Hi Marcus,
Even as late as 2004/5 the level of understanding was so low that much of the carnage at mavericks was blamed on a mythical 'suction zone' . I wrote some long essays on Swaylocks on the subject and how it was really to do with too much toe in and cant which was stopping the boards from turning. The typical side fin cant and toe in which was used in smaller waves was cut and pasted on to big wave guns and couldn't handle the speeds involved at mavericks. Of course the industry legends all denied this and I was abused for saying it but the message got through after a while and now it is common knowledge that zero or low toe in and cant is required for faster speeds and bigger waves.
At present most big wave paddle in guns are still based on the tail riding shortboard concept. This is a fundamental mistake in my opinion, as the tail riding position is inherently unstable and gives poor control. With a more central riding position far better control can be achieved. In addition the wider tails used in such boards have the problem that because the planing lift produced by the tail ( and fins) increases by the square as speed increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to turn the boards at higher speeds, as the rail to rail leverage exerted by the tail increases drastically. that's why we see riders having to slow down at the bottom of the wave to turn rather than turning as they go down the face. Tails ( currently I'm the only one doing this ) which are extremely narrow ( thus having low planing area and very little rail to rail leverage ) but which have substantial buoyancy avoid this problem completely regardless of speed, as buoyant lift does not increase as speed increases.
Rocker wise the central riding position can be achieved with variety of rockers including those with very flat tail sections, but the board we sent to hawaii follows one of our most successful rocker and planshape combinations which we've been using since 1995 ( the circular arc or 'spherical' rocker whereby the nose and tail rocker measurement is identical and the widepoint in planshape as 50% back from the nose ) This rocker and planshape combination is ideal for the central riding position. I've been consistently mocked and attacked for using this setup ever since the beginning,( and I've been publicly singing its praises for the past 15 years ) but the fact of the matter is that it's a very good system. I noticed only last week that the maker of 'Stretch' surfboards has announced a new innovation ( supoosedly new anyway) namely the spherical rocker and 50/50 planshape proportion inorder to achieve a more forward, central riding position on his guns. So the message appears to be getting through again.
There's a lot more to this particular design ( the FP13 which is in hawaii ) for example the displacement or sinker tail which allows the tail to be sunk for control during steep drops or turns, and the use of large fin area with a narrow tail and circular arc tail in planshape for presentation of the fin at angles which provide significant planing lift when angling and dropping on steep walls.
Weight distribution wise the distribution is approximately proportional to the planshape area, thus there is significant weight in the nose. This, combined with a long nose, provides penetration and control by allowing the nose weight to guide the board's glide path via the releasing and engaging of the rail.
The central riding position is all about balance.
http://olosurfer-woodensurfboardsatpipe ... -wave.html
...(he also seems to resent the fact that I make wooden surfboards that actually perform , while he hasn't got of 1st base yet )
