by tungsten » Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:12 am
It all depends what you want the board to feel like... if you choose a design with a blunt nose, your rail in the tip is less curved than with a round nose. Imagine a blunt nose is a longer board with a cut off nose. Less curved rail in the tip normally means you have to put in more front rocker if you want to use the board in waves, the turning radius for carving depends on the rail line together with the rocker line. (imagine you are carving, then the board is sitting in the water on the rail, canted up at a certain angle. The active rail line that determines your carving circle is roughly the line the bottom of your board is forming on the water surface. As you see, it depends on the cant angle and your foot position, and where your weight is centered - if you drive it off the front foot, it's the tip design which has more influence; if you drive it off the back foot, the tip may be out of the water, and the tail design will determine your carving).
Lots to play with. Have fun!