too. & one thing we’ve all forgotten to mention: hips behind centre.