vee

Convex surfboard bottom design that bisects the rear and/or middle area of the board into two longitudinal panels; introduced by Australian boardmaker Bob McTavish in 1967. Vee makes turning easier, as the board wants to lean over on one panel or the other. Flat- or concave-bottom boards, however, are faster.

While vee itself is a design feature, the "vee-bottom board" refers to a design McTavish came up with in 1967: a wide-backed, thick-tailed "plastic machine" that opened up the late-'60s...