Surfboard Design Elements - Bottom Contours

In this episode I welcome Luke 'Howie' Howarth to  discuss the all important surfboard design element - Bottom Contours.

The bottom contour of a surfboard can be described as either flat, convex or concave.  Its the detail within these three categories that determine a surfboards performance.  What is the best bottom contour for a shortboard, fish, midlength, or longboard?

Bottom contours are used to blend the centre line rocker to a shapers desired rail line rocker.  We discuss the various forms of vee bottom shapes, single and double concave bottom shapes as well as channels and other various popular bottom contour designs.

I chat about when I discovered the Isochronous curve theory and how it changed the way I look at the efficiency of my concaves.  Howie explains the importance of keeping the bottom contours smooth and emphasizes how some designs are great car park talking points.

There is so much to discuss when it comes to the bottom contours of a surfboard but we do our best to give a brief explanation and as always encourage surfers to start a conversation with a shaper.