Do channels at the bottom of your board increase speed? Is it very obvious?

3 ANSWERS

1. 
   

   Channels at the bottom of your board? I'm guessing you mean concave. It's a design feature that involves a slight scooping out of an area of the board, usually the bottom from rail to rail, while its being shaped. It's  really a paradox because it provides both lift (a skatey freeing up of the board) and drive (from pressure on the water along the exit rail). Concave varies greatly from board to board, you can have single or double concave, etc, and different degrees of concave.
   
   Its not just the board which determines speed, but the type of wave as well. Smaller fins will give you a little more speed, but also less stability and control. Fin systems are really complicated, so I'm not going to go into that, but just test a bunch of different ones and see which works best on what kind of wave. And if you live on the east coast, a fish is pretty much a required part of your quiver.
   
   Good luck you diving board multi spinner.

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2. 
   

   If you are already surfing, you may want to consider the type of surf conditions at you local break, and talk to other surfers or the folks at your local surf shop first. If you are just starting, forget about all of this stuff, and think about a nice long board or big floaty mini-mal.
   
   If by Channels. you mean concave, a concave section of the board affects that hydrodynamics of your board amd they way it planes across the surface of the wave. It does not directly influence speed, but is dependent  on the shape and size of the wave, and the overall design of the board.
   
   If you are talking about boards that have a full length concave, or recessed portions of the bottom, that too is designed to
   
   alter the way the board planes and holds the wave. It could be compared to the difference between a cathedral hulled boat and a V-bottom boat of 'tri-hull'.
   
   Fins are designed to add stability to the ride. They function similarly as does the airfoil quality of an airplane wing. A three fin board has three different shaped fins, the angle of attack is different for the thrusters (They are the ones on the sides)., and they help hold the board into a turn. However, more fins, more surface area = more drag. More drag equals a slower moving board. That is why the fins tend to be smaller on boards with multiple fins. The total amount of surface area is what is important for drag, the shape of the fin is important for control (angle of attack). I ride twin fin fish (board with a swallow tail), which gives me most control in short radius turns with the least drag. Its all clear to you now, right?

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3. 
   

   well i don't think you will notice much difference if you just riding small waves. but it could help if you are riding over head waves.

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