Two Surfboards in One
A number of friends have recently forwarded me links to several new, ambitious companies who are trying to bring to market some new modular surfboard designs.
The idea of a collapsable surfboard goes back to the 1960's, with the original Pope Bisect: 
At the time the concept was to simply make the surfboards smaller and easier to travel with.
Now, it seems that there are a few start-ups who are chasing modular versatility as well as portability.
It's an interesting thought experiment, but to be frank I don't know if I totally see a use-case for wanting to swap the tail out on my surfboard for a slightly different feel. There is so much more that goes into surfboard design than simply the outline. Outline is the most immediately recognizable feature, and the most easy to illustrate in a static image, but the impact of rocker and rail cannot be overstated. When you are on the face of the wave, think about which portion of your surfboard is engaged with the water.
I can certainly see the templation to want to engineer a solution to the modern surfboard quiver, but I will always be a fan of a few well-considered boards that cover a wide variety of needs & conditions over the novelty of a modular design.
If the goal is truly two boards in one, that is best accomplished through an asymmetrical design, rather than interchangeable parts.
The theory behind asymmetrical surfboards is that you surf differently frontside than you do backside, so the board is shaped to provide you with better performance on lefts versus rights. And the most enjoyable part of that is the fact that you often have a longer rail line on your frontside rail for generating speed, and a shorter rail line on your heel side for tighter cutback turns. (Who wouldn't want to surf faster and do better turns??)
I'm all for innovation and I am all for introducing new design concepts that will stand the test of time, but if you ask me the best way to get two surfboards out of one surfboard is to order an asymm.
Last year we introduced our first asymmetrical surfboard model, it's called the Beyond and Back and we did it in collaboration with surfer/photographer/filmmaker Jeff Johnson.
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