TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | FEB 2019 7
By Allie Hayser
• Contours: Areas on the board where water is redirected. It is common
place to have a concave curve on the bottom of the board that allows
water to flow more readily and out the back of the board. This increases
the hydrodynamics and provides lift, a forward thrust and faster speed
across the wave face. In combination with the water flowing under the
board and out across the curves of the tail, the board is literally weighted,
lifted, gripping the wave, and obtaining speed!
There are a million different shapes and sizes of surfboards out there.
Many boards are made with a mixture of shapes in mind, but sticking to
the more general overview of shapes, there are:
• Longboards: These are the longest and usually thickest of boards,
making them wave machines! For our home breaks, having one of these
will be your best ticket to surfing “something” out there every day. Because
of its length and buoyancy, it’s faster to paddle into waves, easier to take
some steps walking along it, maybe nose ride, and enjoy a longer wave.
Traditionally, these are usually over 9ft., 20 inches wide, and 2.5 inches
thick.
• Fun Shapes: Stepping down in size, fun shapes are usually 6 to 8 ft.
long with more volume than a shortboard. This step down will give you
more chances to make turns and movements while still being able to catch
waves easily.
• Shortboards: Farther down in size, usually under 7ft., shortboards are
usually thin in thickness and have sharp noses. These boards react very
quickly in the water, making it possible to do fast turns and cuts vertically,
but tend to be more of a challenge to paddle into waves.
What’s Inside:
• Foam Blank: A polyurethane or polystyrene (Styrofoam) foam blank
is the core of the board. These usually come with a Stringer, a wooden
strip running from nose to tail, that holds both sides of the foam together.
Shapers order particular blank sizes to start from, cut the designed outline,
shave off foam from the blank, and use many different tools to sand and
measure the board as it comes to life.
• Fiberglass Cloth: The cloth works to strengthen the board and cover
the porousness of the foam blank. This cloth is applied to the entire board,
nose to tail, top to bottom. Fiberglass cloth comes in different weights,
most commonly 4 and 6 oz., with the heavier cloths usually applied on
longboards.
• Resin: The cloth is bonded to the surfboard by being completely
saturated with resin. Most widely used resins are either epoxy or polyester.
Epoxy typically makes a lighter board and less likely to acquire dings.
Fiberglass polyester is a more traditional resin, seen most commonly on
hand-shaped boards, and the weight of these boards may allow for better
grip on Tybee waves. It all depends on what you like personally.
Thanks for reading this month’s article and letting me give a general
explanation of surfboards and construction. This may help when shopping
for a new board to try or figuring out the board that you found in your
storage shed. The most important thing about a surfboard is the feel when
riding it. All of these designs and shapes come together to make a design
for a vision that the shaper has, but the best part of it all is that we all
surf and ride these boards differently. So ride what feels best for you, try
out a few friends’ boards, share your stoke dreams with a shaper before
you ask for a custom, and experiment with the world of surfboard shapes,
dimensions, and sizes. See y’all out there soon!
BOARD TALK
When you understand the construction and shapes of surfboards, you can
truly appreciate how incredibly magical it is that there are local shapers
nearby, putting so much thought and skill into the final design. Surfboards
are the topic they should’ve thought to teach us about in physics class …
every part of the board is designed in a way that will work to control the
flow of water and generate speed or maneuverability.
• Nose: The top tip of the board. This top section can be curved up a little
or a lot and that curve is referred to as Rocker. When a board has more
rocker, it typically feels easier to drop into a wave ... but at the same time
it can lead to nose diving (wiping out when your nose dives underwater).
The most common noses will be pointed (faster entry onto a wave), curved
(speedy paddling into waves and float-ability), or a combination of the two.
• Tail: The opposite of the nose. Tail shapes are important for maneuvers
and provide a grip/hold onto the wave. Water flows along the surface of
the board and off of the back. Where there are curves, the water follows
and holds the flow along the board, while corners or sharp edges break
the water flow. Rounded tails are held by water flow easier, so they are
stable and trim the wave face smoothly. Squared off and angular tails are
designed to interrupt the water flow, making it easier to change direction,
make turns, and more reactive movements.
• Rails: The outer edges of the board’s sides. The curvature of the rails
has an impact on the ability of the board to grip and lock into a direction
on a wave face. Just like the curvature of the tail impacts water flow, the
rails with rounded soft curves will grip the wave more and provide a stable
smooth ride, whereas sharper ones, ”pinched” or flattened rails, will cut
the wave with less grip, giving you more speed and easier maneuverability.