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Surfboard Range & Shaping
We stock a large range of surfboards to suit any style of surfer.
Channel Islands by Al Merrick / Rusty surfboards Insight Surfboards and The
Global Surf Industries brands include Webber - Anacapa (designed by Al Merrick)
- NSP - South Point - 7S - Blue - Modern - Walden - Sunset and Supersoft. For
more detail on these ranges follow the links on the left of page.
Take a lesson below in shaping with Rusty Shaping Fundamentals.
MATERIALS
BLANKS
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A blank is the core of your traditional surfboard. Clark Foam held the
world at bay with its “close tolerance”, polyurethane blanks up
until December of 2005. Close tolerance blanks refer to how near a blank
is to a finished shape. Although there are other polyurethane blank
manufacturers out there, alternative design has catapulted into the
spotlight since Clark’s closure.
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There are expanded poly styrene (EPS) blanks—a material that
resembles quite closely your average Styrofoam drinking cup—which must
be blown in close tolerance molds and are being popularized by companies
like Surftech. Surftech uses a layered process of glassing to create the
“shell” around the EPS blank made up of molded PVC and fiberglass
resin wraps. The result is a light and incredibly durable surfboard.
Check out surftech.com
for more info.
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Other such alternative designs include but are not limited to Salomon
and Aviso,
respectively. Salomon uses three high-density foam stringers set inside
a hollow carbon core that is covered with a foam shell for a shaper to
put their unique finishing touches into. Aviso has fine-tuned a
completely hollow, carbon fiber surfboard that focuses on flex and
spring in the absence of any type of core or stringer.
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As of now, the majority of the surfing world is loyal to traditional,
polyurethane blanks and alternative technology—though advancing
rapidly in a great direction—remains just a pace behind in popularity.
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GLASSING
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Fiberglass cloth along with resin (the hardener) is the shell on your
traditional board or your Surftech. In both instances fiberglass is used
along with as the structural strengthener of that shell. On a
polyurethane shortboard, the accepted choice of cloth “weight” is a
4 and 6 ounce combo on the deck with a 4 ounce bottom. Longboards are
heavier; usually with 4/6 ounce decks and 6 ounce bottoms.
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There are two widely used types of fiberglass for the traditional
polyurethane surfboard. “E” cloth is the most commonly used of the
two. “S” glass is stronger but more expensive. You can use a
combination of the two if you choose, but this is a custom touch and you
must request it.
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FINS
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What you should know, however, is that a fin is more or less the
steering column of your surfboard. Pressure from your front and back
feet cause rail changes that channel water through the fins, causing
them to react, thus affecting the speed, control, drive and
maneuverability of your surfboard.
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Increased rake (the amount of distance between the front base of the
fin and its tip) adds drive, as there will be more water flowing and
clinging around the fins but it also makes your board stiffer, as there
is more surface tension in the water. Less rake means, of course, less
drive but it enables the fin to “pop” out of the water.
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In the same way, the thickness of the tip of the fin correlates
directly to control versus looseness. A wider, rounder fin tip will
produce more drive and control whereas a thinner, pointier fin tip will
require you to drive harder but will allow you to do those “fins
out” turns you strive for.
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Just imagine the keel of a sailboat here: if it is longer and more
tapered, the boat will be more stable but will take more sail to turn
hard. If the keel is short and more straight-up-and-down the boat will
be fidgety in the water but turn easily and fast.
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Remember, there are many more subtleties and features of surfboard
fins that affect the way they perform, but it is important not to get
lost in all the details and to just be familiar enough with your
equipment to know how and why it functions the way it does.
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DEFINITIONS AND TERMS
The following design characteristics make up the template of your future,
custom surfboard. There are only a few dimensions that you will need to know
before you make your first surfboard purchase, but they are all extremely
important. You should talk to us here at the factory or your Rusty Surfboards
dealer if you have more questions.
DIMENSIONS
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Surfboard dimensions follow the same formula of measurement as any
other constructed thing: Length/Width/Thickness. You will find the
dimensions of your Rusty surfboard on its stringer near the tail.
