An aspect ratio width/length = 0.4 Lords says is optimum. Flat bottom, flat rocker, straight plan shape and sharp trailing edge.
Bringing the wave and rider back into the equation makes doing any kind of scientific analysis very tricky. But it is here where concaves, rockers and outlines can be adjusted to suit the feeling wanted and making the most of the wave.
You have to balance these two. The Lord Board is very fast but very hard to ride and won’t work in some dare i say most conditions, but elements of this design can be added to a more converntional design to make it a bit faster.
As a scientist and engineer I have tried to apply science to surfing, looking in detail into this very topic but in the end I have concluded that we are after a feeling, so shaping some that is technically good, might not feel good. Sure apply some theory, but don’t let that be your only source of inspiration. Talking about how a board feels and scientifically analysing its performance are two very different things, if we understand that and how the same words may have different meaning in these two contexts we can make headway with developing designs.
When I think of how fast a board is I base it on how fast you can go without a lot of pumping, so racing along the face in full trim would be how I judge the speed. But you can tell if a board is faster when pumping it just as easily.
Yup, it’s all about control. Those fish boards back in the 70’s would go like a bat out of hell, then when you want to cut back it would spin so fast.
The board has to be tailored to the wave, but the surfer has to learn how to control the board too. I’d rather have a board that I have to slow down than a board that won’t go fast enough. Once you get to a certain level, you’re going to be riding boards designed to fit the waves you are riding at that time. I don’t think a board that is too fast is an issue at that point. It’s more that you’ll know the board is going to be out of control in those waves, so you wouldn’t use it. Or, you’ll know that one board will work better for that particular day, so you choose that one.
In general, I think a low rockered flat bottom board with tucked under rails will be very fast.
sorry to disagree, but has that ever stopped me? ;-0 You know when people talk about surfboards, and planing hulls and dispalcement hulls its really a lot of non sense. We aren’t talking about some ocean going vessel with a deep draft bottom. Its a surfboard with a draft of an inch at most? Let me go out on a limb here and say that all surfboards plane above the surface of the water, and if you are diplacing more than a gallon, you are bogging. Now if you take two surfboards, one with a half inch of convex and the other with a half inch of concave. and exactly the same stringer rocker, and send them down the line without rider input, the convex board would go as fast. Now it might not turn as well, or react the same to the rider, but we are just talking about board speed by its self.
As for the water and the spoon trick. Sure, the water will follow a curve. Does the stringer rocker on a hull have to be any different than the stringer rocker on a concave board? Nope. The difference between a convex and concave bottom isn’t the amount of rocker, but where the rail rocker and the stringer rocker differ.will they turn and ride differently? Sure. Will one design always be slower than the other? Nope.
And I guarantee you that a hulled shortboard with 3" nose and 2" tail rocker will be much faster than a concave bottom with 5" nose and 2 1/2" tail rocker.
Why do surfers do cutbacks? Because they went too fast? Slow down to get into the pocket…where you really want to be…style matters.
Marketing is something I lack. Paint it red. Tell the world how fast your board is. and make it a quad with pretty fins…you know the fins with fake honeycomb…
More surface area means greater planing efficiency, which produces an increase in speed in excess of the speed loss (if any) due to surface drag. Thus, producing an overall net gain in speed. Using the calculation for the area of an ellipse, will give you a ballpark figure for the bottom area of a surfboard. It’s not exact, but close enough to provide some understanding. For years, I’ve done surface area to weight ratio calculations on boards, to gain some insight into thier potential performance. Be careful not to ‘‘overthink’’ this stuff.
Partially that. Put your hand on a table, push down real hard and try to move your hand. Now lift your hand and try to move it. Less pounds per square inch equals less friction. Decrease P.S.I. by reducing load, or increasing area. So it is both less water is displaced, and less friction. Both displacing water and friction reduce the available energy to convert to forward speed.
Better surfer go faster. I have a pro, near wct, at my beach, he go so much fast than me! And better surfer than me go faster than me even when they use my board.
Why : because they take off deeper, they push more and well to have more projection, they top turn higher, etc… They use more potential energy of wave and are better to convert it in cinetic energy. They do it better with a board they feel better, in général low volume rockered board because waves are hollow here.
Alright I need some advice.
Suppose you have a low rocker board, hard edge on the bottom, flat bottom, and relatively thick. If you like the speed and ease of catching waves but wanted to smooth the ride out what would you do to the next board you make?
Lately, I’ve been really happy with flat bottom, beveled rails to chined edge. Thicker than normal rails. Then in the last third, while the stringer rocker keeps the same smooth curve, dropping the rail rocker a touch to create a slight concave with a little more rocker curve at that point.
Catches waves easy, goes fast, but turns when but on rail.
What Lamat says ! …and the last time I saw Everysurfer he had a red board…well…a board with some red stuff…Today I was riding my yellow log. All my friends tell me that sharks only hit yellow boards…so much for going faster…so much for going surfing…go out and have fun…thats all…fun.
Ok! I understand know why some guys don ´t want yellow boards.
melikefish, may be a bit more lift and a curvier outline in the last 1/3 of board. Depend the way you initiate your turn, more from front or back foot ?
Cool thanks guys. On the second to last board I made, it is 5’10" about 2 7/8" thick, has a hard edge behind the fins but real soft rails towards the front. It can catch medium size waves, and even when they get a little steep, the rail sinks right into the face and feels good.
I am trying to build a 7’10 single fin, planning on 3 1/2" thick and it is supposed to help me hunt for waves that break a little further out and kinda of move a little. I have a 6’3" thruster that was supposed to be for these waves, but I have been out a bunch with it, and when they start getting bigger the ride is not fun. It is extra thick and I can paddle in, but once up and going it feels like skis on moguls. I am trying to keep the paddle speed of the 6’3 thruster, so I can paddle into to these, but be able to have a nice ride once up and going.
With smaller waves it seems there is a lot of room for error, but when you start moving a little faster, little things make a bigger deal. I haven’t made such a big board before so I really appreciate the advice.