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The basis of all bottom design is the rocker line or bottom curve. This is the curve you'll see from nose to tail of your board when you hold it on its side. The three fundamental options listed below, are options to alter some part of the rocker, or basic curve.
There's as many combinations of rocker, vee and concave as there are breakfast cereals in your local Ralph's, and as many different opinions on what's best for which wave and rider.
However, most modern shortboard designers are using a subtle blend of vees and concaves from nose to tail, modifying the water flow to try for the best of all worlds. Personally, WK prefers a very slight vee just under the nose, flowing into a concave which peaks just in front of the forward fins and flattens out into an incredibly slight vee just behind the back fin. Result: a nice straight stringer line, acceleration and rocker curve between the feet, and easy water release right off the tail.
Types of surf? Generally, as the waves grow bigger, the modifiers grow more subtle, with vees playing a bigger part in the action; you don't seem to need acceleration assistance on a 10-foot plus wave so much as comfort and rail-to-rail ease. Vees are simpler and easier to handle than concaves, and suit beginners very nicely, while advancing surfers can use a concave's jet propulsion to good effect.
Don't you go using this in a school assignment now without asking nicely, will you?
http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/kelly-slater-talks-about-the-innovative-deep-six-shortboard-that-won-him-the-billabong-pipeline-masters-magic-_21187/
http://www.surfline.com/surfnews/photo_bamp_900_v03.cfm?id=22559&ad=1
Darren Handley
http://www.surfingthemag.com/news/surfing-pulse/2009-quiksilver-pro-gold-coast-day-1-stuart-cornuelle-022809/
And AI wasn’t the only thing missing today: a significant portion of Kelly’s board seems to have disappeared – about 5” off the nose and a fair bit of volume, by the look of it. As with everything the Champ does, however, Kelly’s switch to a diminished surfboard is pure, calculated strategy. His widely reported adoption of a dwarf quiver (he calls the boards “Wizard’s Sleeves”) is now being tested outside the Santa Barbara laboratory, on the world’s biggest stage. This is a monumental change of tack, as if Tiger Woods were to make his Masters debut with a chopped-down set of clubs. The confidence to put a major championship on the line with new equipment is literally the biggest endorsement these super-competitors can make. Simon Anderson comes to mind, as his kooky Thruster design didn’t gain acceptance until he took it out in the Bells contest and promptly emptied a clip into the rest of the 1- and 2-fin tour. Victory speaks volumes.
| Parabolic Carbon Fiber Frame, High Density EPS Foam Core, Epoxy Laminate, Custom Shaped -- |
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Questions and Answers
Q. If I ding my FiberFlex, how can it be fixed? A. If you get a ding in your FiberFlex board, treat it the same way as you would with a PU board – except use Epoxy resins. First dry the board out to evaporate all water in the core, pre-sand, bog it up – with epoxy resin, reshape, laminate – with epoxy resin, pre-sand, then filler coat and sand back. Solarez has a epoxy repair kit for small cracks and dings. |
While both Nev and Dan have considerable shaping expertise, due to the sophistication of our computerized design programs and shaping equipment, we prefer to call them Designers. Drawing on their actual shaping expertise and combining it with the unlimited design capabilities of Firewire’s CAD/CAM platform, Nev and Dan have the tools to take surfboard design into the next frontier, a place where materials have as important an influence on performance as proven design principles.
Unlike regular Polyurethane cores, which weigh approximately 3lb per cubic foot, Firewire cores are built from 1lb EPS foam. Not only is this EPS material significantly lighter than regular PU, but 1lb EPS also flexes considerably more. In order to stabilize the flex of the 1lb core and to give it strength so that your foot does not go straight through it, we’ve add a 1/8” layer of extremely hi–density aerospace composite to both the top and bottom decks. This process is called sandwich construction and is exactly what the word implies; the internal EPS blank is sandwiched between the two layers of hi–density skin.
