SURFBOARD GLOSSARY A-Z

Airbrush
The tool used by an artist to spray color onto a surfboard. The airbrush is powered by a compressor and sprays paint from a container (usually screwed or otherwise attached to the airbrush) out through a thin nozzle in a manner similar to an aerosol spraycan. (verb

Acetone
Flammable, volatile, toxic chemical solvent used to clean polyester resin from tools, etc.

Alaia
A type of surfboard, made of wood and usually around six feet in length, used by Hawaiian commoners to surf prior to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in the late 19th century.

Balsa
Light, porous wood used through the 1940s and '50s as a key core material for surfboard manufacture. Balsa grows only in Ecuador and must be imported to the USA; it became popular when laminating techniques allowed surfboard cores to be sealed from contact with water. By the early 1960s it had been largely replaced by polyurethane foam, but is still used for some big wave guns and collector pieces.

Bamboo
can be used in thin laminar sheets as a replacement for fiberglass in the surfboard manufacturing process; eg., Bamboo Surfboards Australia.

Blank
The unshaped core ingredient of the surfboard, usually made from polyurethane foam.

Bonzer
A surfboard design first invented by the Campbell brothers, Duncan and Malcolm, in 1971. Forerunner of today's popular single-to-double concave bottom shape.

Bottom
The underside of a surfboard.

Bottom Curve
(see rocker)

Buckle
(see crease)

Carbon Fiber
A type of super-strong fiber, soakable in resin, which is sometimews laid in strips along the length of a board during glassing to help prevent creasing (see crease).

Catalyst
(see MEKP)

Channel
Bottom shape dating back to 1970, credited to Jim Pollard of Australia, in which grooves are cut lengthwise along the surfboard, usually through the tail half. Many different types of channels have a variety of effects on performance; generally they add drive and direction to turns, especially in the most common modern variation, the six-channel "clinker" bottom.
* see illustration

Computer
("computer board", "computer shape") Many top shapers now use highly accurate machines to cut blanks into near-ready shapes, or "pre-shapes". These are driven by computer programs which use data from the shapers' prototype designs (see "plug"). The computer has reduced man-hours on a shape job to as little as 15 minutes.

Concave
Design feature involving a slight scooping out of an area of the board, usually the bottom from rail to rail, during the shaping process. Concave is a paradox because it provides both lift (a skatey freeing up of the board) and drive (from pressure on the water along the exit rail).
* see illustration

Crease
Damage to a surfboard caused by heavy general impact, in which the surfboard flexes further than the glass and resin allows. Usually indicated by a fracture line running across the board on bottom, deck or both. A bad crease may shatter glass around the rail and lead to a complete break in the affected board. deck

Deck Grip
Rough-surfaced material patch, usually a fraction of an inch thick, that may be glued to the deck of a surfboard to increase traction instead of wax.

Designer
An expert surfboard shaper or rider who originates ideas for surfboard shapes (see shaper).

Ding
Injury to the surfboard requiring repair.

Down Rail
A rail (see rail) shape in which the deck slopes down to meet the bottom, rather than vice versa. Credited to Mike Diffenderfer of the USA in the 1960s.
* see illustration

Drag
The effect that causes waterflow to be slowed or disrupted as it passes along a surfboard's surfaces. Causes of drag are usually present in the leading edges of a surfboard: the forward rail line, the forward rocker and outline, and the leading edges of fins, and in bottom features which cause water resistance, such as tail vee. Controlled drag is an essential requirement of surfboard design.

Entry
A term used to describe the area of the surfboard where water first comes into contact with the rocker.
* see illustration

Epoxy
A type of plastic resin used by some manufacturers in place of polyester resin. Usually an epoxy-user also uses a polystyrene blank, which can be badly affected by polyester resins.

Fiberglass
Ultrafine extruded glass strands woven together to provide a cloth matting which is used in surfboard lamination.

