New types and designs of surfboards: are they really new? What’s the latest from legendary designer Tom Morey?
Creative innovators introduce new types and designs of surfboards all the time, but they rarely seem to notice. Surfers in general don’t like change. Most surfers follow top professional surfers and try to ride their boards, with little success in most cases. If the new type of surfboard is slightly different, it is considered “not cool”. Surfers will ask, who’s surfing it?
Most of the new surfboard types and designs are the tail, nose and bottom shapes of surfboards. Some of the shapes of surfboard tails are fish, swallow, thumb, bat, crescent, pumpkin, and pointy. Are these really new ways? There was a time when they were original, but now they really aren’t.
Many of the “new” surfboards that the pros ride are designed specifically for them and the waves they will be riding in the contest. They are high performance surfboards designed for the best surfers in the world. Regular surfers are not able to surf them successfully. It would be like a golfer trying to hit a golf ball with Tiger Woods’ driver, very difficult and probably impossible.
However, there are some great new and innovative surfboard types and designs out there. One of the leading innovators in the surf industry is Tom Morey, the inventor of the Morey Boogie. Morey has introduced many “new” surfboard types, designs and innovations. He has always been known as a well-respected leader in the design of surf products, from fin boxes to fins, anti-slip products known as Slipcheck and El Gripo, the WaterSkate surfboard, air-lubricated surfboards, his longboard Swizzle from smooth and hard performance with Afterburner. rear rails, “the ONE!” a combination of finless skimboard, bodyboard, surfboard and most recently his shortboard called the Heater. There are many more, but in this article I will mention only these few.
Many of Morey’s surfboard designs are his way of improving existing designs. Says Morey, “I never set out to ‘invent’ something. Instead, I just keep my eyes and ears open and always motivated to ‘get it right,’ applying whatever material, design or process I find might work best.” His 1972 WaterSkate was a follow-up to George Greenough’s concave deck kneer. Tom applied George’s concept to a stand-up board, increased the thickness of the rails to even out the volume, and increased what he calls “wave face rebound response time.” The concave platform made it possible for the rider’s feet to be better positioned. This new designed WATERSKATE surfboard was a great success. It worked great!
So what’s new in version 2013? Most recently, he’s improved his earlier 1972 version of the WaterSkate by modifying the rear rails and adding the well-proven speed and turnability enhancement of his Heater rails with his magical top-to-bottom cut angle, a reversal of the rails that put. his Morey Boogie Board. The 2013 board comes in sizes from 5’6″ to 7’0″.
Another new surfboard design, innovated in the early 1990s, was Morey’s longboard, which he calls the Swizzle. He still makes these boards, which come in lengths from 7’0″ to 10’0″ and longer. This is a custom fiberglass surfboard that features a shape with the tip of his Peck Penetrator, the body with wider chest and hip areas, the center section of the board is just inside parallel. Morey calls the shape parabolic. The rear rails feature the Afterburner vacuum rails at a 45 degree inward angle from top to bottom, similar to a boogie board rail. Afterburners decrease the suction on the back of the surfboard, increasing the speed of paddling and running down the line of a wave. Vacuum rear rails hook into the water and help pull the surfboard through when making a turn.
Morey has another exciting new innovative mini-shortboard designed surfboard that he calls “the ONE”. This board is a combination of surfboard, skimboard and boogie. The small board is 4′ 6″ long with a minimal tip rocker, Afterburner back rails, a pointed nose and squashed tail, with a flat bottom. This small board is great for inshore fun, but some of the best surfers take advantage of it significantly. bigger waves and surf like a surfboard. There is a big exception to ONE!, there are no fins on the board, so the rider can make turns on the face of the wave. Because no fins to cause drag, the board is extremely fast.Another great feature of the board is that it is made of soft and friendly materials, a slippery skin on the bottom and deck with rounded soft foam rails. you can wax or add traction pads for Surfers think the board is cool!
Morey’s latest surfboard type and design is a line of shortboards he calls the Heater. The reason he is called the Heater is due to the rear rails which are the reverse of the Afterburner’s rear rail described in the previous paragraphs. This rail has a hard bottom edge and is sloped up from the bottom at 45 degrees. The rail reduces drag and suction from the water flowing over the back 1/3 of the surfboard and gives the board plenty of bite and push off the bottom hard edge when making a turn. The board also features more foam on the front 1/3 of the surfboard, giving it more float and allowing you to paddle earlier in the wave. Another advantage of the extra foam makes it possible for the surfer to do sections that would not be possible on a thinner, smaller surfboard. The reduced suction and drag and added foam make the heater extremely fast, make it easy to catch waves and give the surfer a feeling of fun and success. Surfers of all levels like the Heater.
In future articles I will talk about other new types and designs of surfboards along with new surf products. Remember to stay in the water and Surf Life!