The sandwich is constructed with a layer of lightweight cloth and resin between each layer, both top and bottom. Then the whole assembly is placed in a vacuum bag until the resin cures. The combination of epoxy resin and vacuum pressure creates a very durable bond.
The other components added to the blank build are the balsa rails. Like the tension of a bow before releasing an arrow, the balsa controls both the degree of flex and equally importantly, the specific rate of return. If the board is too flexible you lose drive and it feels like a bodyboard. On the other hand, if it is too stiff its like riding a car without shock absorbers. In addition, with flex, you gain the extra energy created when the board bends during a turn and then snaps back to its original rocker as you come out of the turn, catapulting you forward.
The specific construction of the balsa rail is also important. While the balsa looks like a thin veneer on a completed surfboard, in fact it is over half an inch thick, built from 3 x 4mm strips laminated together and running the length of the surfboard perimeter, creating an incredibly durable structure and incidentally a great buffer for those inevitable rail bashes when surfing.
There is another performance benefit inherent in Firewire’s flex characteristics. Most surfboard design represents a trade off between rocker and planing speed. A heavier rocker allows for tighter turns but pushes water in the flats. Alternatively a flatter rocker is faster in the flats but does not turn as sharply. Because Firewire’s are actually creating rocker when you lean into a turn, the overall rocker can be slightly flatter, allowing for a faster board in the flats without sacrificing turning radius – the best of both worlds.
EPS Foam Core: Firewire is 100% committed to EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) for our shaped cores. In addition, the 1lb core is an essential part of Firewire’s high performance. The way in which materials travel through different mediums is a direct result of their density AND shape. For example, a baseball and tennis ball are roughly the same shape and size, but behave completely differently when thrown. Similarly, a 1lb foam core allows for rapid direction changes and overall responsiveness during rail–to–rail turns.
Corecell Skin: Corecell is an amazing material with an extremely high strength to weight ratio. One of its primary uses is in wind turbine blades, which gives you an idea of its durability. It is flexible and has very high impact strength with very little material fatigue over time. Unlike traditional PU foam boards, Firewire blanks are not only lighter weight and stronger, but the flex characteristics remain intact for a considerable amount of time, long after traditional blank materials have fatigued and lost their spring.
Epoxy Resins: Firewire boards are built with epoxy resins, which are not only far stronger than polyurethane based resins, but emit only 2% of the VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) versus regular PU resin. Unlike a PU based laminating facility, you can walk anywhere in the Firewire factory without a mask and without a headache. Furthermore clean up requires simple citrus cleaners.
Balsa Wood Rails: The specific construction and choice of balsa for the rails is vital to Firewire’s flex characteristics and performance. While the balsa looks like a thin veneer on a completed surfboard, in fact it is over half an inch thick, built from 3 x 4mm strips laminated together and running the length of the surfboard perimeter, creating an incredibly lightweight, durable structure and incidentally a great buffer for those inevitable rail bashes when surfing. The balsa endures that the degree AND rate of flcx is controlled to maximize performance.
Lamination: With the inherent strength of our custom blanks and the epoxy resin systems, all our shortboards are laminated with a single 4oz deck both top and bottom, except for the FE606P and FE608P Step Up Guns. All other models over 6’10” have a double 4oz top deck and a single 4oz bottom. Given the fact that some Longboarders actually prefer additional weight, we’ve added a layer of 6oz to select longboards and these are delivered to retail with a special sticker clearly showing the lamination schedule.
Hi Density Fin Inserts: All Firewire Surfboards have hi–density inserts surrounding the fin boxes for both FCS and Futures. This is a far stronger method of attachment than anchoring the boxes to the top deck as is the case with the regular FCS installation, or letting them float directly in the EPS. This also allows the tail to flex more than a system anchored to the top deck.
