Surfboard
There are so many different designs of surfboards. Design influences as a board will behave in the water. Also, there are many different forms and models of boards. And even if you do not set out to purchase the famous board shaper, made specifically for your order, to understand the diversity of forms novice is not easy. How to select the desired thickness and width, which form the tail and rails to choose, what a rocker and what requires feeds at the bottom of the board ... At first it all seems very confusing. Let's try to understand it. Before you decide to purchase the board, you should ask yourself a few questions to consider when choosing:
1. Your level of surfing. Honestly admit to yourself how well you surf. If you are not confident in their abilities or are not in great shape, it is worth to buy a board wider and thicker.
2. Your size and weight. Obviously, the bigger and heavier than the surfer, the more he fits board with greater thickness, ie greater buoyancy.
3. The size of the waves and the type of place where you will ride. Will it beachbreak or a fast reef waves.
4. And, actually, your riding style. There is no design boards that will fit under all the waves, all the time and for any surfer!
That is why so many different designs surfboard there, and why some surfers have a quiver of boards, which cover a wide range of different waves and conditions.
Here is a list of design features surfboards, each of which we examine in more detail: pattern board, the length, width, rails, rocker, raising the nose, tail lift, bottom contour, thickness, design of the tail.
What is the pattern board (template / plan shape / outline)? It is a common form of surfboards, if you look at it from above. Usually long and straight form more favorable for the rapid and large waves. The rounded shape makes the board more slowly, but give a very good maneuverability.
What is the length of the Surfboard (length)? Is the size of a surfboard from nose to tail. On longer surfboards lighter shovel on a wave board, better glide through the water. However, they are less maneuverable than short surfboards. Beginners usually require board at 12-18 inches (450mm) longer than their height. Experts typically use a surfboard on the average of 6.2 - 6.6 feet.
The width of a surfboard (width) - the size of the board perpendicular to the stringer. It is measured at the widest point. Wider boards is better to stay on the surface of water (more than floating) are more stable and ideal for beginners. 20-22 inches - a good width for beginners. Experts are often forced to use a surfboard 17 - 19 inches wide for the sake of increasing control over the board. Where is the widest point of the surfboard? Guns: it can be pretty far ahead of the center board. This makes this board fast and controlled, but not very maneuverable. For smaller boards is a point behind the center in order to enhance their maneuverability. The width of the nose (nose width) is measured at a distance of one foot back from the tip of the nose. The width of the tail (tail width) is measured at a distance of one foot forward from the end boards. The large width of the nose and tail - the "full path" (full outline) - is better for beginners, it makes a surfboard more stable on it easier to catch waves and ride on them. Surfboards, designed for larger, faster waves usually have a smaller width of the nose and tail.
Rails - a surfboard the outside (edge). Hard edges, especially in the tail, allow better dissect the water, which increases the speed and agility. However, the big and fast waves, in contrast, is often desirable that the rails were soft. This gives a better "grip" the board with water. The most common form is «tucked under edge» (preloaded on the edges), which combines the best features of both soft and hard rails. Volume (thickness) of rails is also important. Rail larger volume better suited for small, slow waves, since they are not drowning in turn. On the big waves rails smaller volume allows better control of the board at high speeds, when the flooding of rails when turning is desirable.
Rocker is the lower curve of a surfboard. Roker, perhaps the most important design feature. As a rule, small rocker makes a surfboard faster on small and soft waves. Larger rocker allows greater control over the board in critical situations and is the preferred on steep waves. Changing the shape of the bottom board can be combined with a change in the rocker, which greatly influences the characteristic behavior of the board in many respects. As a rule, the longer the board, the greater the rocker, it should have.
The rise of the nose (nose lift) prevents burying the nose surfboard. The more the bow rise, the less chance there to bury his nose in the water on this board. Greater rise of the nose and keeps the best board on the water during radical maneuvers, preventing thus burying the water board rails. A flatter nose lift is often found in Longboard, where driving on the nose board is an important part of surfing. It prevents the loss of the wave. The flatter noses at such maneuvers are preferred.
In our time, lift the tail (tail lift) of boards brought to an extreme. Basically, this was done to counteract the effects of a full concave bottom. Greater lift the tail surfboard allows you to purchase greater maneuverability, especially in critical situations, but makes the board more slowly.
The contours of the bottom of the surfboard - the bottom line - affecting traffic on the water under the board (bottom contours). There are several common species. Belly bottom has a convex shape. Used traditionally in front of the board to prevent board from slipping from the waves. The flat bottom design surfboards (flat bottom) is a fast form. But this board is difficult to control in fast and very fast waves. Flat bottom is suitable for small, soft waves, where the board requires good fast. The concave design of the bottom (concave bottom) helps prevent the release of water under the rails, helping to raise the board above the water and thereby increase its speed. It is often used in front of the Longboard for the execution of such elements as noseriding (riding on the nose board). On short surfboards concave bottom will require further rocker to allow the surfer to keep a good maneuverability. Vee bottom (the most protruding part of the board is under the stringer) design gives better planning of the water the other side of the board that makes the board fast cornering and makes it easier to choose the direction of motion. Board with the bottom of the design is not as fast when traveling in a straight line. The bottom of the board may also have channels. Design channel bottom (channels design) is also not without significance. Bottom boards can have up to 8 channels along the bottom, and there are a number of options. Their main goal - to raise the board above the water and increase speed. If they are deep, long and have a hard edge they can do it too well and make a surfboard susceptible to slipping.
Board thickness (thickness) and the thickness distribution along the surfboard will determine how good buoyancy board has, to some extent, how well it is amenable to manipulation. Most surfboards are tapered in cross section, having a greater thickness at the center, becoming thinner towards the nose and tail. Beginners will benefit from having a large number of thickness across the board.
The tail of the board or feed (tail). There are many different forms and designs of the tail, some of which affect the nature of the board are very similar. The main structures of the tail surfboards are: squash court (squash / square), pintail design (pintail design), Dovetail (swallow).
Squash court is the most common form of the tail for short boards. The width of the tail increases the agility and is particularly suited to small waves and heavy surf. Pintail design is commonly used on boards for big waves. It has a small footprint that allows it to slip in critical situations, where a plaque with a wider tail can get away with a wave. Dovetail has a combined design that has features of the previous two.
We hope that after the description of the major characteristics of the design boards, you can choose the most suitable for you. And it is very interesting, what type of board it will be - Longboard, funbord or mini-Malibu and, perhaps, or shortbord, gun?