Surfboards 101

Board Width

Width determines how loose the board will be. The wider the board the more stable it will be. Beginners need to keep this in mind when getting your first board. Make sure it has plenty on width to keep you stable.

Board Length

The length of the board is determined by weight of the surfer, experience and type of waves being surfed.

Rocker

Rocker effects the drive and turning of the board. The more rocker the board has the faster it will turn in pocket of hollow waves. Less Rocker is better for speed on flat slow waves.

Thickness

Thickness determines how buoyant the board will be,buoyancy effects how the board will paddle and get into a wave. Thickness also effects maneuverability, thicker board means less maneuverability. Beginners need to look for boards with plenty of thickness.

Single Concave

Single concave bottoms work super well when the waves are really clean, but they don't like chunky or choppy surf as they lose their flow easily. Bigger surfers may find these boards "sticky" when coming off the lip.

Double Concave

The majority of shortboards today are single concave up front that fades into a double concave. This gives you the drive of the concave on the part of the board that stays flat, but loosens things up overall by providing more of a centered pivot point through the tail.

Vee Bottom

Boards with this bottom provide a well defined pivot point that really will loosen up the board, especially when ridden off the tail. These bottoms are not as squirty as the other boards and for that reason are also used on most big wave guns.

Channels

Channels give you a lot drive out of the board. The only problem with them is they tend to crack. They're not real good in conditions that are choppy, but when the surf's good they're real fun.

Squash Tail

This is the most popular tail type in use today. There is more surface area so it has plenty of drive, is loose, and recovers easily on sliding moves.

Swallow Tail

Because swallows have two points off the corners, you can get extra leverage on your turns, particularly bottom turns. Bites on the face of the wave on turns.

Pin Tail

If you want to smooth out your surfing, this is a good thing to try. Not quite as much drive off the tail, but still plenty. The longer rail edge makes these boards surf really clean. Very nice for big roundhouse cutties.

Hard Rail

The hard rail is thicker providing better floatation. These are great on shorter boards for smaller days as they help you drive across the flat sections.

Soft Rail

The softrail is a very forgiving rail. This is the most common type of rail on eggs, longboards, and many hybrids.

Base

Base affects the amount of drive the board will have. The more base, the more area the has to push against the water and therefore the more drive. Less base the shorter the turning arc.

Depth

Depth affects the hold and control the fin has in a turn. The shorter the depth, the more slide a board will have. The longer the depth the more hold, especially with center fins.

Fins

Fins with little flex are more responsive and will have more speed and drive. Fins with flex are more forgiving and easier to use.