surfboard design guide

1 About Compare Surfboards

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2 About Benny

Hi, I’m Benny! Welcome to Compare Surfboards and welcome to the family!

Like many of you, I'm a regular, everyday surfer but I LOVE IT! When it comes to surfboard design, there is a lot to know & lots of jargon. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned Hi, I veteran, understanding your equipment can help take your ’m Beny surfing to the next level.

This guide will help you understand the basic surfboard design features and how they work together in unison to achieve the purpose of a given board.

3 Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Before Design, Think Physics 6

Surfboard Plan Shape or Outline 8

Surfboard Tail Shapes 10

Surfboard Foil 12

Surfboard Rocker 14

Surfboard Rail Volume and Shape 16

Surfboard Bottom Contours 18

Surfboard Fins 20

Surfboard Fin Placement 22

4 Introduction

Good surfboard design is part science, part art + a lot of trial and error.

Like a good symphony, all aspects of a board’s design serve a specific purpose and these elements must come together to produce the desired outcome.

Understanding each component and how they contribute to an overarching design is the primary goal of this guide. Things to Remember

• One of the most important steps to becoming a more informed surfer is understanding your equipment • Surfboard design is complex and multi-faceted, however, a few basics principles apply • Understanding the ‘big picture’ will help you make more informed decisions about your equipment

5 Before we start What forces are applied to surfboards during use?

6 “Surfing is al physics.”

THREE BASIC FORCES APPLIED TO SURFBOARDS DURING USE:

• BUOYANCY - Buoyancy counterbalances the weight of both board and surfer and stops them from sinking.

• GRAVITY - The force of gravity, on the other hand, effects the opposite. It pulls the surfer toward the water, essentially helping him hold his position on the moving face of the wave.

• HYDRODYNAMIC FORCES - These forces coming from the moving water dictate the form of the waves and their interaction with the surfer.

7 Surfboard Plan Chapter 1 Shape or Outline

8 Image Credit: Haydenshapes Surfboards HERE ARE A FEW BASIC Surfboard Plan Shapes/Outlines

SUITED FOR DIFFERENT WAVE TYPES A Tale of Two Outlines

On the left: is a short, wide, fat design intended for maximum wave catching & speed generation in tiny, weak surf

On the right: a sleek, longer, narrower design purpose built to handle the speed & power of large, powerful surf

To learn more about the perfect shape/ outline for you

9 Chapter 2 Surfboard Tail Shapes

10 10 Surfboard Tail Shapes Explained

• Surfboard tail shapes are integral to a surfboard’s Round Swallow design and are generally suited to a specific wave type. • Speed, maneuverability and hold are controlled by tail design.

Here are six popular tail designs & their purpose: Pintail Rounded Pintail Round Tail: wider, more circular edge enables easier turning & overall versatility because of the introduction of more lift to the tail while still sitting comfortably in steeper, better quality waves.

Pintail: crafted for control & hold in big, critical Square Squash surf. Decreased surface area minimises lift, thus maintaining direction and momentum.

To learn more about the six basic tail shapes 11 Continued... Swallow Tail: allows for more bite and control in instances where the surfer needs to work around and maneuver in and out of the waves. Small wave boards may have a wide swallow tail for increased surface area on the rail line for drive but the cutout releases through turns. A big wave ‘gun’ surfboard may have a tight swallow tail for hold and control with slightly more maneuverability vs. the standard pintail or rounded pintail.

Rounded Pintail: slightly more versatile vs. the rigid pointed tip on the pintail, rounded pintails are still geared for controlling speed.

Square Tail: less prevalent and generally used for designs intended for airs or punting. The sharp corners create a precise pivot point, which breaks the water flow hard and fast in short, tight turns.

Squash / Rounded Square Tail: Geared for modern performance surfing, this designs translates to better management of turns while maintaining speed in slower spots. By far the most popular tail shape of WCT and WQS surfers. 12 Chapter 3 SURFBOARD FOIL

13 What is surfboard foil?

• Surfboard foil refers to the board’s overall flow of thickness/volume through the outline • Visible while looking at the board from a side view • Significant because it determines how the surfboard will plane across the water when it’s slow or flat, or how it will cut into a steeper face through turns • The distribution of thickness contributes much to the surfboard’s performance and a surfer’s riding style • Determining the right foil for a given design is an unsung art form that world’s best shapers have mastered

14 Chapter 4 Surfboard Rocker

15 What is surfboard rocker?

Surfboard rocker is the structural curve of a surfboard’s bottom, top & rail. However, rocker usually refers to bottom rocker.

• A well planned bottom rocker is fundamentally important to a surfboard’s overall design • More bottom rocker = more friction as a board moves through the water, which is better for controlling speed in bigger, better waves • More rocker also allows a board to sit more naturally in curvy or hollow waves and have a tighter turning radius • Less rocker creates less friction, allowing a board to plane across flatter wave faces with less effort • Tail rocker is the curve at the back of the board, which contributes to the how your surfboard will turn 16 Image Credit: Chilli Surfboards Chapter 5 Surfboard Rail Volume & Shape

17 Rail design influences the surfers ability to make turns, speed up, hold in steep waves or plane in slow, mushy waves.

In simple terms, there are two basic rail types, hard and soft: • Harder rails are more precise but are less forgiving • Hard rails are commonly used in performance oriented boards, allowing these to penetrate the water more easily while allowing quicker turns • The softer and rounder a rail, the more neutral and forgiving it will feel • Soft rails are common on longboards and small wave boards. They decrease the likelihood of catching an edge or ‘bogging’ the rails

18 Chapter 6Surfboard Bottom Contours

19 What are surfboard bottom contours?

Image Credit: JS Industries

Surfboard bottom contours refer to the subtle and often intricate shape of the surfboard bottom. These contours affects how water is channeled along Starting from the basic bottom the length of the board, contributing to speed, stability shapes – flat, channel, vee, and and overall manoeuvrability. concave – most“ surfboard designs How bottom contours work is perhaps the most will incorporate a combination to fine complex and poorly understand aspect of surfboard tune performance. design theory. 20 Chapter 7 Surfboard Fins A tire is to your car as a fin is to your surfboard. Your surfboard fins connect your board to the wave, dictate how your board will handle and are an incredibly important part of surfing.

Basic Fin Design Elements Surfboard Fin Template More area = more hold Larger base = more drive More rake = more drawn out turns, less pivot TIP: match your tee shirt size to fin size

Surfboard Fin Foil More foil = more speed generation Less foil = break free sooner, more control

Surfboard Fin Flex & Construction Stiffer fins = more responsive but harder to turn Fiberglass = very stiff To learn more about the basics of fins Honeycomb = medium flex Carbon/Kevlar = light and responsive 22 Chapter 8 Surfboard Fin Placement

23 Image Credit: Chilli Surfboards Fin setups are quite personal & choosing the best surfboard fin setup for your board and your surfing style is an important part of surfing.

Four Common Fin Setups

• Single Fin: great for holding a line but it doesn’t generate speed as easily as other setups • Twin Fin: fast and loose but can spin out • 3-Fin Thruster: by far the most common setup and considered the most well rounded and balanced fin setup • Quad Fin: generally very fast and can still do tight pivoting turns

To learn more about the basics of surfboard fin placement 24 Thanks for reading

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