why do the rails of a surfmat hold high on a wave face? why don’t the rails on a surfboard without a fin hold on the same wave? i just can’t seem to figure out some surf craft you would think that an inflatable mat would NEVER hold, but it does. you would think that a surfboard SURELY would, but it doesn’t.
DRAG!!! Drag is what holds. Fins are drag, V is drag, etc. Those big soft rails on a mat are great for neutral handling. Suction on a big convex surface. Water is able to wrap around the rails rather than be released too early. aloha
DRAG!!!>>> Drag is what holds. Fins are drag, V is drag, etc. Those big soft rails on > a mat are great for neutral handling. Suction on a big convex surface. > Water is able to wrap around the rails rather than be released too early.>>> aloha Tom, Yes, drag is what holds, but how that song is played is what really counts… Unlike all other surfcraft, in the esoteric world of modern, ultralight surfmats, there are very few design compromises that relate to precise contours, simply because the wave itself… is always the shaper! To be specific, modern high performance surfmats (since 1982) with their very thin and supple, nylon fabric running surfaces need only the minimum drag to provide control. Close observation of these surfmats accelerating across a wave at trim speed most often reveals the tell-tale, low wake, with water peeling off the exposed bottom and outside rails, rather than wrapping around them… a clear indication of efficiency. Skilled mat riders never inflate their craft anywhere near full air capacity, and instead fine-tune the mat`s volume, flotation, control and speed by subtle manipulation of the internal air pressure between waves (with the deck valve), as well as while riding, by increasing or decreasing their hand/arm grip. In turn, this causes significant changes in internal pressure, making the inside rail and thickness flow either fuller, or flatter. The result, at velocity, is a surfcraft which is always changing its template, rocker/torque, thickness flow and rail contours in direct response to the continually changing curves, and even the textures of the wave face. When necessary, the inside rail tapers back to the tail, forming a natural, thin and flexible foil, with an absolute minimum of drag. Far closer to “jet-propelled bodysurfing” than bodyboarding, playing the intimate song of ever-changing balance between maximum speed and control, is much of what modern, high performance surfmat riding is all about.
why do the rails of a surfmat hold high on a wave face? why don’t the > rails on a surfboard without a fin hold on the same wave?>>> i just can’t seem to figure out some surf craft>>> you would think that an inflatable mat would NEVER hold, but it does. you > would think that a surfboard SURELY would, but it doesn’t. IMHO: Don
t ask me why they work! Greenough knows. Maybe because theyre the most sophisticated, misunderstood, funny lookin things that people have ever surfed waves on. If you dont have the right looks, then you dont count for much with most people. Way more money is spent on slick promotion and sales of most big name surfboards than their actual function and longevity out of that fancy show room can deliver. Every day surfers are starving more than ever for the kind of quality and righteous performance thats exceeds the advertising bull$@!#! The good surfmats that are still left exist in spite of all that because they simply work BETTER than promised. Now THAT`S magic!
The concept of drag is true, But it is only relative in respect to nose and tail that give you direction. If the bottom surface was a different texture front to back that i could understand. My guess is that it is the flippers that the rider is wearing that creats the “drag”. Gus.
The concept of drag is true, But it is only relative in respect to nose > and tail that give you direction. If the bottom surface was a different > texture front to back that i could understand.>>> My guess is that it is the flippers that the rider is wearing that creats > the “drag”. Gus. Gus, Unless I consciously want them to contact the water, my swimfins create no resistance whatsoever. After paddling for a wave, and dropping in, I
m seldom concerned with dragging my legs or feet, except ocassionally using them (and the swimfins) as airborne counterweights, lightly hovering inches above the wake as the ride progresses. Most of the people who use my surfmats like to ride as fast as possible on specific types of waves that demand clean lines just to make the most of them... and nearly all of the mat surfers with whom Ive spoken, rarely drag the sides of their arms, body or lower extremities. Modern, ultralight surfmats function very well with a minimum of input from their riders. So, its not a mystery, that part of the surfmats attraction lies in their functional simplicity: they need NO rudders, fins or any form of additional drag to maintain lateral control… and gnarly, textured waves only serve to make them work better! Strange as it may seem, surfmats often accelerate and surf themselves through critical sections, skimming high across unwinding, vertical walls… and not by carving a gouge into the wave`s face through hard, fiberglass edges, but rather by subtly conforming… ironically, the means of LEAST possible resistance. Dale