Why I Love Pintails
I'm obsessed with pintail longboards. I've spent the last 8 years getting closer to them and I, at least for myself, have discovered levels of versatility that I just don't notice in the squaretails I've ridden throughout my life. I'd like to tell you a little story about my experiences longboarding and how pintails fit in.
I have a unique connection to pintail longboards through my exposure to the Jackie Baxter Model and having had its template passed down to me. I spent years staring at the '67 Baxter up on the wall at our old shop. The design has this beautiful curve that always seemed to speak to me. It wasn't until 2019 that I was finally able to ride one: a 10'0" I had been holding onto for years.
The first session, I have to say, was awkward. It took me a few waves to get used to the design's belly and rail line (I'm used to a more turned down, soft rail). At first, noseriding its 16.5" nose is no easy task, but every successive session offered a new discovery, and I quickly began to appreciate the extra hold and acceleration offered by its narrow tail and sweeping, rake fin.
I have taken the Jackie Baxter Model up and down the California coast and have ridden it in a wide variety of wave heights and break types. The big insight I gained was that a narrow pintail is more versatile than simply just punchy, large surf. I found myself equally enjoying it at Sano as I did at my favorite, punchy, Central California rivermouth north of SLO. The noseriding, furthermore, became this reinvigorating experience and a stark contrast to the now almost cliché square-tail noseriders I grew up surfing.
My appreciation for the pintail has progressed since those sessions on the Baxter. I have been playing with templates that mix the Jackie Baxter Model's tail with other curves and am loving the results. For example, I spent the last couple years riding a 10'0" Jones Shapes Savoy in everything from 2ft Blackies to overhead days at the Cove. My biggest take aways from these experiences are that pintails offer:
Great hold
Speedy acceleration and whip if combined with the right fin
Smooth rail-to-rail turning and glide
Photo: Morgan Werz
Photo: Robin Hoyland