Alternate Solution 1:
• Rounded tail: a lot of surface area, round tail doesn’t have any sharp corners to catch, best flow
• Flat bottom to single concave: flat section will produce the most speed and the single concave will jet water and allow for turns/maneuvers you will need to do in a contest setting. Combining these two tail designs will allow for both speed and control.
• Rocker: 6” nose rocker gets the board up high in the front and keeps you from pearling (nose diving) when paddling and catching waves. While 6” is enough to catch waves it is still relatively low for the high performance shape the board has. 2” tail rocker will keep the board as flat as possible while adding a little rocker to increase maneuverability
• Template is similar to a typical short board
Alternate solution 2:
• Square tail: most responsive tail type, allows for the most maneuvers. Most surface area (most speed)
• Flat bottom: allows for the most possible speed
• Rocker: 8” nose and 3” tail to compensate for flat bottom, will decrease speed but allow for more maneuverability.
• Template similar to short board
Alternate Solution 3:
• Swallow tail: two outer pivot points apposed to one in any other tail, allows for rail control to keep you on the wave
• Concave to double concave bottom: this will be a very shallow concave with a double exiting concave, this will jet water to both pivot points on the tail to allow for maneuverability and rail stability
• Rocker: 6” nose rocker will keep the appearance of a short board and keep you from pearling while a 3” tail rocker will keep the board relatively flat (increasing speed) while still allowing for contours
• More retro template
In order to be a viable solution the board must do the following things; perform in 1-2ft mushy New Jersey conditions, be acceptable for competitive events, allow you to catch more waves than the typical short board so it wont dump speed, move faster to keep you on the wave and maintain speed to move around flat sections on a wave.
Alternate solution one is a 6 foot surfboard, 2 inches thick and 22 inches wide. This is thicker and wider than my current short board in order to increase surface area to help catch waves more easily. It is a short board, less than 7ft so it will be usable in a competitive event. The board has a round tail which has a good amount of surface area for stability. The round shape of the tail will flow best and won’t have sharp corners to catch water. The bottom contour is going to be flat to a single concave which you can see in the Alt. Solution 1 drawing. The flat section will produce the most speed and the single concave that it turns into will allow water to jet directly to the fins for turns and maneuvers you will need to do in a contest setting. In combining both flat and concave designs will allow for both speed and control. The nose rocker will be 6” high, this will keep the board from pearling (nose-diving) when dropping in. Although 6” is enough to catch waves it is still relatively low for the high performance shape it has. The tail rocker is going to be 2” this will keep the board as flat as possible to maximize speed while still allowing for maneuverability in the tail. The template of the board is similar to that of a typical short board.
PROS
• Tail surface area
• Bottom contour will allow for speed and maneuverability
• Rocker
CONS
• Template
• Round tail is more of a performance tail
Alternate solution two is a 6 foot short board, 2 inches thick and 20 inches wide. This is thicker and wider than my current short board in order to increase surface area to help catch waves more easily. It is a short board, less than 7ft so it will be usable in a competitive event. The board has a square tail which has historically been the most responsive tail type (according to my research). The bottom of the board is going to be flat. There is going to be an 8” nose rocker and a 3” tail rocker. The flat bottom will allow for the most speed while the nose rocker will compensate, keeping the nose of the board above water (not as much surface in the water). The three inch tail rocker will allow for the most maneuverability. The template is similar to a short board. Refer to alternate solution two drawing for image.
PROS
• Square tail
• bottom contour
• fast
CONS
• template
• high nose rocker
Alternate solution three is a 6 feet tall, 2 ½ inches thick and 22 inches wide. This is thicker and wider than my current short board in order to increase surface area to help catch waves more easily. It is a short board, less than 7ft so it will be usable in a competitive event. The board is going to have a swallow tail which has two separate pivot points to allow for rail control to keep you on the wave. The bottom contour is going to be single to double concave. This will be a very shallow concave with two exiting concaves. This will jet water to both pivot points on the tail to allow for maneuverability and rail stability. The nose rocker is going to be 6” which will help it to keep the appearance of a short board and keep you from pearling while a 3” tail rocker will keep the board relatively flat (increasing speed) while still allowing for the contours of a more modern board. This template will be more retro but keep a more modern feel while riding. Refer to alternate solution three drawing for image.
PROS
• template is more retro
• Tail helps with rail control, keeps you on the wave
• Bottom contour increases speed
• Rocker will be enough to resemble a short board
CONS
• bottom could be flatter to increase speed
Rationale
Alternate solution three will be the best option for the new design. This board will meet ALL of the specifications. It is going to be wider then the other two ideas and this will allow the rider to catch more waves then the average short board. The most unique thing about this design is the tail. The tail helps to meet many of the other specifications for this board. The tail will help to hold the rail in place to keep you on the board. The wideness of the board as well as the bottom contour will allow for the most speed of the three designs, this will help to move the surfer around the common flat sections of a New Jersey wave. This proves that Alternate Solution 3 is the best solution.
