another question about tails

[DublAK2]

Squash tail, round tail, swallow tail, winged swallow, winges squash; What does it all mean? What does one tail do better than the next. The only one that I really got down is that pintails=big waves.

 

[Edge Fins]

Aloha, Mixed on tails !

sguash tails, quicker stright up and down surfing! round, you had it right, round tails draw longer rounder lines. swallow, my fav. high performance snappy redirection ! winged, same snap with more drive. It's all about fine tuning the board to the conditions of the surf..

Have a great surf ! Clyde Rodgers

 

[aquarius]

I like swallow tails too, it has to do alot with the outline as well though, but I like the swallow because it's loose like a squash but it holds like a pin when you hit the lip.

 

[tom@daumtooling]

Tail shapes in the final 6" of the board are interdependent upon the tail width at 12" and the overall tail volume. Squash tails allow a shaper to keep more tail volume. Swallow tails remove some of that volume. They both provide less curvature in your tail template. These wide tail forms tend to generate power and are less stable than Pin and Round Pin tails. Round pin and pin tails require more tail template curvature with less tail volume. They are inherently more stable and control power better.

 

[daave]

tom@daum, please check your email or pm.

 

[DublAK2]

daave. I checked both e-mail and pm. I got nothing

 

[DublAK2]

oh nevermind, i'm an idiot

 

[outbreaksurfboards]

Heeeey,! The tail region tom@daumtooling mentions is tremendously performance-sensitive, in my experience.I have taken 4 boards that i have known inside-out over the last year and chopped the tails from squash or diamond tails to block-squared swallows and re-lammed for strength and watertightness, then re-surfed and the performance jump has been MIND BLOWING !!! It is like having kelp tangled in ya rope, and then removing it - that black and white ! And by staying with a known entity ( ie. the board you have surfed for ages as , say, squash or square tail) you have no doubt that the basic curves and other qualities of design ( board flex, fin shapes and angles etc.) are ruled out.Thus the true experimental variable is the tail modification.Has anyone tried this ? What was the response ?

 

[JJR]

No, but I rode square tails and diamonds for years back in the 80's. Squashtails felt dead to me, like you had to really work at it to get 'em to square of the bottom. Squares just seem to do it on their own. Get a bit squirrelly though in super fast waves. By then I'm on a pintail. Merrick has a tail called the "KS square". wonder what that means <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="images/icons/tongue.gif" /> most shapers don't want to do 'em. They think they don't work or something 'cause they look so different! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="images/icons/rolleyes.gif" />

 

[alan]

My board is 7' 6" rounded pin tail, with a single + 2 side fin setup. I've noticed that on a big wave, if I am too far back on the tail (I'm there to make the drop, hopefully!), then the board gets a bit squirelly and starts to oscillate side to side a bit. Is this fairly normal?

 

[tom@daumtooling]

alan,
Once the nose gets passed the bottom transition start to weight forward. Your'e riding your tail rocker and don't have enough rail engaged. I know you are probably doing this after you make your bottom turn or your'e not going any where. But, if you get your timing and degree down you'll never even feel the squirelly part.

 

[alan]

Thanks for the tips, Tom. There's a fine balance on how early to shift your weight forward, as I've discovered as recently as yesterday... ;>

 

[TRI FINS ARE DANGEROUS]

I've always liked swallow tails because you can really feel where the tail is on the wave. I like the edgy points in the lip, I get a sense of control out of swallow tails. Plus swallows look groovy.
Squashtails have always felt just sorta "blah" to me.
Pintails don't have to be on big wave designs only. I recall some of Slater's best 6'0"s had pintails (of course, he is putting in his board in uber positions and may need the extra hold). My favorite 6'3" was a pintail. Pintails always felt nice and smooth to me. Of course there are so many subtle ways to shape a pintail. Sooper pinny? Soft? Roundish?

It all comes down to what feeling you like best under your feet.

[ June 26, 2003, 08:39 AM: Message edited by: TRI FINS ARE DANGEROUS ]

 

[alan]

TFAD - the next board I have shaped will most likely have a single wing / swallow tail. I don't have a ton of experience with different tail shapes, so I'm learning a lot as I go. ;>