Does it matter what kind of tail on your surfboards???

[baldie]

I have a squash tail fun board 7'0. My friend advised me that this board can't handle waves more than 6 foot high (Hawaiian scale) or waves in the North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii because of its squash tail. He said I need to have a round pintail board for bigger waves. Is that true??? What is your comment???

[drowningbitbybit]

Well, it probably can handle bigger surf, but it might not be the best for it

Tail design is one of the fundamentals of the board which will control how it surfs, as important as the rails or the rocker.

This site describes it nicely...

www.safarisurfco.com/content/view/21/44/

(the pictures of the tails are on page 1, but the descriptions are on page 2)

[trails surfing]

from my vast knowledge from surfing 5 whole months , no realy from what i have read a pin tail will funnul the water to the point of your tail giving it more stability in larger surf. the swallow tail gives a larger surface area for greater push in small mushy waves. and umm.... cant remember the rest sorry

[baldie]

Thanks drowningbitbybit for the great website. It was very helpful. Anybody else knows anything about surfboard tails??? Like can I use a squash tail board for big waves??? Or a pin tail for small waves??? Do they really matter???

[Driftingalong]

You can use what ever you want.
But, tails are designed for specific purposes and will make difference.
(Every single aspect of the board's design makes a difference whether you are experienced enough to notice or not.)

You would probably experience more difficulty on a squash tail in big waves staying balaced and driving down the line staying ahead of the the crashing wave.
And, you would probably stuggle turning a pintail fast enough in small surf.

In otherwords you would get more enjoyment out of the waves you are surfing when you are using the proper equipment.

[Brent]

Squash tails are a nice compromise; basically a good way to squeeze some volume back there and have a board that pivots on the turns. They work well. The faster you go the less tail & surface area you need...otherwise you'll skate on the wave rather than surf partially in it. Narrower tails are more stable at speed, turn gracefully and work in bigger surf. A nice compromise is a round-pin.