JohnK, I hope you got your answer earlier, because I feel like hijacking your thread.
Roger, this is very interesting, and lightbulbs are now turning on in my head!
I just measured the rocker of my Kona and it seems similar to shortboards. It is flat from the back to the front of the front footstraps. From there, it gets curvier and curvier. This explains why the board is slower than raceboards, while still being maneuvrable. The duck tail also helps for sure.
It also explains a slow plane mode I got stuck on once in a while. The boards reacts as if planing, somewhat fast while not fully released, and water is released in front of the mast base. The negative "rake" was the reason! I will get the weight further back and the nose higher up...
So, it's not a matter of getting a big bow wave, but more a matter of having it at the right spot (indicating a proper flat region rake) before pushing the board forward to ride "down" the bow wave while releasing the board. Even if that last sentence is not perfectly right, I am sure to be on the way of earlier planing!
Thanks!
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