9/3/11

1975 Rod Ball Design Ski-tail Kneeboard 5 ft 7"


DIMENSIONS
Length :
5
feet
7
inches
Width :
19 1/4
inches
Wide Point :
inches
Nose :
13 3/4
inches
Tail :
x15 1/4
inches
Thickness :
inches
Pod :
x10 1/4
inches
Nose Lift :
inches
Tail Lift :
inches
Weight :
kilos
Volume :
litres



http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000227.html "Ken Horton:SKITAILS Ski-tails, or their now more popular name, screwdrivers, have evolved over a number of years, mainly due to the involvement of their designer, Rooney Ball, in the winter sport of snow skiing. These boards were designed with surfing good clean waves in mind, and this is where they do excel. Steve Zoeller adopted the ski-tail principles and incorporated them into his own boards. To allow them to handle Sydney surf, he gave them wider planshapes and extra tail rocker. The reverse curves in the tail of the board pushes it in short arcs which, if the board were put in the right situation, on the right wave, would inevitably make the 3600 turn a distinct reality. The amount of push these boards do create during bottom turns and cutbacks is very noticeable, especially in waves with power. These boards are quite manoeuvrable as instead of turning off the tail of the board, you are turning off the beginning of the ski-tail. So, if the board is 5'8" in length and the length of the ski-tail is 10", in fact, you would be surfing a board with the looseness of a 4'10" board. My board is 5'10" in length, 20 1/2" wide with the ski-tail being 10"long and 8" wide. The rails are quite blocky, with a hard edge underneath. This edge provides drive in hard rail turns. Also, incorporated in the bottom design is a slight concave which gives the board lift, speed and the ability to draw long lines if necessary. As I have previously mentioned, these boards were designed with surfing good clean waves in mind. The board I have ridden for the last year is no exception -it went really well in the long walls of Queensland and its ability to sit in the tube was its most outstanding asset."