FAQ

Before ordering your board you should read the info we are providing you.

What kinda blanks we use?

We work with polyurethane polyester boards and eps or xps epoxy boards. a blank is the surfboard’s core. We use the following

types of foam.

Polyurethane blank-tdi.

They come in different densities and weights and sprayed with colors and easily shaped by hand.

Wooden stringers for length wise reinforcement. This blank was made using a chemical called toluene di isocynate or tdi.

They are glassed with polyester resin. Most of the surfing world is loyal to poly blanks and they are still the number one sellers.

Expanded polystyrene or eps blanks.

This material resembles your average styrofoam coffee cups. They are blown in close tolerance molds. They are glassed with epoxy resin and the result is a light and incredibly durable board.

Lots of team riders generaly use them for contest or air shows.

Extruded polystyrene blue or white core or xps.

This foam is commomnly recognized in the form of packing peanuts and fast food take out containers. it is made of a suspension of tiny bubbles in polystyrene and is referred to as closed cell foam. They come in thick blocks and do not resemble anything that looks like a surfboard’s blank. This requires the shaper to spend more time hand shaping the rocker and foil of the boards.

They also tear very easily under the shapers hand tools which means the shaper will spend more time shaping. more time shaping translates into a higher price.

Glassing

What kinda glass job should i get on my boards?

On a poly shortboard the accepted choice of cloth weight is a 4 x 4 ounce combo on the deck with a 4 ounce cloth on the bottom of the board. Heavier boards like on a bigger guy or step up boards are usually a 4 x 6 ounce deck and 4 or 6 once bottoms.

There are two types of fiberglass cloths for traditional poly surfboards.

E cloth.

The most commonly used of the two.

Standard cloth in the surf industry that most glassers use.

S cloth.

This cloth is stronger but more expensive. You can use a combination of the two if you choose but this will be a custom touch and you must request it.

You may also order a board with carbon fiber. They will give you more strenght and lightning the weight and give you more flex.

Is a good choice, but a little bit more expensive.

I’m considering ordering a surfboard. How do i know what dimensions i should get?

Surfboard dimensions.

Length, width and thickness will be found on the bottom, near the side of the tail block on any Rickland surfboard.

If you are a beginner you will tend to go toward the bigger board. This will help you to get easier on the waves and get a better balance.

If you are an intermediate surfer you should be ordering your board 3 inches more than your height.

Advanced to pros basically get what they want and have been riding for years. basically potato chips.

How long do i have to wait for my custom board and why should i get a custom instead of a stock board?

A custom board is always the way to go.

The board will be shaped to suit your needs and abiliies. a stock board is more suitable for guys who are more experinced and know the kind of board that works for them.

Usually takes about 2 to 3 weeks to get a board handed to you.

Epoxy, resin tints and artwork may add an extra week.

Here is a bit more you should know about surfboards.

Stringer – This is that strip of wood or pvc running in the middle of your surfboard. it provides strength and a center of flex in your board. Some boards can be ordered with a thinner stringer or pvc for more flex and others thicker for more strength like on the bigger boy boards and guns.

Nose – This is the area at the top of the board. measured at a point 12 inches down from the tip. more important most people

think. a thinner nose is almost always associated with a higher performance surfboard geard toward larger waves and is accentuated with a greater rocker. A wider nose can be found on beginner and small wave boards as its greater surface area on the bottom captures and flows more water through the wide point and tail of the board. more water usually means greater stabilty,speed and better planing.

Wide point - Simply refers to the widest point rail to rail of the board. to find your surfboard’s wide point, hold the board out in front of you with the tail on the ground and gently grab each rail near the nose. Slide your hands down along the rails and watch for apex of the curve of your board found just before your hands begin to slide inward down towards the tail area. wide points vary. Forward toward the nose aids front footed surfers and pulled behind toward the tail aids back surfers. Generally the wider the more stable it is and suitable for smaller surf. the narrower is vice versa.

Tails – Like the fins, tail design is a higly argued yet innovation friendly aspect of the surfboard. There are different tail shapes.

Square tail – To be ridden from knee to overhead conditions. Is a good overall tail shape although it is not a very common choice in these days. The sharp corners provide a bite that aids in both drive and maneuverabilty. This is a tail that is loose and effective for smaller waves and more radical fin free surfing.

