Thanks… that makes sense. I will have to look into other boards a bit more to see how they terminate the edge in the tail. I was actually partial to how you tapered that angle on the bottom back to front. It seemed a bit to drastic on the other boards.
By the way I miss the newbreak desperately. I’m a Nazbo who fianly went home… 
I’ve seen a different version - sorry, no photos and not sure who shaped… It had the rail channels starting approx. mid point and continuing towards the tail where they exited through some wide wings about 4" up from tail. Inside those channels were deep dual concaves which exited the tail. The overall effect was something maybe best described as a quad concave bonzer-like bottom.
Lee, wouldn’t a reduction of spin provide more traction? ie, harder bottoms turns/faster turns? I’m confused… I think that’sa good thing though. Also, what if one were to shape a hard/fast 110 degree-ish squash? And I’m talking BOXEY, not a smooth curvey squash.
Wow… there seem to be endless variations on this concept. I am almost positive that I don’t have the skill to shape one of these but this thread has sparked my interest and I think I will give it a shot. LeeV’s boards look the cleanest and most simple, the extreme concave on the greenough and wilderness boards kind of scare me.
LeeV, you are taking it personally! Don’t.
Comment was on concave rails…NOT bottom… with thick blocky rails.
And, for a 145lbs’er like myself, I would NEVER choose to put concave on the outside edges of the bottom. Too much lift when the board is banked for me.
I’d go double concave and then roll off the rails, as I’ve done on over 100 boards.
And for your info… I’ve passed George Grennough countless times back in the late '80’s at LakeLopez, riding a 13 lbs. custom sandwich Seatrend (Randy French shapes). I was a team rider for Seatrend, Gaastra Sails, and Chucky fins (Ames to you).
George’s windsurfing wind range was very limited, his boards too small and specialized, and I had the 5.1 and the 5.6 versions of his Aeroforce sails before I got picked up on Gaastra’s Regional Team. Overall all, the Gaastra Race Foil sails were every bit as good as Aeroforce, when used with a Serfiac Gold mast.
The deep dual concaves might actually cause some problem if encountering backwash of any degree. I’ve had mine “hop” a little but never out of control.
Both of the Wilderness boards were shaped by Bob Duncan. I think the original design was by Greenough.
In addition to being fairly difficult to shape, make sure you (or your glasser) are up to the task of glassing one. The edge can be templated using a section of your outline template. At Keith Melville’s shaping frenzy in San Diego, Lee gave a very skillful demonstration of laying out the edge and freehand cutting using a power plane along the penciled line.
Where to start and end the edge is something of a wildcard. Even the 2 Wilderness boards I posted have the front of the edge starting in different areas. The photos don’t really show it but the shorter one has the edge all the way forward, the longer one starts back quite a bit. They both exit in about the same area behind the side fins.
Here are a few pics of Lee and his edged fishy platter and doing the edge layout and shaping at Keith’s house…
Taking it personal? Nope, I figgered no offense meant, no offense taken…just pulling your leg a bit. I only speak from personal experience regarding the edge bottoms…They give a board a unique feel when you turn them…they don’t turn better or hold better, just feel better to me. So far, I do think that they are worth the hassle on a short (sub 6’8") stubbie single fins with soft rails in glassy waves up to about 10’. All of my performance quirks are due to factors outside the edge bottom.
The spin problems happen when your weight is too far back…seems backwards but it also happens on Liddle-like hulls too. Step near the fin and whooooop…The dynamics escape me but there may be a correlation between a good rail turning board and a weight-back spinner (wide tail = straighter outline). If you add the swallow and reduce the tail planing efficiency the spin problem goes away but you can keep the outline pretty straight for rail turns.
If I could make 10 or so a year, I’m sure I could fix the sweetspot problem with rocker rather than cutting chunks out of the tail or adding more fins…
Ok, I see now. So it sounds liek it rides similar to a fish then right? It sems like this would be classified (if you can do that) as a “front foot” board? Being single-fin oriented? All this info is great. Thanks to everyone chiming in! If I did one, it would probably be a egg shaped 6’4, or a fish shaped 6’0.
We use a similar rail shape in whitewater kayak hulls.
http://www.dragorossi.com/product.asp?ID=3
The advantage is forgiveness and extra release. But in a kayak you’re sitting and have the paddle for stability. On a board… if it slides out you fall. Edges as you know release, making the board squirely. The point of a rounded rail is to HOLD the water so you can drive.
While I’m sure it would be possible to make it work on a board, the question I’d be prone to asking is WHY? They release when flat, and hold on edge. Do tyhey need MORE release when flat? I don’t think so. More hold on edge - yeah, sure. But the edge drawn will ahve the oppoiste effect IMHO.
Corran
The 9’5" Wilderness board I posted is stable as can be from tail or middle. I don’t think I could spin it out if I tried. It’s a tri fin setup with a longbox center (2+1) which I find can be adapted to most any waves I’ll be riding. The side fins are glassed on so I can’t ride it as a single but I do have a few center fins ranging from 4 3/4" to 7".
The rail seems to have a very neutral feel when riding a steep wall - the rail penetrates enough for grab and the flute along the step gives some direction. If you can figure how a channel bottom might work, think channel rail. The edge at the step must be doing something?
Again, it’s never even felt close to spinning out or becoming squirrely. It’s also pretty heavy, narrow and parallel for it’s length. Overall, I’d say it’s pretty stiff (but rideable) in small waves and starts to perform when waves are overhead.
I haven’t ridden Lee’s.
