V in a board?

What do shapers mean by putting V into a board?

What do shapers mean by putting V into a board? When shapers refer to “v” in the bottoms, it is the result of adding 2 different rockers to the bottom. The first rocker line is down the center, the second at the rail line, can be engineered in several different ways. The first is to have the “v” be all in the end of the tail, this results in the added curvature being closest to the tail. This type of rocker gives a shorter turning radius. The second type of rocker, the “v” is moved forward, near the placement of the twin fins, this straightens out the rail line and allows the board to have more of a driving turn. Diffenderfer used this type of rocker on many of his north shore boards and it was refered to as a roller bearing bottom. It allowed the board to be rocked easily from rail to rail, with the end of the tail being flattened for driving speed. "v"is not essential for a board to be good riding, it is just a way to modify the characteristics that a board has. Jim Phillips

Jim (or anyone else who wants to chime in), In this same vein, what is “spiral V”? Mike>>> When shapers refer to “v” in the bottoms, it is the result of > adding 2 different rockers to the bottom. The first rocker line is down > the center, the second at the rail line, can be engineered in several > different ways. The first is to have the “v” be all in the end > of the tail, this results in the added curvature being closest to the > tail. This type of rocker gives a shorter turning radius. The second type > of rocker, the “v” is moved forward, near the placement of the > twin fins, this straightens out the rail line and allows the board to have > more of a driving turn. Diffenderfer used this type of rocker on many of > his north shore boards and it was refered to as a roller bearing bottom. > It allowed the board to be rocked easily from rail to rail, with the end > of the tail being flattened for driving speed. "v"is not > essential for a board to be good riding, it is just a way to modify the > characteristics that a board has. Jim Phillips

As Jim mentioned, V is 2 sets of rocker;one for the stringer, one for the rails.The best way to detect V in a board is to sight the board from the side, if the stringer sights higher than the bottom edge of the rail, there is V present. V is a great design accesory for adding control to a board, especially boards for larger surf. V causes some drag so it must be used sparingly in small wave boards. Small wave boards with a lot of width at the tail can actually be FASTER with some V added in the back 1\3 of the board (add a little concave to each V plane and be prepared to fly!!). The reason is because it helps the board go to the rail easier, otherwise the wider boards tend to surf flat on the water which equates to a loss of speed. Slight V can be added in the front half of the board for powerful or hollow surf. The drag of the V helps the nose to find a higher track (the pocket) on the wave automatically. Another positive effect of forward V is that it straightens the rail line slightly up front so that when you put the board on a rail it takes off REALLY fast. V can be overdone so use it sparingly!