Fin
Rudderlike device(s) used beneath a surfboard to assist control, direction and drive. Many different fin shapes are possible, but most are designed to resemble a dolphin's dorsal fin. Today fins are mostly used in groups of three-two ahead, one behind-a configuration known as a Thruster (see Thruster). They're also used, less frequently, in pairs or singles.
* see illustration

Fin System
A catch-all phrase referring to various inventions allowing fins to be attached and removed easily and quickly, eg. Fin Control Systems.

Fish
A surfboard design invented by Steve Lis of San Diego, California, which features a wide nose and broad swallow-type tail design, with a twin-fin setup; in recent years, refers to almost any short, stubby, wide surfboard.
* see illustration

Foil
1) The rate of change of thickness from nose to tail of a surfboard. 2) The rate of change of thickness of a surfboard fin from its front to its back edge.
* see illustration

Forward Vee
(see reverse vee)
* see illustration

Gelcoat
(see hotcoat)

Glasser
A person who is employed to laminate surfboards using resins and fiberglass (thus the name).

Glosscoat
A final coat of thin, hard resin applied to many surfboards in order to bring up a slick shiny surface.

Gun
A surfboard designed specifically for large waves, viz. "elephant gun"
* see illustration

Hollowboard
A type of surfboard invented by Tom Blake of the USA in 1932, which used redwood sheets to create a long, narrow board much lighter in weight relative to the solid redwood boards of the time.

Hot Curl
A surfboard type designed in the 1950s by Californian Dale Velzy.

Hotcoat
A coat of resin applied during the laminating process, just after the initial coat of resin and glass. So named because the resin and catalyst are mixed to force a fast gelling. The resin, also known as sanding resin, is also blended with wax substances to complete the hardening on the hotcoat's surface, thus permitting sandpaper work. The hotcoat seals the glass-resin layer, fills any bumps or holes, and is later sanded back to the original surfboard shape.

Hull
A bottom shape reminiscent of a boat, in which the bottom swells out to the stringer from the rails. Common in longboards designed before 1967, and in some longboards today.
* see illustration

Kevlar
A type of glass-plastic cloth which is ultra-strong; occasionally used by surfboard manufacturers for certain equipment, but generally shunned because of its high cost.

Kick
A term referring to amount of rocker (see rocker); ie., tail "kick".

Laminate
The first coat of resin applied to a shaped surfboard blank. Laminating resin is used to soak the fiberglass cloth and seal it to the blank; the resin hardens securely, but leaves a sticky residue on its surface, requiring the application of the hotcoat.

Leash Plug
A small plug with a crosswise metal or plastic bar used to attach a leash to a surfboard, usually inserted in the deck near the tail of the board.

Length
A term describing the surfboard's dimension from nose to tail along the stringer.

Longboard
A surfboard distinctly longer and broader at the nose and tail than a conventional "short" board; usually over nine feet in length and 22" or more in width, often with a rounded nose, based on surfboard designs pre-1968.
* see illustration

Malibu
In the surfboard sense, refers to the original foam/fiberglass laminated boards produced in the Los Angeles area by Joe Quigg, Dave Sweet and others during the late 1950s.

MEKP
Methy ethyl ketone peroxide, a noxious toxic chemical used in small quantities as a catalyst or "hardener" for polyester resin.

Midpoint
The point on a surfboard exactly halfway between the nose and tail; not necessarily the wide point (see wide point).

Minigun
A design credited to Dick Brewer of Hawaii around 1968, which among other things featured the first hints of the modern outline in a pulled-in tail and pin-nose.

Molding/Molded Boards
generic term for a type of surfboard manufacturing in which a hard plastic molded shell is injected with expanding foam; currently practiced by Europe-based Bic Surfboards.

Nose
The first 12 inches of a surfboard.

Noseguard
Trade name, becoming generic, for a silicon tip designed to be glued to the nose of a surfboard, theoretically blunting the destructive effect of its collision with the human body or another board.

