Submitted by keithmelville Tue, 2004-04-13 16:41
The template (n.) or planshape is the outline of a surfboard viewed from overhead, with the nose at the front, rails down the side, and tail at the back.
Templates are used for the initial outlining of a foam blank by marking out the desired outline, which is then sawed out of the blank. They are often made of thin plywood or masonite and can be reused many times (a throw-away template can be made of cardboard or even paper). Templates can be combined in different ways and/or used like French curves to connect the dots on a new outline.
To template (v.) is to mark out the outline of a surfboard on a blank, prior to shaping.
see planshape, planeshape, spin-template, swing-template, lofting