Got a favorite tail shape/design ?
What is it ?
Oh, I’m asking for it ,from Peta !****
H
Back in the late 70’s I was pretty partial to the Star Tail
Ive always been partial to the way a rounded pin feels its way around a cutback. Ive been playing around with a diamond tail lately, and havnt really enjoyed it as much.
All time fav… Round pin
sometimes ,squash
And you Mr Herb?
big fat bumble bee bonzer tail…not diamond, not square, not narrow.
My fave ?
Well , of course, the assYmeTrical hAlF mOOn.
Fluted bat tail,dunno if anyone else did it before,but Bruce Abrams,then workin at Nirvana(Bill Cilia)in the eighties made ton’s of em.We also had,in combo nose wings (fluted as well).Called the,MOA!These things were outrageous lookin beasties,and really flew!!
Tim tim tim… I can only type so fast with my left hand… Ha!!!
I still partial to round pin - w/ asymetry for heel-toe side
Taylor
thats a 3/4 moon, very symmetrical…sweet!
I’m pretty fond of the split-tails my self.
Rounded pin for travel and bigger days and I really dig my fishy for the smaller ones. Although, the rounded square on my hull is pretty decent too. Then again my Stewart is a square tail…yeah I like split-tails.
I haven’t ridden one, but i’ve always thought the “trashcan lid” tails were nice looking
The post was deleted so I thought I’d help some brothers out…
But seriously folks…
I suspect that any discussion of buttcrack depth would be inappropriate given this photograph…
…or maybe not.
back during my water ski days we’d call that a v-drive(tail)
Edge, width, volume… maybe more important than outline.
That being said, on EPS/epoxy, I like a softened edge on a rounded pin for good days. And that has less to do with what it feels like on a cutback than when you push it hard off the top. I like the feeling that a soft, rounded pin gives when it’s buried in the lip… feels like it’s almost pushing through it. Squashes and other tails with corners tend to feel like they resist it… sort of bounce off it… which can work if it’s small because you don’t stall and loose any speed. But when it’s good, the rounded pin sinks in and feels really positive… like a sharp edge on a snowboard in the steeps… it penetrates deeper than skis with half your weight on one ski and half on the other.
Am I making any sense?
Here we go again, Herb,
SQUARETAIL !
LOL
I really can’t tell how much the tail shape affects the board…I’ve tried a lot of different ones, but like Bill, the best board I’ve had so far had a squaretail.
I have round pins, wide ass round tails, squashes, fish and each one works well in different kinds of waves. For fun stuff, it seems like I can get a harder, squarer turn from a straighter edge running into a hard angle, so square, diamond, swallow, bat all work, but I think the combination of less curve in the outline in the tail is just as important as the actual tail shape. From there, I’d go with a fish, swallow or bat type tail, basically a double round pin. I think the pointed edge and less surface area help make a quicker, harder turn, and less curve in the tail allows you to sink a lot of rail into the water. But I would bet that the squash tail (we used to call it a rounded square tail way back when) is the most popular because it’s the easiest to shape and glass.
For fast, powerful, or bigger waves, I like my BK rounded pin semi gun, but you need some juice to get it to loosen up.
The one board I have a very hard time with is the straight pin gun, which for some reason my brother has liked a lot.