Tail Shapes

[Manhattan Beach Grom]

I am thinking of buying a new board and i'm not sure exactly what I want just yet, but I know that I want to try either a swallow tail or a wing shaped tail. What would you guys recommend from personal experience? I am most likely going to get a tri fin if that helps.

-Thanks in advance
Charlie

[isaluteyou]

the majority of wing style tail shapes like swallow, bat wing, moon, etc... are pretty simular from what i have been told and my own experiences. They are usually very good for rail to rail style as there are two pivot points. Keep in mind that its not just a tail shape that makes a diff its the whole board construction and shape that enhances it. Also fin set-ups make a huge diff in the way it rides. I have surfed a swallow both tri and quad and liked them both but much prefered the quad set-up. As for Bat wing tails those are really designed to suit a quad set-up more.

What im trying to say is is the entire board that makes the difference. And the style of board you want depends entirely on your own specific abilities and what you want the board to do coupled with the type of waves you want to surf. Anybody with a quiver knows the advantages of having specific boards for specific conditions

[Manhattan Beach Grom]

Cool, thx for the advice.

[IB_Surfer]

Dude, my last 2 fishes have had a half moon tail. It really doesn't do much to the performance except that it make the tail come in more round than a retro fish, so it feel more like the difference between a squash and a thumb tail. But actually, I really got it cause it looks cool, the rest was explained spot-on above, the dimensions and specifications are what makes the board. Here is a pick of the last one, I have a thread about it elsewhere on this forum:

[Manhattan Beach Grom]

Thanks for all the advice. By the way that is a really sick board.

[IB_Surfer]

Sorry, I missread your original post. So that we can recommend some shapes, how long have you been surfing, where are you in your surfing (you can stand but fall often, you can stand but not turn, you can turn but not good...) and the size of your current board and your weight

[Manhattan Beach Grom]

My board is 7'2" (Tri fin)
I weigh 140 lbs.
I can stand almost all the time and I can turn fairly well, but not very fast.

I hope that helps.