Olo
A type of surfboard, sixteen to eighteen feet in length and made of Koa or wiliwili wood, used by Hawaiian royalty to surf prior to their overthrow in the late 19th century; the basis for the design of Tom Blake's hollowboard (see hollowboard).

Outline
The defining shape of a surfboard from nose to tail as seen from the deck or bottom. Outline is the first step in a designer's work, and can be gauged accurately by measuring width from rail to rail at various points along the board. Also known as the template, or template curve.
* see illustration

Paipo
A wooden handboard or bodyboard historically used by Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders.

Pintail
A tail shape in which the two sides of the board come together in smooth curves to form a point. The pintail is a sensitive controlling shape, ideal for powerful hollow surf.
* see illustration

Planer
An electric tool designed for carpentry and co-opted by surfboard shapers to trim foam from the blank during shaping. Less important than it was, due to the development of computer shaping machinery; still widely used by "backyard" low-volume manufacturers.

Plug
In shaping, a highly crafted shaped blank produced by a top designer as a template for a computer shaping machine. Also a similarly crafted shape supplied by a designer to a blank manufacturer as a basis for blank moulding.

Polyester
A type of plastic resin; the most common type used in surfboard manufacturing.

Polystyrene
A type of plastic foam used to make surfboard blanks, usually employed together with epoxy resins.

Polyurethane
A type of plastic foam; the most common type used in surfboard manufacturing, usually employed together with polyester resin.

Rail
The edge of a surfboard where the deck wraps around to meet the bottom; usually used to describe the lower half of the edge.
* see illustration

Rake
The distance between the back edge of the fin base and the tip of the fin, measured lengthwise down the surfboard.

Release
The effect that allows waterflow to be accelerated as it passes along a surfboard's surfaces. Causes of release are usually available in the second (tail) half of the board, through tail rocker, outline curves and trailing fin edges, and through bottom features which open up opportunities for water to move, such as concaves and channels. Controlled release (along with its opposite, drag) is essential to successful surfboard design

Resin
A liquid plastic that is catalyzed (set hard) when mixed with MEKP; used in surfboard manufacturing to seal the shaped blank and repair dings.

Reverse Vee
A bottom shape dating back to 1991, credited to Maurice Cole of Australia, in which vee is placed in the front half of the board, flattening out through the tail, accompanied by considerable tail rocker. This design idea completely reversed the traditional image of the surfboard, thus the name "reverse vee". Reverse vee, also known as "revee" or forward vee, is in common use, particularly in large-wave boards.
* see illustration

Rhino Chaser
Big wave board (see gun)

Rocker
The curve of the surfboard bottom from nose to tail viewed from the side. Probably the single most important factor in surfboard design, because it controls the general flow of water from its entry (where water first contacts the bottom) to its release (where water leaves the board). The difficulty of handshaping an evenly balanced rocker is legendary among shapers, but has largely been relieved by improved blank technology and the use of computer shaping machines.
* see illustration

Roundtail
A tail shape in which the two sides of the board come together in smooth curves to form a semicircle. The roundtail is a neutral tail shape, not resisting or adding to any turn.
* see illustration

Sanding Resin
(see hotcoat)

Sandpaper
Coarse paper mounted with a variety of grit types, used in most stages of surfboard making. For instance, a type of sandpaper known as sanding gauze is often used by the shaper to do a final smoothing and tuning of the shaped blank. Thick-grit paper is used with a disc sanding machine to cut away excess resin following the hotcoat, and thiner paper grades are used to restore the original shape of the board. Finally, very fine grades of paper are used to cut back the final glosscoat ready for polishing.

Sandthrough
An error in manufacturing, in which the sander cuts through all the resin/glass layers and exposes the foam core.

S-Core
Trade name for the hollow surfboard blank designed by sports equipment company Salomon and made from styrene foams and carbon fiber; still in r-and-d in early 2003, and not yet commercially available.

