Surfboards are getting better, more innovative and, in some cases, weirder.
Take, for example, Koa Smith’s latest design from experimental wizard, Matt Parker, founder of Album Surfboards. The rails aren’t even asymmetrical, but rather…serrated.
Yeah, like a steak knife. In fact, that’s where Koa got the idea.
“I was eating a steak,” Koa explained, “and I was using a serrated knife to cut the meat. I was also thinking about going really fast, and doing a bottom turn, and how it’s a little bit hard to break the surface tension of the water, and do a super steep bottom turn.”
But then, watching his steak knife carve through the hunk of flesh, something clicked for Koa. Like Newton sitting under the apple tree, his brain flipped. What if, he wondered, the rails of a surfboard were like the groves in the knife? Would the board cut through the water – like the knife through the steak – with more ease? Worth a shot.
“What if we did a serrated edge,” Koa continued, “so when I’m bottom turning, either frontside or backside, maybe these little bumps will cut through the surface tension. Maybe it’ll make it more buttery and easier. This is a copy of my shortboard, so I’ll know what it should feel like. I’ll know if it makes me surf better or worse.”
Related: Surfing 50 Foot Waves in the Middle of the Ocean (Video)
And?
The board went well. Almost shockingly so. It was hard to even tell the board was any different from your standard shortboard fare. How’s that air at the 9:22 mark?
“I think we’re onto something,” Koa surmised after the session. “It honestly felt really good. I was kinda blown away. It was taking the chops so well. I was able to cut through it like a hot knife in butter. I might be getting this on every one of my boards now. Maybe everyone will. The future is here.”
Are smooth, drawn-out shortboard rails a thing of the past? Stay tuned.
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