The Vent: The 1lb Firewire EPS core contains a lot of air. It is NOT a hollow core, but as you can imagine a blank that weighs 1lb has far more air inside than a blank weighing 3lbs. As an added precaution to allow the core to expand and contract during extreme changes in temperature or air pressure, the vent allows air to pass back and forth between the core and the exterior of the board, while preventing water from entering. The GORE–TEX membrane does not require any maintenance, other than kept free of wax in order to breathe. You can imagine the stresses and strains on any surfboard materials when you take a board on a hot day and jump into 50‘degree water. While some may argue that the vent is not essential, we believe that it does prolong the life of the board.
Epoxy Surfboards
Traditional Fiberglass Surfboard Technology:
Pintails are designed to provide maximum control and surface hold on the wave. They have minimal surface area and come to a point at the end with little curvature. This decreased surface area decreases the lift on the tail and allows the point to dig into the face of the wave, causing the board to "track" or maintain direction. Pintails are used almost exclusively on big wave gun surfboards, where control is the most important element. Pintails are not so maneuverable, but when you're speeding down the face of a 20' Waimea bomb it is more important that the board go straight and not suddenly start snaking all over the place.
This surfboard tail design is a more versatile version of the pintail with a bit more width and curve. It is the halfway point between round tails and pintails, ideal for medium sized surf, anywhere from shoulder to almost double overhead. Softer curve coming to either a point or a rounded point. This tail design provides a moderate reduction in surface area to maintain control, however it is not as extreme as the pintail. Roundpin tails have less release and create smoother, more drawn out turns. This tail can be found on a variety of boards from shortboards and hybrids to longboards.
Conditions - knee to overheard
The swallow tail is related to the squash tail in that it provides more surface area from rail to rail, allowing for planing speed and lift. The tail of the board curves down to two points as in a squash, but the area between those points is decreased by a vee cutout resulting in two soft points. The decreased area between the corners and more pronounced points give the board more "bite" and control in critical maneuvers, as well as when going into and out of turns. The two points on the swallow tail act sort of like dual miniature round point tails, but without the pronounced "tracking" that a pin or rounded pin provides. The swallow tail is generally good for small waves, but it also is good for surfers who want a board that's going to stick during deep carves. Fish type surfboards tend to have a pronounced swallowtail, compensating for the wider, straighter outline which is more difficult to maneuver. According to Proctor, it creates something more loose and skaty.
The wing is really not a tail shape but more of a rail shape. It can be seen as the bump in the rails just in front of the front fins. Don't be confused and think that this is a different tail shape. The tail shown on the left is still a Swallowtail, the board also has a wing.
It's common knowledge that a pintail is typical of a big-wave board and 95 percent of 6'2" shortboards are squashtails. For shortboards, the squashtail is the undisputed king of tails. But why?
Is there really a huge difference between getting a rounded pin, squash, swallow, or something else on your shortboard, and could the average surfer even tell the difference?
"I think so," says master shaper Rusty Preisendorfer. "You start splitting hairs when you're talking about a rounded squash versus a squash, but I like to tell people that basically an angular tail creates a more angular turn."
It makes sense when you visualize how water flows off the back of a board as it goes through a turn. "Water is kind of a sticky substance," says Todd Proctor of Proctor Surfboards. "It's touching your board at the entry point, grabbing the rails, and the last thing it does before leaving the board is bending around the tail shape. It can bend around the tail and hold on to it the whole way, like on a rounded pin, which keeps things stable. The smoother the rail line is, as on a pin or rounded pin, the smoother the turn will tend to be.
On a squash, square, or any tail where you have some flat area, water jumps off the flat areas. That creates a pivot point and makes the board skatier."
Rounded tail (are smoother)
Square tails or wider tail shape (overall, more lift and release).
What about the wily and weird swallowtail? "Depending on the depth of the cut, you'll get a bitier tail. Swallowtails sink and bite a little better," explains Rusty.
That, too, makes sense, especially when you consider that most fish-type shapes have swallowtails. The thinking is that you want to have as loose a tail as possible on a fish, because their typically straight outlines make them quick down the line but harder to turn, and a bitier tail shape compensates for that.