Shaper
The surfboard worker who planes and sands a blank to the desired shape prior to glassing. Not necessarily a designer (see designer)

Singlefin
One-fin surfboard design dating back to the first use of the fin on a surfboard (by Tom Blake of the USA in the 1930s); combines a high degree of control with little drive.
* see illustration

Skeg
(see fin)

Squaretail
A surfboard tail shape in which the rails end suddenly, forming a box shape; the squaretail floats well and is usually part of a small-wave surfboard design.
* see illustration

Squashedtail
A modified squaretail in which the square tips are softened; the squashtail combines squaretail flotation with some of the pintail's sensitivity.
* see illustration

Stinger
A surfboard design featuring a dramatic cutaway section just tailward of the wide point and terminating in a singlefin swallowtail; credited to Ben Aipa of Hawaii and ridden with tremendous creative success by Dane Kealoha, Button Kaluhiokalani and Mark Liddell in 1975/76; also ridden by Mark Richards in that period.

Stringer
A strip of material, usually wood, that is glued down the center of a blank to help strengthen the surfboard. Also used by shapers as a central point for shaping measurements.

Surform
A tool similar to a file, used by some shapers to make minor cuts and corrections to a shape before final finishing.

SurfTech
Trade name which may become generic, describing a type of epoxy molded surfboard manufacturing process ("Tuflite").

Swallowtail
A tail shape in which the rails end suddenly and a vee is cut back in toward the stringer; the swallowtail combines the rail drive of the squaretail with the sensitivity of the pintail.
* see illustration

Tail
The rear 12 inches of a surfboard.
* see illustration

Template
1) Another word for outline (see outline). 2) A wooden sheet cut into an imaginary surfboard curve, used by a shaper or designer to draw outlines onto a blank prior to shaping.

Thickness
A surfboard's dimension as measured from the deck to the bottom of the board.

Tint
chemical used to color the resin used to seal fiberglass onto a conventional surfboard; largely replaced by airbrush paints through the 1980s, but still used in some quarters for its unique retro look.

Thruster
Three-fin surfboard design created by Simon Anderson of Australia in 1980; now the most common fin setup used by surfers, the Thruster combines drive and control in most surfing situations.

Towboard
surfboard designed specifically to be used during tow-in surfing, usually in very big surf; usually marked by drastic reductions in length, width and thickness, and by equally drastic additions to overall weight through ultra-heavy blanks and glass jobs. Towboards often feature footstrap setups, not unlike sailboards and/or kiteboards.

Tucked Edge
A rail design popularized in the late 1970s in which a "soft" or rounded rail is finished at the bottom with a slightly angled edge, providing bite and release.

Twinfin
Two-fin surfboard design with a long and fascinating history; identified most strongly with four-time world surfing champion Mark Richards, who rode a twin in most of his contest successes outside Hawaii. The twinfin combines drive with release to create a very free design which can be hard to control.
* see illustration

Twinzer
Four-fin surfboard design created by Will Jobson of California in 1990; adds control to the instability of the twinfin design.
* see illustration

Uuhh
technical term used by young surf shop worker when asked by customer about design feature of latest Al Merrick)

Vee
A bottom shape in which the stringer is lower than the rails when viewed from the side. Originated in the tail area during the late 1960s by Australian designer Bob McTavish and several contemporaries, it allows a board to roll positively from rail to rail in turns. Tail vee was a design standard until the early 1990s, when experiments with concaves and reverse vee (see reverse vee) virtually eliminated it from small wave equipment. Still the preferred bottom contour in many medium to large wave designs.
* see illustration

Wide Point
The point on a surfboard where width is greatest (see width).

Width
A term referring to the surfboard's dimension from rail to rail, measured at several key points by the designer.

Wing
A cutaway in the tail outline, generally credited to Terry Fitzgerald of Australia in 1971, designed to break the rail line in turns at speed. Later reborn as the "Clayton wing", a bump in the outline of some modern shortboards around the front fins.