Fishtail Longboard Shapes
The fishtail longboard has become the classic longboard shape at Lost Coast Longboarding. This shape is similar to the teardrop shape of a pintail longboard but the back of the fishtail shape does not get as narrow. The name “fishtail” comes from the cut in the backside of the longboard giving the board a split tail. The fishtail longboard shape is kind of like a more aggressive version of the pintail longboard. This is a fun and responsive longboard shape and is great for carving.
Fishtail Longboard Size and Shape
A fishtail longboard can come in a variety of lengths. Our Lost Coast Longboarding fishtails are 40 inches long by 9.25 inches at its widest.
The middle of the fishtail longboard is the widest point of the board, making it a little narrow at the riders foot placements. This allows for each of the riders feet to overhang on both the toes and heels. This overhang is good because it gives the rider leverage through turns.
The surface of a Lost Coast Longboarding fishtail longboard deck is concave. This means that the board is curved up on either side allowing the board to hug your feet, giving you good contact on the front and back of your foot. The concave feature provides even more leverage for the rider through a turn. This fishtail shape puts more pressure on the top/side of the longboard making it more responsive to body weight shifts.
Being a more responsive board in combination with loose trucks makes the fishtail longboard a great carving longboard. This concave curve to the longboard deck also makes for a very strong construction.
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These aspects of the fishtail longboard shape make it a great board for carving on both flat ground or down hills. Not only is carving fun, but a rider can control their downhill speed by carving.
More of the Fishtail Shape Features
Fishtail longboards are top mounted decks, meaning the trucks and wheels are mounted to the bottom of the deck. Loose trucks are good for carving, but loose trucks combined with the higher center of gravity of being top mounted may lead to speed wobbles at high speeds. So if you’re using loose trucks to carve a lot, make sure to keep carving down the hill. Going
straight and fast may give you the death wobble!
Lost Coast Longboarding fishtail longboards are made of Canadian Maple. This is a sturdy wood allowing for the concave shape to be strong. This board is not a very flexy, but it is also not too stiff. It is a good medium between the two. A fishtail longboard shape is good because it is stiff enough to carry momentum and speed, but also a bit forgiving over bumps.
Is the Fishtail Longboard for You?
The classic fishtail longboard shape is great for someone looking for a cruising longboard but who also enjoys carving the hills and streets. Here at Lost Coast Longboarding we provide a standard size of 40inch x 9.25inch with a variety of different artwork options. If you don’t see what you’re looking for we would be happy to help you with your custom longboard order! We can build a board to suite your needs and we will provide you with a one of a kind longboard complete with hand painted artwork!
Thanks for Reading!
Hopefully this article answered any questions you may have had about the fishtail longboard shape. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comment section below!
You can head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop to see our latest lineup of hand painted longboards! We also design and screen print our own shirts.
If you would like to see some longboarding articles with some of our favorite hills and paths, check out the links below:
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2 Comments
Corey Dunnahoo
Good day, Could I export your image and utilize it on my own website?
Lost Coast Longboarding
Thanks for your interest, but No. If you are interested in Licensing or buying images please send us an email, we can talk there.