Even if two surfboards have the same dimensions in terms of width, length and volume, they can behave completely differently when surfing. The surfing behavior of a board depends on more than just the dimensions found on the bottom.
Especially in river surfing, the number of liters of the surfboard plays a minor role compared to ocean surfing. Here, you usually don't have to paddle as much, and the challenge is not paddling into waves.
Since our "Radiance" surfboards are designed for river surfing, this is the only topic we will cover here. However, a lot of the material can also be used for surfing in the sea.
To provide a deeper understanding of surfboards, this blog article explains terms such as outline, tail, concaves and finbox placement and their influence on surfing behavior.
Outline: The outer shape of the board
The tail is the decisive feature for the behavior of the surfboard in turns. The most commonly used tail shape is the "squash variant", but there is now a huge selection of different tails. The following explains how the different shapes affect the handling of your surfboard.
Wide tails provide more lift, which means the board is less likely to sink into the water as it passes by. As a result, boards with wide tails generate significantly more speed due to the lower friction. The disadvantage is that wider tails offer less grip in turns and it is generally more difficult to get the board from rail to rail.
A nice compromise here could be a swallow tail, for example, where, despite a relatively wide tail, some volume is removed by a cut. This means that the board is still fast, but can be better controlled in turns.
The same applies to the rest of the board - a lot of surface area provides a lot of lift in standing waves and therefore more speed. As the board gets wider, it becomes more difficult to get it from one rail to the other.
Rocker: The "bend" of the surfboard
Nose Rocker:
Flat Nose Rocker:
The nose rocker describes the curvature of the front part of the surfboard. If this curvature has only a small radius, we speak of a flat nose rocker. A flat nose rocker has the advantage that more of the surfboard material is in the water when surfing, which improves buoyancy.
This makes it easier to build up more speed. This speed is particularly advantageous in smaller, weaker and flat river waves. However, the flat surfboard rocker also has a disadvantage: turns cannot be made as tightly, as the radius of the surfboard (the rocker line) dictates the turns to a certain extent. If this radius is large, the turn is also wider. In steep waves, a flat rocker often leads to a classic nosedive.
Steeper/Lots of nose rocker:
Surfboards with a steep nose rocker are mainly used in steep waves to avoid a nosedive. The rocker line of the surfboard adapts to the shape of the wave.
It is also harder to build up speed with such a surfboard, but since these boards are used in powerful waves, the speed comes naturally. Turns can be made tighter than with a flat rocker, because the rocker line has a smaller radius.
Steeper nose rockers are therefore mainly used on artificial waves such as city waves and unit pools, as they offer a lot of power.
There is also a so-called nose kick, where the last inch of the nose is also directed steeply upwards to avoid nosedives.
Tail Rocker
Flat tail rocker
A flat tail rocker makes it easier to build up speed because there is more material on the water than with a large tail rocker. This is why flat rockers are generally suitable for small, flat and powerless waves. However, this speed advantage comes at the expense of tight turns.
Steep tail rocker
The steep tail rocker can give the surfboard an even tighter rocker line, so that the board fits perfectly into the wave on steep waves. Together with a steep nose rocker, it enables radical and tight turns. The greater resistance of the board is balanced out by the power of the waves.
Finbox Position + Toe in
The position of the fin boxes on a surfboard is also different for each model. Since the "face" of the wave is often very small when river surfing, only tight turns are made. The fin boxes are positioned relatively far back in the sea, similar to small wave boards. In general, you can say that fin boxes positioned far back make a surfboard easier to turn, and fin boxes positioned further forward give you more "flow" and allow you to surf from rail to rail.
The toe in describes the angle at which the fin boxes are turned inwards. The larger the angle, the smoother the board is in transitions, but it also has more resistance in the water, which makes it slower. The standard toe in on river surfboards is 1/4".
Bottom Concave
Bottom concave refers to the concave (inward-curved) shape on the bottom of a surfboard. This concave shape usually extends from the nose (front part) to the tail (back part) of the board. Here are some of the most common types of bottom concaves and their effects:
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Flat Bottom: A flat bottom has no discernible concave shape. It provides stability and is good for beginners. However, it may offer less control and maneuverability at higher speeds.
- Single Concave: This is a concave shape that extends across the entire width of the board. Single Concave increases the contact area in the water and allows for faster surfing. It also offers a little more grip during tight turns.
- Double Concave: Two concave sections run parallel along the board. Double Concave is good for waves with less power.
These different concaves are often used together. For example, the front section of the surfboard is usually a single concave for better speed generation, and the tail section of the surfboard is a double concave.