If you're still having trouble processing some of the subtleties of tail design, Rusty describes it this way: "Just imagine you have three squashtails that are all the same: What happens if you cut a notch out of the tail and turn it into a swallow? Well, you lose area and volume, and that corner goes into the water and it becomes bitier. What happens if you sanded the corners off a squash? You lose some area, but you gain curve so the tail sinks a little easier and the board will be smoother feeling." Apply that thinking to the rest of your questions about tail shapes, and you start to get an idea about the cause-and-effect relationship each design has.
But ultimately, you have to actually ride each one of these different tails to really know how they differ. So get out there and start filling out an order form and experiment a little. You can stay conservative and order that swallowtail or rounded pin you've always thought about, or just go hog wild and order up some crazy asymmetrical tail-either way, you'll end up knowing more about surfboards.
Pull Quote: "I like to tell people that basically an angular tail creates a more angular turn."-Rusty Preisendorfer
http://www.proctor-board-shop.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=grovIV%2Ep%5F6963
Product Specs:
Dimensions: 6'3" x 18 5/8" x 2 1/4"
Tail Shape: squash tail
Construction: polyester/ Y2k UV Isothalic Light Cure Resin
Glassing: 4oz bottom, 4oz+4oz deck/ Direct Size cloth
Fins: FCS Fins
Rider Weight: 160 - 185 lb. / 72 - 84 kg
Groveler IV.p [performance]
Most versatile and well received new shortboard design.
This is a very fast design that generates it’s own speed when it’s small, yet holds in and rails tight arcs in the pocket when it’s overhead.
The rocker has a flatter area between the feet combined with an even, flowing single-to-inset double concave bottom. This creates a rail line that runs straighter from under the front foot to the lead-in fins, giving the board quick bursts of speed and incredible drive around sections. There is a good amount of tail rocker and release coming off the back fin allowing for lightening quick, explosive turns.
http://www.proctor-board-shop.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=sr71%5F6%2E2
Recommended Cure Time: cured & ready to ride
Construction: Polyester/ Y2k UV Isothalic Light Cure Resin
Glassing: 4oz & 4oz + 4oz Direct Size cloth
Fins: Future Fins
Rider Weight: 155 - 170 lb. / 70 - 80 kg
Blackbird
New and improved...
Straighter tail rocker increases drive
Heavier concaves through the fins adds a whole new responsiveness
Heavy single concave through the tail makes this board really alive in the pocket.
STILL....AND NOW MORE THAN EVER...A spry, lively bugger of a backfoot board. Developed around San Clemente’s variety of waves; goes mental in points, reefs, and beachbreaks alike.
It will release out the back and re-engage for fins-free type of maneuvers, airs and reverses.
Ideal Conditions: Knee-high to Slightly Overhead
Experience: Intermediate to Advanced
Designed for: Fins-free maneuvers, airs & reverses
For me, however, and I am sure others, this assistance guide is difficult. For me, I weight 170. Therefore, do I want to be on the upper limit of Mikala Jones or on the lower end of Pancho Sullivan.
Best to start with rider weight- Number on each Future fin denotes height of fin in inches. Larger the number, the bigger the fin. For example: FG1-400= G1 template at 4 inches high. EA- 450= EA template 4.5 inches high. Currently using Vector Tech Foils (VF 460) - Vector Tech Foils VF 460.
Weight in lbs
**Generalization ** -
FOIL - similar to the rocker and bottom shape of surfboards. IE double barrel concave or single concave. Foil powerband - water attachment and release - foils are designed to release at different points in a turn. Flat fins release earl to control speed and have a narrow powerband. The Vectors and Scimitar are designed t o hold onto water (attachment) and in turn create more speed, longer throughout the turn - best for conditions when you need to generate speek and larger waves when you need to blast around sections.
