A stringer in a competitive surfboard provides strength while still allowing the surfboard to flex. The flex of a surfboard affects the speed, maneuverability, and feel of the surfboard, ultimately influencing the board\u27s performance. With various stringer materials and configurations being used in the surfboards of pro-surfers, research on surfboard stringers may provide valuable insight into understanding and improving surfboard performance. This research attempts to evaluate the role that stringer materials and stringer configurations play in the performance of surfboards. Three high-performance shortboards of approximately the same size were manufactured with different stringer materials and/or configurations. These boards were tested and evaluated by a pro-surfer. The results show that stringer materials and configurations do influence the performance of surfboards. In addition, valuable insights were gained about the challenging process of manufacturing surfboards of the same size for research purposes