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STRINGER
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This is that strip of wood you see running down the middle of your
surfboard. It provides strength and a center for “flex” in your
board. New, alternative surfboards like Surftech, Salomon and Aviso do
not have wooden stringers and rely, rather, on the strength and flex of
the materials they’re built with.
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LENGTH
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This is the distance from the nose to the tip of your surfboard,
measured along the stringer. Length is one the most important factors
for a beginner when they are considering the right board to help them
evolve into a better surfer. Longer is better so long as it correlates
with a wider template and thicker rails. Shorter is usually a realm best
reserved for an intermediate to experienced surfer.
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NOSE
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This area at the top of the board (measured at a point twelve inches
down from the tip) is more important than most people think. A thinner
nose is almost always associated with a higher-performance surfboard
geared toward larger waves and is accentuated with greater rocker. A
wider nose can be found on beginner and small wave boards as its greater
surface area on the bottom captures and channels more water through the
wide point and tail of the surfboard. More water usually means greater
stability, speed and better planeing.
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WIDEPOINT
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This simply refers to the widest point (rail-to-rail) of the
surfboard. To find your surfboard’s widepoint, hold the board out in
front of you with the tail on the ground and gently grip each rail near
the nose. Then slide your hands down along the rails and watch for the
apex of the curve of your board found just before your hands begin to
slide inward down towards the tail area. Wide points vary and often
“forward” wide points (pushed toward nose) aid front-footed surfing
and “pulled-back” wide points (pushed toward tail) aid back-footed
surfing. Generally, the wider the board is the more stable it is and the
more suited it is for smaller surf. The narrower and vice versa.
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TAILS
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Like the fins, tail design is a highly argued yet innovation friendly
aspect of a surfboard. To name all of the tail shapes that have passed
before us since surfboard shaping went full throttle more than forty
years ago would be exhausting. There are a few, however, that have come
and stayed and will always remain.
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Squaretail: Knee-to-overhead conditions. This is a good
overall tail shape although it is not a very common choice these days.
The sharp corners provide a bite that aids in both drive and
maneuverability. This is a tail that is loose and effective for smaller
waves and more radical, fins-free surfing.
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Swallowtail: Ankle-to-giant conditions. The wave size
spectrum is so great here because there are two, very different types of
swallowtails: “fish” and “baby” swallows. The fish is a highly
effective and fun choice for small wave surfing. The wider the swallow,
the straighter the outline of the board will be, thus there will be more
drive which is important when the waves are weak and you must generate
your own speed.
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Baby swallowtails are tighter, much smaller and are very
popular with big-wave surfers. Essentially, a baby swallow cuts some
length from the surfboard and provides two points on which to turn from.
This is crucial when the waves are big, therefore baby swallows have
proven themselves time and time again at places like Todos, Mavericks
and Waimea.
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Squashtail: Knee-to-overhead conditions. The squash is
the child of the square. The edges of the once sharp square tail are
simply rounded a bit to create a “squashed” appearance. This tail
results in a design that is more stable than the square yet still loose
when it needs to be. The squash is by far the most popular and versatile
tail today and is an excellent choice for beginners and experienced
surfers alike.
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Thumbtail: Waist-to-double overhead. This design was
created out of the need for a shape that was a bit more stable and clean
than a squash. Because there is no hard-edge, or “interruption” in
the flow of the rail, water moves cleanly from nose to tail. The
thumbtail is a board made with not just carving in mind, but also flair.
This design is definitely a great alternative from the squash when you
want a board that is extremely fun in surf with some juice.
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Rounded Pintail: This design is for those bigger days when a
pintail is too much and a square, squash or thumbtail may not be enough.
You’ll find this tail on our Traveler, which is a board that handles
in steep, concave waves yet is fully capable of quick-turning and tight
arcs. Like the thumbtail and pintail, there is no interruption in the
flow of the rail through the tail, thus enhancing control in the pocket.
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Pintail: Double overhead + conditions. This is an
elongated, sharper rounded pin. It is only effective when the waves are
big. This is because it provides for a very narrow (rail-to-rail) tail
that “locks” into steep, concave wave faces, resulting into a high
level of control when speed is in an overabundance.
