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OUTLINES and TEMPLATES October 10, 2011 This essay is from 2011. Outline and template fundamentals remain the same today. Nuanced variations continue to evolve.

OVERVIEW The outline of a surfboard is the distribution and configuration of the surface area of the surfboard. This layout is referred to as the plan shape or the template of the surfboard. Outlines are referenced by the configuration of specific elements of a surfboard particularly the shape of the tail. The primary tail shapes are round tail, roundpin tail, pintail, square tail, squash tail, thumb tail, and swallow tail. The relative width of a surfboard varies from narrow to wide. The nose and tail of a surfboard also vary from narrow to wide. Outlines may also be referenced by the overall distribution and configuration of the surface area of the surfboard. Considering the surfboard's outline from this perspective has significant impact on the design process and the performance of the surfboard. This perspective focuses on the fundamental and essential effect of the overall view of the outline on the design goals of the surfboard. Specific elements of the outline, nose and tail configurtions and width, are incorporated into the design to further develop and tune the surfboard's outline. The logic begins with a fudamental design goal - basic, relevent, and essential - then tunes that fundamental design with specific elements. These descriptions identify features of a surfboard's outline, descriptions that are useful for discussion in the design of the surfboard's outline. These features are design variables that surfers, shapers, and designers use to create, modify, and fine tune specific performance features in a surfboard. Outline configurations include Parallel outlines, Continuous Curve outlines, and Combination or Hybrid outlines, where parallel and continuous curves are integrated to mix and match their effects on the performance of the surfboard. These overall outline descriptions, like the specific elements of the outline, are important design variables used to create, modify, and tune the performance of the surfboard. Surfers, shapers, and designers may prefer either of these approches or perspectives to initiate outline design - configuration of specific elements or overall distribution and configuration of surface area. Arguably, though, creating the outline's design with relevant choices about performance based on the overall distribution and configuration of surface area then tuning the outline with specific elements ultimately yields a superior surfboard. OUTLINES DISTRIBUTION & CONFIGURATION of SURFACE AREA in a SURFBOARD PARALLEL OUTLINES feature elongated straighter curves in the plan shape or template of the surfboard. They are common to all classes of surfboards and are most functional when modified and matched with areas of continuous curve strategically integrated into the outline. A parallel shortboard, step up, semi gun, XXL gun, mid length and egg, or longboard outline will feature curves in the template running nearly parallel to the center line of the surfboard. These parallel lines dominate most of the length of the surfboard. They extend surface area further into the nose and tail of the surfboard. They can be very effective creating projection and a longer drawn out turns for shortboards, step ups, semi guns, XXL guns, mid lengths and eggs, and longboards when required by waves and conditions. Adjustments to other design variables are required to keep the most extreme of the parallel outlined boards from being to stiff or not quick in a tight situation. Extreme parallel outlines can be problematic for shortboards as they may lack the necessary curves required by a shortboard to turn and release in tight and critical as well as flat and soft sections of waves. Strategically placed parallel curves through the widepoint, from near the surfer's front foot to the fins near the surfer's rear foot, integrated with continuous curves from this area of parallel curves to the nose and the tail provides the release required for tight radius turns a shortboard needs to utilize the acceleration, projection, and speed provided by those parallel curves. Dominantly parallel outlines may be used in step ups, semi guns, XXL guns, mid lengths and eggs, and longboards where the length of the surfboard matched with the elongated straight curves yields a powerful long turning radius. The extra length of these surfboards remains an asset when, as with shortboards, the parallel areas of the template are integrated with areas of continuous curve. See combination outlines. Parallel outlines are very common to longboard templates. Classics, nose riders, and pigs have parallel lines dominating the nose and widepoint of their outlines. Their dominant parallel lines promote trim and nose riding. Parallel longboard outlines perform these tasks best when well positioned in the most critical parts of waves. These surfboards are designed for their outstanding trim and nose riding. Contemporary and performance longboards have strong parallel lines in the widepoint and midsection of their outlines carrying to a lesser degree into the nose and tail than they do in classic longboards. The shorter parallel lines integrated with smooth sweeping curves in the nose and tail of contemporary longboards creates an outline that has a unique combination of trim, nose riding, and turns.

Illustrations of three parallel outlines, applied to shortboards, semiguns, and mid lengths and eggs. Note the strong, parallel, nearly straight, curves carrying from the widepoint towards the nose and tail in each of the designs.

Illustrations of two parrallel outlines, applied to a pig and a classic longboard. Note the dominant parallel curves in the nose and widepoint of the pig with the smooth curves in the tail, and the even more dominant parrallel curves throughout the classic.

