Bottom Contour

The basic concept behind bottom contours is that water is being funneled down the board from nose to tail when being ridden. By channeling this water in different ways, so the logic goes, you can achieve different things. A concave should be faster because the curve of the bottom (from rail to rail) increases the surface area increasing floatation & speed. Further, pressure against the concaves causes a compression effect also known as "squirting." However, when water is channeled like that there is greater force to work against when turning, so most shapers use a single into double concave combo on their shortboards. Many big wave guns feature deep vee because the vee provides resistance and helps you slow down while also giving you a keel to turn off. While these differences are often very subtle, the right combination of concave and rocker makes a huge difference and it is where master shapers differentiate themselves from the pack.

Flat: Flat bottoms are good all around bottoms and work really well on shortboards, hybrids, eggs, and longboards. These bottoms also work really well for heavier surfers who push water with concave bottoms. Single Concave: Concave bottoms work super well when the waves are really clean, but they don't like chunky or choppy surf as they lose their flow easily. Bigger surfers may find these boards "sticky" when coming off the lip. Double Concave: The majority of shortboards today are single concave up front that fades into a double concave. This gives you the drive of the concave on the part of the board that stays flat, but loosens things up overall by providing more of a centered pivot point through the tail. Vee Bottom: Boards with this bottom provide a well defined pivot point that really will loosen up the board, especially when ridden off the tail. These bottoms are not as squirty as the other boards and for that reason are also used on most big wave guns.

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