The Surfboard

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The surfboard is the essential piece of surfing equipment. Without it, you ain't surfin'. The modern surfboard has come a long way in design and construction since the Hawaiians started surfing on wooden planks. The modern surfboard is light and strong, handmade by professional shapers out of foam and finished with a fibreglass coat. But it's not a static art; the cutting edge of surfboard design changes as quickly as a cold surfer does on a windy day. Let's have a look at what the different bits of the surfboard are called so that you can sound knowledgeable when talking your mum into buying you a nice new board.

Surfboard Bits and Pieces

The picture below shows the different parts of the surfboard and what they are called. The images are of a standard surfboard, but the naming of the different parts applies to every type of board — whether your board is a shortboard, funboard, longboard, gun or fish. (See surfboard types for more info on these boards.) First, the top view:

View of Surfboard Parts From Above

The first thing to note is that the nose of the board is the bit that faces forward. The surfboard sits in the water deck-side up as you have probably already figured out by looking at the surfing lessons and seeing surfing pictures or watching surf videos.

Deck
The deck is the top side of the surfboard and is where the surfer stands to surf and lays to paddle. Wax is applied to this top surface for grip. Often surfers will use a traction pad for extra grip. If you look at the deck of a surfboard, you'll usually see a slight camber from the rail to the middle then back to the rail. This is know as a domed deck and helps promote easy rail-to-rail movements. The other type of deck is the flat deck — no prizes for guessing what this type looks like.

Nose
The nose of the surfboard sits out of the water. On shortboards, guns, and fish, the nose is normally pointed, and on funboards / minimals and longboards, the nose is usually rounded. However, this is by no means set in stone. Some surfers use a surfboard nose guard which can protect the surfboard from dings and also protect the surfer from a good poke from a disgruntled board!

Tail
The tail is at the back of the board. There are quite a few different tail shapes, and each shape provides different board performance. Check out surfboard tail shapes for more details. As pointed out in the above diagram, the tail will have a leash plug. The plug is where the leash is attached to the surfboard. The plug is set into the deck and the leash is looped through. Take a look at our handy guide that demonstrates how to attach a surfboard leash.

Rails
The rails are the "edge" of the surfboard. They run from the tail to the nose and are where the deck and the bottom meet. Like tail shapes, different rail shapes provide different surfboard performance. It may not be something you have thought about, but take a look at the different shapes next time you are in a surf shop. Why not find out more about surfboard rail shapes?

Stringer
The stringer is a strip of strengthening material (typically wood) that runs the whole length of a foam surfboard. It's already present in the surfboard blank before it is shaped. Epoxy, soft, and carbon fibre (space age, eh!) surfboards will not often have stringers.

Now you know all about the top side of a surfboard, let's get on with the underside of the surfboard. Also have a look at the different types of surfboards.

 

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Comments

GuestGuest
on Apr 19, 2011		im making a surfboard for my sicence project
surf patrol
on Apr 19, 2011		I hope you have found the information here useful. Are you actually shaping a full size surfboard?
GuestGuest
on May 17, 2011		Yes
surf patrol
on May 31, 2011		that's great, I hope everything goes well for you.
LakdweseeLakdwesee
on Aug 2, 2011		Leichter auf den Wendungen!
bemilybemily
on Aug 5, 2011		what is the length and width of a longborad need to know for an assignment
GuestGuest
on Oct 19, 2011		I worship this website! It is such a great help for my school project- thnx so much!
GuestGuest
on Nov 25, 2011		I have a 11 year old who had a softboard for a few weeks last summer, it was used and broke after a few tries...He know is asking for one for christmas. Can you recommend a Board? we are from south jersey with lots of surf shops near by!
GuestGuest
on Dec 13, 2011		wicked site, but not much help for assignment.
GuestGuest
on Jan 2, 2012		Who was this source written by? I am doing a National History Day project on surfing and I need to credit this article. Thanks!
MaryMary
on Jan 24, 2012		whats the best shap for beginers??
michellemichelle
on Feb 1, 2012		i love surfboards
michellemichelle
on Feb 8, 2012		i just love learning about surfboards

on Feb 21, 2012		how do you make a solid wood long board float? trying to make one at home.
GuestGuest
on Mar 3, 2012		Thanks!
KampOrnareeKampOrnaree
on Mar 16, 2012		Большое спасибо
GuestGuest
on Mar 18, 2012		I'm doing surfboards for English
GuestGuest
on Oct 7, 2012		thanks for the info. i am doing surfboards am my transport for inquiry.
sharp shootersharp shooter
on Nov 9, 2012		im doing surf boards to for writing class
GuestGuest
on Mar 15, 2013		Thanks for all the facts

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