Longboard (surfing)
|
|
- This page is about surfing Longboards, see longboard (skateboard) for information about longboards of the skateboard variety.
A longboard is a type of surfboard. By general description it will be eight feet or longer, or three feet taller than the rider in overall length, with a rounded nose and often a single large skeg. The strong point of a longboard is its substantial buoyancy and planing surface, which enables most surfers using it to ride waves generally deemed too small to propel a shortboard, as well as anything else. In the proper conditions, a skilled surfer can ride a wave standing on the nose of a longboard, literally putting his "toes on the nose" or even "hanging ten" toes over the very edge of the nose.
Actually, longboards are the original variety of board used in standup surfing. The ancient Hawaiians used really big solid wooden boards. In the 1920s boards made of plywood or planking called Hollowboards came into use, these were typically 15 to 20 feet in length. After World War II, balsa boards became popular. followed in the late 1950s by foam and fiberglass. The shortboards now seen everywhere were developed in the late 1960s and are actually a bit degenerate. It takes real skill to use a longboard well — shortboards are more akin to skateboards in the way they are ridden.