*By Francisco "Chifle" Pérez del Castillo - Master Board Shaper

When we want to talk about rocker, we have to use the same concept that is used for practically everything that has to do with the design of the boards: What is straight is synonymous with speed and everything that is curved is synonymous with maneuverability, or control, to put it another way.

That being said, one of the main principles when looking at rocker is that if the board is going to be used in weak waves, the board should have a flatter rocker. And the opposite is true for stronger waves.

I like to divide rockers into two parts, the nose of the board and the kick, which is the back part. The way to analyze rockers depends a lot on how a surfer stands and tensions on the board, but basically what we have to think is that the flatter these “two rockers” are, the more speed the board will generate and the less maneuverability.

This also causes more resistance or friction force when trying to bend the board. Therefore, if a shaper needs his board to be fast, it must have little rocker.

There are combinations, such as John John Florence's board, “The Ghost” which has a medium to medium-low rocker at the tip (considering it is a high performance board), and has a lot of rocker in the kick. This generates a lot of speed when accelerating, but at the same time when the weight shifts back, the surfer has more control over the board.

The most important thing to know about rocker is that the flatter one is used when the waves are smaller and flatter, and the more pronounced one is used when the waves are hollow and stronger.

When the wave has a lot of speed, the board needs to have control, using a lot of rocker helps to control the board. So if we think of hollow waves, we should use a lot of rocker on both the nose and the tail, and when we think of flat waves, less rocker on both sides.