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Battail: Waist-to-overhead conditions. This is a very
modern design and can be found on our Quad (four-fin) model. Like a
swallow, the battail creates a “double” tail design that essentially
gives you two points to maneuver off of. The center point adds stability
and a great pivot point for rail-to-rail surfing. This is a very fun
design and everyone should give it a spin.
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THICKNESS
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Thickness is a very important feature that everyone—from beginner to
experienced—needs to be aware of. It will determine in many ways how
the other design features of your board will work. The thicker the board
the more stable and buoyant it will be—obviously this is important for
a beginner. But more technically, thickness can change in a
surfboard’s template in countless different areas, all of which
directly relate to stability and responsiveness.
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RAILS
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Basically, there are two types of rails: 50/50 rails (which derive
from older, pre-shortboard design styles and are found more on
longboards) and “down-turned” rails, which can be found on almost
all modern surfboards. A 50/50 rail is shaped the way it sounds, meaning
the apex, or mid-point, of the curve is in the middle of the rail,
creating an egg-like shape that sits high on the water’s surface.
Because this type of rail lacks a sharp edge on the bottom, water can
more freely flow out from the bottom of the board as you plane down the
face of the wave. This buoyancy and a lack of edge make a board with
rounder (50/50) rails much harder to maneuver. A “down-turned” rail
is probably what you are used to seeing, as it is the popular choice on
most any surfboard today. It begins, essentially, as a 50/50 rail from
the nose then at about three-quarters down the rail develops a sharper
lower edge to accommodate the flat bottom of the tail area. This sharp
edge holds through into the tail and helps to capture the flow of water
from the nose and keep it underneath the board so that it creates lift
as it runs against the fins in a tighter manner. Down-turned rails are
so popular because of the extra maneuverability they give a surfboard.
They’re stable yet necessary for vertical, modern surfing.
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ROCKER
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Describes the overall curve of the surfboard from nose to tail. On a
modern surfboard, rocker can be broken down into two different sections:
rail (which includes nose and tail curvature) and center (curvature of
the middle of the board).
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Increased nose rocker is usually attributed to boards shaped for
bigger-wave surfing. More rocker in the nose allows for a shape that
will not “pearl” or plunge into a large, steep wave face when you
dropping in.
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Increased tail rocker can be found in boards shaped for optimal
maneuverability. A tail that bends off of the water’s surface provides
more lift and sensitivity in the tail for driving through radical turns.
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Generally speaking, on your standard surfboard, less overall center
rocker means the board will glide and paddle better and be more suitable
for beginners. More rocker will accommodate intermediate and experienced
surfers looking to use every area of the board in order to generate
speed and turning power.
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FOIL
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Foil is how areas of thickness correlate with other areas of thickness
from nose to tail, deck to bottom and vice versa. Essentially, good foil
is an even distribution of thickness as the nose fades into the
wide-point and then into the tail. Imagine trying to turn a board to go
down the line that has a brick attached to the nose or the tail—the
“swing” will be off balance. Good foil translates into good flow as
the board moves from points on the nose to the middle and to the tail
throughout the duration of a ride.
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Foil can also be used to describe some fin designs. Foil in the fin
holds the same concept as it does on a surfboard. The thickness must be
balanced throughout or the fin will not do what it is made to do—it
will be too stiff or too flexy, or it won’t channel water smoothly.
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CONCAVE
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Concave, has undergone many mutations since shapers began
experimenting with it in the ‘60’s. There are four basic types you
should be familiar with:
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Single: Chest-to-double overhead+ conditions. This is a
single channel in the bottom of your board running from the nose through
into the tail, resembling a faint “dug-out” appearance. Here the
flow of water is not refracted and is collected from the nose into this
channel and runs uninterrupted through the fins. Single concave is
designed for fast, large waves where you can expect spending more time
in the barrel than hitting the lip.
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Double: Ankle-to-overhead conditions. Instead of having
a channel dug out of the nose area, the bottom of your board stays
relatively flat to about three-quarters of the way down then develops a
“hump” that splits the water off into your two side fins. This is a
great board for smaller waves because the flat front portion of the
bottom of your board provides glide and speed-boosting planeing, then
the double-concave gets your maneuvers going.
