F2 shaper Patrik Diethelm explains here which shapes on your board are responsible for which riding characteristics.Patrik Diethelm has been the new shaper at F2 since 2003. As the successor to Peter Thommen, the 31-year-old Swiss is taking on a legacy of responsibility. The trained electrician joined F2 as a tester in 2000, bringing with him his experience from his annual holidays in Gran Canaria and Australia. Patrik lives on Lake Garda and is not only good in the shaperoom, but also on the water - he is the Swiss Formula Windsurfing Champion.
To clarify the most important terms that the shop assistant or the testers in surf magazine throw around, we asked Patrik to briefly explain them to us.
Outline: "This is the outline of a board. Narrow boards are easier to edge over when jibing, wide boards are more stable. Long boards don't turn as easily as short ones."
Scoop-Rocker-LineThe scoop is the forward bend of the board. It ensures that the board does not cut into the waves. You can also use it to regulate how much wind gets under the board. In light winds, the wind under the board helps with planing because it lifts the board. In strong winds, too much scoop can cause the wind to lift the board completely, which must be avoided. The rocker is the backward bend of the board.
A board with a very flat rocker is fast and lies flat in the water. If you add a stronger rocker, the board comes out of the water a little more at the front and lies deeper at the back. It ploughs through the water a little. This makes the board more controllable and easier to turn. Scoop and rocker together form the scoop-rocker line, i.e. the underwater ship's line." Extremely manoeuvrable boards, such as wave boards, are completely "scooped". This means that there is no longer a straight surface in the underwater hull. This is why they are also referred to as "wave bananas". Freeride boards normally have a flat gliding surface.
RailsThe rails are the edges of the board. A distinction is made between the upward curve from the widest point of the board and the downward curve. The more important downward curve is known as the "tucked under edge". It determines the turning ability of a board. The more "tucked under edge", the easier a board is to jibe. The thickness of an edge, i.e. the height of the board at the edge, determines whether a board cuts into the water when jibing. A thick edge floats on the water and cannot dip and grip into the water. This means that tight radii are not possible. However, an edge that is too thin can cut into the water, in which case the board continues straight ahead on the edge instead of jibing. The edges of a board tend to be a little thicker at the front so that it doesn't cut at the front and a little thinner at the back so that you can cut into the water and ride tight radii." Underwater hull: "There are countless shapes here.
TailThe tail is the rear of the board. Here, too, there are a variety of shapes. The best known are the roundtail, a round tapered tail, and the pintail, a tapered tail. A roundtail is mainly used for larger freeriders who need a lot of volume in the tail. Pintails turn more easily, but have less volume and are mainly used for small boards."