Swallow tail – To be ridden anywhere from ankle to giant conditions. There are two ypes of swallow tails. fish and baby swallow. the fish is a highly effective and fun choice for small wave surfing. The wider the swallow the straighter the outline of the board will be. That means there will be more drive which is important when waves are weak and you must generate your own speed. The baby swallows are tigher and much smaller. They are very popular with big wave surfers. Essentially a baby swallow cuts some length from the surfboard and provides two points on which to turn from. This is cruicial when the waves are big. Therefore they have proven themselves time and time again at places like waimea and mavericks.

Squash tail – To be ridden from knee to overhead conditions. The squash evolves from the square tail. the edges are simply rounded a bit to create a squashed look. This tail results in a design that is more stable than the square yet still loose when it needs to be. The squash is by far the most popular and versatile tail today. This is also an excellent choice for beginners and experienced surfers.

Thumb tail – Anywhere from waist to double overhead. This design was created out of the need for a shape that was a bit more stable and clean than the squash tail, because there is no hard edge or interruption in the flow of the rail. The water moves cleanly from nose to tail. the thumbtail is a board made with not just carving in mind but also flair. This design is defenately a great alternative from the squash when you want a board that is extremely fun in surf with some juice.

Rounded pin tail. – This design is for those bigger days when a pintail is too much and the square or thumb may not be enough. You will find this tail on our charger model or any custom step up board. they handle steeper conditions and help you turning the board quicker. The flow goes from rail to tail and enhances control in the pocket.

Pin tail – From double to overhead plus conditions. This is an elongated sharper rounded pin. It is only effective when the waves are very big. This is because it provides for a very narrow rail to rail tail that locks into steep concave wave face resulting into a high level of control when speed is an overabundance.

Bat tail – Ridden from waist to overhead conditions. This is a very modern design that can be found in our four fin model. Like a swallow it creates a double tail design that essentially gives you two points of maneuver off of the center point . Adds stability and great pivot point for rail to rail surfing. this is a very fun design and everyone should give it a try.

Thickness – Is a very important feature that everyone from beginner to pros need to be aware of. It will determine in many ways how the other design features of your boar will work. The thicker the board the more stable and buoyant it will be, obviously for a beginner. More technially thickness can change in surfboards template in countless different areas all of which directly relate to stability and responses.

Rails – 50/50 rails which derive from older pre shortboard designs styles and are found more on longboards. Also found in quads. Down turn rails which it can be found on almost all modern surfboards. A 50/50 rail is shaped the way it sounds. The apex is right at the center or mid point of the curve in the middle of the rail, creating an egg like shaped that sits high on the water surface. Because this type of rail lacks a shaper’s edge on the bottom water can flow free ou from the bottom of the board as you plane down the face of the wave. This buoyancy and a lack of edge makes a board with rounder 50/50 rails mich harder to maneuver. A down turned rail is probably what you are used to seeing as it is the popular choice n most any surfboard today. It begins essentially as a 50/50 rail from the nose then at about three quarters down the rail develops a sharper lower eddege to accomodate the flat bottom of the tail area. This sharp edge holds through into the board so that it creates lift as it turns against the fins in a bit tighter manner. Down turned rails are so popular becasue of the extra maneuverabilty they give a surfboard. They are stable yet necessary for vertical modern surfing.

Rocker – Describes the overall curve of the surfboard from nose to tail. On a modern surfboard rocker can be broken down into two different sections. Rail which includes nose and tail curvature and center curvature of the middle of the board. Increased nose rocker is usually found in boards shaped for bigger waves. More rocker in the nose allows for a shape that will not pearl or plunge into a large steep wave when you are dropping in. Increased tail rocker can be found in boards shaped for optimal maneuverability. A tail that bends off the water’s surface providing more lift and sensitivity in the tail for driving through turns. Generally speaking on your standard board less overall center rocker means the board will glide and paddle better and be more suitable for begginers. More rocker will accomodate intermediate and experience surfers looking to use area of the board in order to generate speed and turning power.