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Triple: Ankle-to-double overhead conditions. This begins
just like a single concave in the nose then develops that same
“hump” within the single concave about three-quarters of the way
down the bottom of your board and stays that way through the fins. This
design takes the clean channeling principle of the single concave then
adds a split to better push the water into your two side fins. This is
an effective design for small-to-medium waves because as you drive down
the line of a slower wave, the double concave assists you in getting the
flow of water where it should be so that you can turn more easily.
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Channels: Knee-to-overhead+ conditions. These are
radical concave additions that have always been and still are
experimental additions to design. Channels are always found in the
back-quarter of the board through the fins and tail. They increase speed
as the water flows through the many “gullies” that make up a channel
bottom. They also provide for a different feel while engaged in
rail-to-rail surfing.
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Vee: Vee does not usually stand alone as a bottom feature,
rather it can accompany all of the above concaves. To begin
understanding vee, you must also be able to imagine double-concave. Vee
is like a “hump” but it doesn’t “dip” into the curved funnels
that are double-concave. In other words, double-concave looks like two
half-pipes side-by-side (the middle being the stringer) while vee looks
like two triangle-ramps side-by-side or, simply, an upside down “V”.
In modern design, vee is usually designated to the tail area behind your
rear, trailer fin. Vee helps break the chop in a wave face and adds that
last separating push of water off the tail when executing turns. Vee is
complicated and is not an important design feature for the beginning
surfer to try and grasp completely.
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FIN SET-UPS
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We will look at six different styles of fin set-ups.
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Single: The single-fin is where it all began. It originated
from the keels of sailboats. It provides a central stabilizer for your
board. Because it is only one fin, the single-fin is always quite large
resulting in a surfboard that has a lot of drive (due to the fact that
resistance is reduced down to one fin instead of two, three, four or
five). This is a fin design that works well in large surf because the
depth and centrality of the fin makes for a “stiffer” board (not so
snappy) but when it does swing into a turn it holds very well, even when
the wave your on is bigger than your house.
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Twin: The twin-fin came next. This is a fin design that lends
to surfing that can be either squirrelly or “stuck” in a straight
line unless you can keep the board smoothly transitioning from rail to
rail. But unlike the modern thruster and other “more-than-two”
designs that help you work the board from one rail to the next as you
plane along a wave, the twin requires you to have enough talent and
ability to perform such a task. When you’ve got a twin dialed in,
however, you can really drive quickly down the line, whip through turns
and bust loose.
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Thruster, or tri-fin: The thruster is sometimes considered the
best surfboard design innovation in the history of our sport. Invented
and pioneered by Australian Simon Anderson in 1981, the thruster was
first met with criticism until Anderson began winning pro contests on
it. Ever watch a mid-seventies surf flick? The surfers sometimes look a
little out of control on their twin-fins, right? Then you look at a
mid-to-late eighties into modern surf flick and all of a sudden everyone
got real smooth. That’s the beauty of a thruster—it took all of the
best aspects of the twin then corrected it’s instability with a center,
equally sized “trailer” fin and, bingo, the world had the most
stable surfboards yet. Beginners should always start out on a thruster
design.
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Quad: The quad is an attempt at correcting the squirreliness of
a twin but still maintaining that fast, whipping style. This design is
becoming increasingly popular with big-wave riders because of the
rail-strength in big bottom turns and the speed generated in the absence
of the drag of a center fin.
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C-5: Developed by Rusty in the late-nineties, this is a 5-fin
board with a high-performance blend between a quad and a thruster.
However, the front, side fins are small and oval shaped which work to
aid the larger side fins by keeping the angle of entry into them more
consistent by directing the water into the leading edge of these larger
side fins. This allows the foils on the main fins to work more
effectively. The result is enhanced performance and accentuated
maneuvers.
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Bonzer: The Bonzer design is attributed to the Campbell
brothers of California who, in 1972, began experimenting with three
fins. It, unlike Anderson’s thruster later on, used small side fins
with a much larger trailer fin. Sharp channels growing from the center
of the board and angling toward and parallel to the side fins accelerate
the performance of those fins. Later, the Campbell brothers created the
five-finned Bonzer (a design that the C-5 draws from) and shapers still
experiment with different bottom contours to accompany it.
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