Longboards, fishes, longboard guns, tow ins… in fact almost every board I can think of has the widest point in front of centre. Shortboards being the obvious exception. Guns, as far as I can tell usually have their widest point bang on centre?
Does this say something? I think a post a couple back about the WCT (or was it shortboards and pros) touched on this a bit. Or am I just not good enough for this type of board?
In general, the farther you push the wide point toward the nose, the more drive you get (stiffer, longer turns). The farther aft of center, the more maneuverable (swivel, short turns). You can tune these attributes by varying the distance from center. Like anything in surfboards, it’s all trade offs.
Oh, you can further modify these affects by changing the rocker and fin(s) locations.
What LeeV says.
By the way… the wide point is back on my tow board:
Almost in the center of this semi gun:
And forward on most of these wooden boards (that fell out of the trees):
It’s a balance of all the elements.
jAloha deanbo,
Wide point on old school boards was almost always back of center. Until mid 60s nearly all boards had pulled in noses with wide point and thick point well back of center. Was the evolution of the “pig” shape of the previous day. Look up Tom Wegener’s site (www.tomwegenersurfboards.com). There’s a revival back to these shapes. Shaping one now for a previous shortboard ripper who wants a heavy glider for his times on the nose. “Performance boards” (wide point forward, flat bottom, lots of rocker, down railed, and light, need a wave that’s not always cranking up to standard. Enter the old-shcool shapes for good times on modest waves.