surfboard

The piece of balsa, plywood or fibre glass and foam a surfer use to traverse the waves of the sea. The surfboard exists in several different versions, the most popular is the Thruster, but the original is the longboard. See surf for historical information.

The modern board is constructed of fibreglass and foam. The board can have several different abilities like speed, stability and manouvreability. Most important for the stability of the board is the fins, located at the aft of the board. The fins make the board go in a straight line unless affected with some kind of force.

In the rough ASCII sketch, you can see the placement of three fins at the aft. The fins are placed in a 2 + 1 formation with two small fins on the side and a larger one in the middle or just a single fin. The single fin formation has greater agility, the 2+1 has better stability.

The line in the middle on the sketch is the laminate, a piece of wood or other material that makes the board more stable by adding some weight. The o's on the sketch outlines the rails (The side of the board). The deck (upside of the board) is usually covered with some kind of surf wax for a minimum of grip.

Surfboard (reverse side)

           o 
          o|o
         o | o 
        o  |   o
       o   |   o
       o   |   o
       o   |   o
       o   |   o 
       o   |   o 
       o   |   o 
       o   |   o 
       o   |   o
       o   |   o
       o   |   o
       o | | | o 
        o  |  o
          ooo