Cymatic FireWire

Wow... that would have changed your course through life, for sure. Maybe you would have become a teacher, too... maybe a few less morons in the world. Now see what you've done!?

 

Well, I could have become a biology teacher up here, but i started working on masters (marine sciences) etc only to find out that sitting in a dinghy, counting guppy populations is no way to make money..."one....two...three....oh wait, that's not a guppy....three....four"...
After a stint in law enforcement, ended up working for a pharma giant company. Then 30 years went by in a blur......but my wife was still with me!! And we are grandparents. Where did it all that time go...??? And I didn't do any drugs/alcohol ...!! Space/time....in a black hole.......curve......

 

BassMon summed it up pretty good. If you think about nose shape in terms of surface area, and all of the things that affects, you'll start to see relationships between different design elements. Most noticeably, as BassMon said, rail line and rocker, and how it affects paddling and wave catching.

Adding rocker to a wide nose creates a lot of drag paddling because it's pushing a lot of water at paddling speed. Up and planing, the nose really isn't in the water. That's why no-nose boards ride just fine. To reduce paddling drag you can either lower the rocker or pull in the nose. For the past 8-10 years, boards have trended in the wider/lower direction, because 90% of the waves we ride are of small to average size, and mediocre quality. Those needle noses with elf shoe rockers are no longer the norm, because they're better suited to performance waves.

The wider/lower design also straightens out the rail line, which is conducive to generating speed in smaller, weaker surf. Again, think surface area... straightening out the rail line increases planing surface, and in the nose, generates lift.

 

that's a great name for those boards. I always called them potato chips