In my last post, I shared my quiver but also said that I am always tweaking it. Well, it didn't take long to realize that I wanted to tweak my quiver. I am making two changes. 1. I traded my 6'8" Bandito for a 7'2" Brighton. 2. I traded my 6' Bull Fish for a 6'4" Bull Fish. Some reasons for changing these boards are similar, but since I already got the 7'2" Brighton and am waiting for the 6'4" Bull Fish, let's focus on the former change.
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The Bandito is 6'8 x 22" x 3" five fin, with chunky rails, and a winged thumb tail. I ride it as a quad. The Brighton is 7'2 x 21.5" x 3" with more turned-down rails and a diamond tail. I also ride it as a quad. Now lots of factors affect how this board rides and why I like the Brighton better, but a big reason for swapping these boards is the bottom contours. The Bandito is a vee bottom, while the Brighton is a single to double concave to a spiral vee. Now if you are anything like me, I never paid a lot of attention to the bottom of the board and what it did for my surfing. In the past year or so I decided to take the time to learn about surfboard bottoms and how they would affect my surfing. What pushed me to look into this was a different board we call the Voodoo. The Voodoo has a very deep single to double concave and when I rode that board, I realized that the board felt very different under my feet. At that point, I started to look into how all my board bottoms were shaped.
Let's start with the vee bottom Bandito. Great board! But I realized that a vee bottom is not always the right shape for me. A vee bottom allows the rider to go rail to rail very easily because the bottom is literally like a "V". The center point (the stringer) is higher than the rails and if you put a level on the board the level will lay flat from the center point to the rail with a slight decline from stringer to rail. No light will show beneath the level. 
For me, what I didn't like about the vee bottom in this board (and I want to emphasize, this board) is that in bigger waves I felt a little less control and more importantly, in smaller waves, it bogged down and felt slow to me. But again, I had this board for years and had a ton of great sessions on it. However, once I discovered the feel of a single to double concave, I knew that I wanted a board that fit this spot in my quiver to have those contours.
For me, what I didn't like about the vee bottom in this board (and I want to emphasize, this board) is that in bigger waves I felt a little less control and more importantly, in smaller waves, it bogged down and felt slow to me. But again, I had this board for years and had a ton of great sessions on it. However, once I discovered the feel of a single to double concave, I knew that I wanted a board that fit this spot in my quiver to have those contours.
What is magical to me about the single to double concave is the lift it gives the board, along with the ability for the board to generate an almost natural speed. If you use a level on the bottom of the board, a single concave would show space in the center of the board because the rails are higher than the center (the first picture below). But a double concave would show two spaces with the center point and the rails being the same but two concaves dug out of each side (the second pic). 
The single concave is what provides all that lift and drive. It paddles fast and as soon as I get to my feet I feel an instant, effortless speed. The effortless part is key because I am not always the best at generating my own speed. The double concave, because it splits the water, gives the board exceptional control when going faster in bigger, more powerful waves. But in smaller waves, the single to double concave gives me lift and less drag, so it is easier to gain speed even on those small days. For me, it is the absolute perfect combination because I can ride the Brighton in almost any conditions. In fact, I have two Brightons--an 8'2 and a 7'2 (which I was going to make at a 6'10 but rode the 7'2 and it was so much fun I figured why mess with it). The single to double concave just gave me that lift and drive to make sections that I couldn't on the Bandito, but have exceptional control when riding at higher speeds. If I ever wanted to get rid of all my other boards, I could surf all conditions on just my two Brightons.
The single concave is what provides all that lift and drive. It paddles fast and as soon as I get to my feet I feel an instant, effortless speed. The effortless part is key because I am not always the best at generating my own speed. The double concave, because it splits the water, gives the board exceptional control when going faster in bigger, more powerful waves. But in smaller waves, the single to double concave gives me lift and less drag, so it is easier to gain speed even on those small days. For me, it is the absolute perfect combination because I can ride the Brighton in almost any conditions. In fact, I have two Brightons--an 8'2 and a 7'2 (which I was going to make at a 6'10 but rode the 7'2 and it was so much fun I figured why mess with it). The single to double concave just gave me that lift and drive to make sections that I couldn't on the Bandito, but have exceptional control when riding at higher speeds. If I ever wanted to get rid of all my other boards, I could surf all conditions on just my two Brightons.
But remember, just because I like a single to double concave, doesn't mean you will. You might even like that bottom on some boards but not others. My Hip Cat is a vee bottom and I absolutely LOVE that board. But I ride it in a very different style than the Brighton and for me, the vee bottom goes great with the single-fin design of the Hip Cat. So consider all the other aspects of the board when thinking about the bottom contours. I have some earlier posts about rails and outlines. In the end, the important thing is to be aware of what shape you are riding, including the bottom contours. If you are aware of those contours, then you can understand which you like and why. It might even help you improve your quiver too!