Foil – Foil is how areas of thickness correlate with other areas of thickness from nose to tail. Deck bottom and vice versa. Essentially good foil is an even distribution of thickness as the nose fades into the wide ponit and the tail. Imagine trying to turn a board to go down the line that has a brick attached to the nose or tail, the swing will be off balance. Good foils translates into good flow as the board moves from points on the nose to the middle and to the tail throughout the duration of a ride.

Foil can also be used to describe some fin designs. Foil in the fin holds the same comcept as it does on a surfboard. The thickness must be balanced throughout or the fin wil not do what it is made to do. It will be too stiff or too flexy or it won’t channel water smoothly.

Concaves

Single concave – Ridden from chest to overheard conditions. A single channel in the bottom of your board running from the nose through into the tail resembling a faint dug out appearance. Here the flow of water is not refracted and is collected from the nose into this channel and runs uninterrupted through the fins. Single concave is designed for a fast large wave where you can expect spending more time in the barrel than htting the lip.

Don’t get me wrong though, you will see them too on smaller boards that with the right combination of rocker and outline the board gets the speed you need on the wave.

Double concave – Ridden form ankle to overhead conditions. Instead of having a channel dug out of the the nose area. the bottom of your board stays relatively flat to about three

quarters of the way down then developes a hump that splits the water off into your two side fins. This is a great board for smaller waves because the flat front portion of the the bottom of your board provides glide and speed bosting planing then the double concave gets your maneuvers going.

Triple concave – Ridden from ankle to double overhead conditions. Begins just like a single concave in the nose then develops that same hump within the single concave about three quarters of the way down the bottom of your board and stays that way through the fins. This design takes the clean channeling principle of the single concave then adds a split to better push the water into your side fins. This is an effective design for small to medium waves because as you drive down the line of a slower wave the double concave assists you in getting the flow of the water where it should be so that you turn more easily. Also called a sinlge to double concave.

Channels – Anywhere from knee to overhead conditions. These are radical concave additions that have always been and still are experimental additions to design. channels are always found in the back quarter of the board through the fins and tail. They increase speed as the water flows through the many guilles that make up a channel bottom. they also provide for a different feel while engaged in rail to rail surfing.

Vee – Does not usually stand alone as a bottom feature. rather it can accompany all of the above concaves. To begin understanding a vee, you must also be able to imagine a double concave. vee is like a hump but it doesn’t dip into the curved funnels that are double concave. in other words double concave looks like two half pipes side by side. The middle being the stringer while vee looks like two triangle ramps side by side or simply an upside down v. In modern designs, vee is usually designated to the tail area behind your rear trailer fin. vee helps break the chop in a wave face and adds that last separating push of water off the tail when executing turns.

Fins

They play a very important role in your surfboard. you will notice that a surfboard with the right fin set up will more likely ride magic. Each fin set up will give your board a different felling of ride. here at rickland surfboards we mainly use futures fins. We also use other fin manufactures like fcs, o’fishl, lokbox and rainbow fins at the surfer’s request.

For more info on fins, visit the manufacture’s websites and you will find the appropiate fin set up for you.

Warranty

Rickland surfboards will repair or replace your board if defected from manufacturing. remember boards are not meant to last forever but they can last longer with the proper care.

Here are some quick tips:

Don’t leave your boards under the sun for a long period.
Don’t leave your boards inside your car in a sunny day. the heat will ruin your surfboard.
Fix any cracks or dings you may get right away.
Don’t leave the your surfboard on the floor or places where the board can fall or get hurt.
If you get in a fight with your mate make sure to take your board with you at all times.
Buy a good board bag. don’t buy a black one because it heats up. mainly buy a white and make sure it will protect the board from the sun and the heat.

Liability

Rickland surfboards is not liable for any injuries you may get with this equipment.

Shipping

Rickland surfboards will ship at the customer’s expense. we use dhl as a carrier. Shipping and handling may vary depending on the city and country you live in.

Taxes

The state of california requires that on every sale taxes should be applied. Taxes vary depending on the city and state. This helps California to get their budgets for new roads, hospitals, generates new jobs, etc.

There was a bit of information you should know before you order your next custom surfboard. This makes our job easier and saves you and us tons of hours explaining it. We hope to see you soon and get your custom surfboard started.

Have fun, stay out of drugs, don’t drink and drive and respect the ocean and god.

FAQ