The rails that run along the board’s length from the tail to the nose are known as surfboard rails. Your hands would be cupping around the surfboard rails if you were to grab a board and hold it up in front of you. The curvatures on different boards’ rails are various.
The way that your surfboard rides is strongly influenced by the type of surfboard rails it has. They have an impact on how your board paddles, floats, and (most significantly) how it turns in the water.
When it comes to selecting a surfboard shape, be sure to consider these factors.
To comprehend the hydrodynamics of a rail, you must first grasp the physics of the components listed below:
- Soft Surfboard Rails
- Hard Surfboard Rails
- Surfboard Rail Volume (Thickness of the rail)
- Surfboard Rail Foil
Let’s look at the different types of rails and what they signify for your board.
Soft Surfboard Rails
The term “soft” refers to the rail’s curve’s aggressiveness.
A soft rail is one that has been rounded in form rather than having sharp edges, as with a hard rail. As a result, the term “soft” refers to a type of rail that is extremely rounded and smooth. When viewed from the board’s side angle, soft rails appear to have an oval form.
A soft rail is thick and full, with plenty of surfboard foam along its edges. Because there is more foam (or volume), a surfboard with soft rails will have greater buoyancy when floating in the water.
Soft surfboard rails are popular on beginner surfing styles and small wave boards like longboards and fun shapes due to their buoyancy.
When you’re paddling a surfboard with hard rails, the hardness of the rails chafes and scrapes away at the water’s surface tension. The soft curvature allows more water to wrap around the surfboard when you’re riding it, ensuring that the water holds onto the rails better.
A surfboard with soft rails will be less responsive to the rider’s movements because of this uniformly directed water flow. Soft rails will feel a lot more steady and forgiving when executing a turn or riding down the face of a wave.
Benefits of Soft Rails
There are several advantages to using a softer rail setup on your surfboard.
Increased Rail Volume = Buoyancy and Floatability
You’ll need as much floatability as possible when learning how to catch waves. This will make catching waves considerably easier. Extra buoyancy can also compensate for the less energy in a small wave. Soft rails will assist you in maintaining the buoyancy required for surfing.
Stability & Hold
Soft rails channel more water along the board’s edges, giving it better stability. Good balance will allow you to focus on your equilibrium. When learning how to make turns, soft rails prevent the deck from pivoting out of control.
The water flow around soft rails will also assist your board maintain balance through turns by preventing you from colliding with sharp bumps or edges.
Drive Down the Line
The ease with which soft rails glide through the water and their hydrodynamics allow them to ‘force’ through the water readily and swiftly. This will aid you in riding over mushy, rather than powerful waves.
Soft rails can also assist in avoiding wave sections where you must keep up with the whitewash. Soft rails offer more drive!
Hard Surfboard Rails
The curvature of hard surfboard rails is far more aggressive and sharp than soft railings. They will be designed to appear less symmetrical ovals. Hard rails will have a greater ‘ledge’ from the transition of the surfboard deck top to the bottom.
The cutting edge is quite sharp, which allows the board to cut through the water more like a knife.
The rail shape’s flatness allows water to flow swiftly and efficiently over the board’s sections that are in the water, which is an advantage when surfing due to the greater performance throughout turns.
Benefits of Hard Surfboard Rails
Hard surfboard rails, like soft railers, have their own special characteristics.
Increased Turnability/Performance
Rails with smooth edges are easier to shift your body weight from rail to rail. When the turns require quick thinking and response, you can easily move from edge to edge and quickly.
When turning, they’ll allow you to dig the board further into the water, allowing for greater capability to really cut through the face.
Control in Large, Powerful Waves
The faces of huge waves become steep and powerful. A board with hard rails is needed to keep control in these situations. The sharp corners of the rails enable the board to sink a bit deeper into the water, ensuring stability in high seas.
The sloping faces indicate that part of the board may be out of the water while you ride. As a result, it’s critical that the rail stays firmly engaged with the wave’s face.
Less Volume in the Rails
Hard Surfboard Rails Are Slanted and Edgy Hard surfboard rails have less volume than soft surfboard rails. The reduced area allows the surfer to maintain complete control over the way the board responds to both wave and surfer motions.
When performing difficult techniques, less volume is required to avoid the board from becoming ‘stuck’ through certain movements and for it not to be sluggish when shifting from one side to the other throughout a turn.
Surfboard Rail Foil
The volume of the rails is distributed by the surfboard foil. It has an impact on where and how the board sits in the water, as well as its performance under various circumstances.
Your surfboard’s foil will be tailored to the type of performance you desire on various waves. The majority of surfboard rail designs are divided into three categories: 50/50, 60/40, and 80/20. These quantities represent a proportion that specifies where the peak of the rail may be viewed when viewing from the side of the board.
50/50 Rails
A perfect uniformity ratio, which means that the volume distribution along the rails will be entirely uniform and circular.
The bottom of the rail will resemble the top, and the apex of a 50/50 rail will be in the middle, midway between the curvature of the rail. Longboards with 50/50 rails that provide additional buoyancy and stability, such as beginner soft rail boards.
60/40 Rails
A 60/40 foil board can have both hard and soft rails. It’s a halfway point between hardness and sturdiness, with a 90 degree turn midway down the rail. The widest point will be located 60 percent of the way down the rail.
Common shapes for 60/40 rails include fun designs that appear to retain some turnability while also remaining stable and simple to paddle.
80/20 Rails
This is measured from the bottom of the board, and is where 80% of the rail will be. These foils are typical in high-performance shortboard designs.
Because the widest point is lower, this results in a sharp edge on hard rails that enable the surfer to dig the board deep into the face and deliberately. If you want to improve your overall surfing performance, look for a surfboard with this foil.