CONTINUOUS CURVE OUTLINES feature smooth, geometric, nearly elliptical constant curves in the plan shape or template. They are common to longer shortboards, step ups, semi guns, and mid lengths and eggs, and contemporary longboards where one of the fundamental design goals is an looser tighter turning radius turn from surfboard whose extra length would otherwise result in the surfboard's performance being relatively stiff. Another common use of a continuous curve outline is matching it with a flatter more relaxed rocker profile in an average shortboards, mid length and eggs. When a flatter rocker profile is essential to the design goals of a surfboard or the preference of a surfer a continuous curve outline matched with flatter rocker yields a surfboard that maintains acceleration and projection out of the turns and can still carve a very tight radius turn.

Illustrations of three continuous curve outlines, applied to shortboards, semiguns, and mid lengths. Note the smooth, continuous curves throughout.

COMBINATION or HYBRID OUTLINES feature combinations of strong parallel lines and smooth continuous curves in the distribution and configuration of the surface area of the surfboard. They are common to all classes of surfboards - shortboards, step ups, semi guns, XXL wave guns, mid lengths and eggs, longboards, and specialty boards. Typically, these outlines have parallel lines in the wide point of the surfboard carrying forward towards the nose and aft towards the tail. Integrated with continuous curves forward and aft these outlines create a plan shape or template that provides projection and release. These curves may continue through the tail or straighten into the tail depending on the prefered performance goal of the surfer, shaper, designer. Integrating various types of curves in a surfboard's outline arguably yields a very versatile and functional outline. This is the goal of using the most functional and relevent curves to meet the performance requirements of a board and make the outline function with other primary design variables - rocker, foil, bottom contours, rails, and fins of a surfboard. The performance requirements of a surfboard are a product of the skill of the surfer, the range of conditions it will be used in, and the intended performance features of the surfboard's design.

OUTLINE TAIL CONFIGURATIONS All these specific tail configurations may be applied to parallel, continuous curve, and combination outlines. Surfers, shapers, and designers chose the most appropriate combinations to render the outline relevent to the design goals and intended use of the surfboard. ROUND TAILS Tail template with the most surface area of the round and pin family. A full, elliptical curve flowing without interuption from the wide point to the tail of a surfboard. Not ending in a point ! Common to small wave boards where the design and performance preference is to maintain significant surface area without the corner typical to square, squash, and swallow tails. A round tail will release easier off the top of a wave than a square, squash or swallow tail, but will be more surfer skill dependent to square off a bottom turn mid face or off the bottom of a wave. ROUND PIN TAILS - RPTs The most versatile and common tail template in the round and pin family. An elliptical curve flowing without interuption from the wide point to the tail of a surfboard with moderate reduction in surface area near the tail. This outline may or may not end in a soft point at the stringer. The smooth continuous curves and the reduced surface area allow this tail template to maintain more control than the round tail when performing critical maneuvers. The round pin or RPT template is common to a wide variety of shortboards, step ups, semi guns, XXL guns, mid lengths and eggs, and longboards. PINTAILS The most dramatic and the rarest member of the round and pin family of outlines. The pin tail features the same elliptical continuous curves of the other tail templates in this family with the surface area notably reduced. A great tail design where control is the primary design consideration, used almost exclusively by surfers, shapers, and designers for longer semi guns and XXL guns.

SQUASH TAILS The most common tail template for shortboards. The squash tail combines maximum surface area with a soft square corner for control providing lift and generating acceleration, projection, and speed. The curves leading into the corner may be continuous or parallel. A continuous curve leading into the corner will have some of the smooth feel associated with round tails and RPTs. A parallel curve leading into the corner will provide some extra projection and acceleration out of turns. THUMB TAILS Thumb tails borrow features of squash tails and RPTs and morph them into a very functional tail design. They maintain the surface area of the squash and incorporate the smooth transitions of a RPT through maneuvers. The surface area provides lift, acceleration, projection, and speed at low end speeds or in marginal conditions and mainatain enough of a corner for a powerful bottom turn mid face or off the bottom. The soft thumb like corners are very forgiving and transition rail to rail with ease. SWALLOW TAILS The swallow tail shares it's fundamentals with the squash tail. The layout of the swallow tail maximizes surface area from rail to rail or side to side then reduces the surface area between the corners with a cut out area that provides maximum control. Swallow tails are functional in shortboards, step ups, semi guns, and XXL guns. Their configuration offers the most acceleration and projection of all tail designs. The square cornered tail provides maximum acceleration, projection, and control in critical performance situations and the cutaway between the corners reduces surface area to maximize control and release. The width between the corners and the depth of the cut out can be manipulated to increase or decrease surface area thus balancing the effects of maneuverability and control. The square corners may risk making a swallow tail stiff in projection and release. To moderate this feature additional accelerated tail rocker and deeper vee behind the fins are often integrated into a swallow tail's design.

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