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| 1. Tow-In Board |
2. Big Wave Gun |
| What to look for: 7'2" length; 9.5" nose, 16" widepoint, 11.15" tail; 2.1" thickness; tri-fin array In the sixties, highly. . . imaginative surf cartoonists sketched fantastic visions of a future that always seemed devoid of gravity, oil dependence, and statutes against psychotropic drugs. Nothing they dreamed up, however, rivals the phenomenon of tow-in surfing, in which Jet Skiborne lunatics set upon outer-reef waves up to 50 feet tall with cartoonish abandon. The boards? They have foot straps, thin and boxy rails, and—stay tuned for the rest: These floating tombstones are evolving rapidly. | What to look for: 9' to 10'6" length; 10" nose, 20" widepoint, 9.75" tail; 3" thickness "If you want to hunt rhinos, don't take a BB gun." So sayeth Buzzy Trent, the hellman who led the charge into the giant surf on Oahu's North Shore in the late 1950s. Today's rhino chaser has a few more fins, but it's still designed with a single purpose: to remain stable at high speed. The size makes it easy to paddle, three fins add horsepower in driving turns, and the narrow tail and straightish plan shape help the board stick to that beast of a wave face. |
| 3. Classic Longboard |
4. Hybrid Funboard |
| What to look for: 9' to 10' length; 17.5" nose, 22.5" widepoint, 14.5" tail; 3" thickness; single fin Whether they're shaped from balsa, Hawaiian Koa wood (heavy as wet plywood, but oh so cool), or composites of superlight foam and fiberglass, these stable boards are built to do one thing well—glide, baby, glide. Classics don't have much rocker, so they tend to plow, bargelike, through surf. That's good, because the soft (rounded) rails and single rudderlike fin aren't designed for quick turning anyway. Quaint? Sure. But the design still works. Especially for those who want to stand tall, relax, and surf like portly Hawaiian kings. | What to look for: 5'6" to 8'2" length; 12.75" nose, 20.5" widepoint, 14.5" tail; 2.65" to 2.75" thickness; tri-fin array Once derided as beer-belly boards, today's hybrids are anything but. They paddle long but surf short. The speed comes from tri-fin arrays, the loose feel from ample rocker, and the responsiveness from thin rails. They're ideal for "aging" experts--anybody over 25 who no longer surfs 150 days a year—but may also be perfect for beginners, since they don't pearl (nose-dive on takeoff) as readily as reduced-rocker longboards. And getting used to a seven-footer makes it easier to switch to a shortboard later. |
| 5. Modern Longboard |
6. Postmodern Fish |
| What to look for: 9' length; 18" nose, 22" widepoint, 14" tail; 2.5" to 2.85" thickness; tri-fin array Its silhouette may not seem all that different from its classic ancestor's, but in many ways the modern longboard is more like its sub-seven-foot cousin, the shortboard. Lightweight with a streamlined plan shape and a tri-fin array, it's fast. Yet relatively hard rails and ample rocker make it surprisingly maneuverable. Challenging enough for even the most experienced surfers, it's also nice for beginners because it's so easy to paddle. The first step in surfing, after all, is catching a wave. | What to look for: 6' length; 14" nose, 19.75" widepoint, 15" tail; 2.25" thickness; tri-fin array Skinny, excessively rockered shortboards are fine for pros but next to impossible for everyone else to handle. The wider postmodern fish is a wiser option. Short enough to fit into the critical areas of a barrel, the design employs a full-figured plan shape and reduced rocker for whiplash-inducing acceleration. Thin rails make it easy to carve. In fact, the fish is so easy to ride that contest judges dock points from surfers using it. No matter. Nobody on the beach will know it's the board, and not you. |
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Tow-In Board ($1,000) Gerry Lopez Surfboards 541-388-3403; www.gerrylopezsurfboards.com Big Wave Gun ($465) Rusty Surfboards 858-578-0414; www.rustysurfboards.com Classic Longboard ($690) Hobie Surfboards/Surftech 831-479-4944; www.surftech.com Hybrid Funboard ($600) Evolution Surfboards 888-386-4249; www.evolutionsurf.com Modern Longboard ($600) Stewart Surfboards 949-492-1085; www.stewartsurfboards.com Postmodern Fish ($425) Timmy Patterson Surfboards 949-366-2022; www.tpatterson.com |
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