Kooky things we love to see

Last kooky thing I saw that surprised me?

A guy with those gloves with fabric between the fingers and booties paddles out to the reef and rips.

I should have known, because he paddled a half mile to get there, but I was surprised nonetheless.

Another time I saw a guy in a Costco foamie surfing head high better than anyone else in the lineup.

Don't judge a book...

 

At the risk of sounding very kooky, why is it so critical to put your board on the car with the fin in the front? I'm just not seeing the benefit of doing this, and I dominated high school physics.

 

force of wind pushes board backward. fins forward catch on the straps and prevent it from shooting out of the rack.

 

I see the logic, but let me explain why I think it's flawed. The fattest part of the board is the mid point. If your straps are on either side of the mid point, and you're not a complete dunce, there shouldn't be any risk of it sliding through the straps. Then again, better to be safe than sorry...thanks for learning me.

 

As pumpaster said, the fins will catch the straps if the board starts to slide. I have witnessed another man's horror story and believe me, it is not a pretty sight when a board slides off your rack at 45 mph.

Additionally, I believe that 'nose first' may put unneeded pressure on the nose which may lead to stress cracks or weak spots; especially when strapping up boards with more nose rocker.

 

MA is this you:

 

except that gradually the force of the wind will loosen the straps which could allow the mid-point to slide through.

 

That is only true for certain rack mounting systems. I have stated before that my Thule surfboard carrier has rubber L shaped holders that adjust to fit against the rails. There is no way the board could slide back without the brackets moving. It could fly up, which would mean your straps have already failed. In this carrier, I place boards with more rocker nose first, and longer flatter boards (my buddies 10' Allison) tail first. The aggressive rocker boards help push down into the brackets, due to airflow at speed. Mounting these backwards would create slight lift and put more stress on the straps. I can see the need to have the tail forward on simple flat rack carriers, as there is no support to keep the board from sliding back other than some straps. This just doesn't apply to all mounting systems. But hey, if people want to look at it as a general kook thing, they can go right ahead.

 

Thank you dlrouen for this clarification. I was born ass first, and apparently that has translated into all kinds of odd behavior over the years, including putting my boards on the roof nose first. I will correct this aberrant behavior in the future, to avoid stress cracks and the calamity of having my board shoot off the roof and fly through the windshield of some poor fella. Hope you got a few nugs lately -sea and land nugs

 

You do know this works in an opposite way when mounting tail first. Either way, you are putting stress on a specific portion of the board. You are either pushing down or pulling up. I am sure lift is just as bad for causing cracks.

 

None of it is good for the board, that said, fins 1st to avoid the worst case scenario stated above

 

But only in flat rack mounting....

Personally, I am glad most of my boards fit in the car. I usually don't have to think about it.

 

If for any reason, it's fins first on the rack because that's how it's ALWAYS been done. It's a tradition, screw the scientific benefits or lack thereof in either fins first or nose first.

 

Yeah, I toss the shorty in back of the tahoe, fits easily, the LB / SUP goes up top, unless we have lots of stuff in the back, then sometimes i'll stack em all but I try to avoid that

 

Meh, there is no tradition left in surfing. We all use short fiberglass or epoxy boards at least part of the time. If you wanted to be traditional, buy a 10' wooden log, stuff it in your woody wagon, and go surf Roy Stuart style.

 

It's a personal prejudice that's been ingrained in me since I was a young child.... I just can't help think "not experienced," "not a real surfer," "poser," "they shoulda gone the distance and put their fins in backwards as well" when I see a board nose first on a car. It's like a Pavlovian response for me, not meaning to be offensive or anything!

 

How about gas mileage and aerodynamics? If you takeoff in the water fin first the board spins around 180 degrees. Does this translate into excessive wind resistance when the board is on top of the car fin in front? Does this cause more torque to vibrate through the board during high speed travel, causing micro cell collapse in the foam and glass? I think a board bag would keep board damage to a minimum, but create more drag and less fuel efficiency. I have an SUV so I only strap my longboard on top when I have a passenger, otherwise it says inside, out of the sun. It is dark green and gets hotter than hell in the Florida sunshine. The boardbag wont zip anymore so that is not an option.

 

Generally, the lifting effect will cause more drag and worse fuel economy.

This is what I use: http://www.rackattack.com/product-p...erm=100554xt&gclid=CNWA89ik5LkCFWxo7Aodo3EAuQ

Works great, and is safe/aerodynamically better mounting certain boards nose first (like my fun shape or Kechele 6'4" Grinder).

Unlike this rack setup:
Which has a chance of allowing the board to slip out. In that case, the fuel economy hit and chance of damage is less of an issue than losing your whole board.

 

We could all be totally wrong, so do whatever makes you sleep at night. A few years ago, I was driving over the CB bridge and I witnessed some dude's board fly right off his roof. He was riding nose first, so lesson learned. Sorry, nose first renegades, I'll always ride fins first. I haven't used racks in years, so maybe things have changed during that time. I walk to my break now. And yes, I've been catching a few nugs here and there. I hope you're getting your fair share too! Make sure to eat your fruit! I'm going to the grocery store today to pick up some grapefruit. Health is wealth!

Are you sure you're not a rack engineer too? I am not an engineer of anything and I was terrible in all the scientific/mathematical courses, but here's my take: take a shortboard for example. When loaded nose first, the nose literally curves around the roof of the car towards the hood. When you're driving down the road, you presumably get two kinds of wind pressure. The first is the wind that hits your hood/windshield and rolls off. As the wind flows up the windshield, the wind will immediately catch your nose, which may cause the unneeded pressure that I was referring to. The second is the direct head-on wind, which would hit the underside of your nose and roll of; almost like a second windshield. If the tail was first, the wind would flow between the board and the roof with little to no obstruction.

"Always drive with your fins first." - Mark Twain

 

Wind is always caught between the board and the roof, especially with the tail forward. If you have a board with rocker, that air will then hit the angled down nose at the rear. This puts additional force on the nose, along with some turbulence that is not favorable. If you have this same board nose first, it allows the air to flow over top (more than in between). This does place some force down on the board, but greatly improves aerodynamics. This is all a moot point if you are not using a rack system like the one I have. I know most surfers traditionally use the strapped flat rack setup, which should really be a tail first situation for safety.
I am not a board rack engineer, but I have taken two aerodynamics courses in college.