My freewave board has a swallow tail, but I have no idea what they're for. Is it better than a pin tail? Why?
It's like this one:
at the end of the first sentence. ]
Absolutely no difference. You can make a wave board turn the same with rocker and rail shape regardless of tail shape. The 1st EVO's were square tail, and after a year they moved to rounded pin and were the same feel.
Certainly if there is a difference it is miniscule
the different tail design probably stem fro surf board designs.
surfboards are quite sesitive to tail design.
Pin point tail = high speed but little manouevrebility
square tail = compromise between the two with much improved manouevrebility
Swallow tail = high manouevrebility
i.e. boards that are surfed on really big waves are all pin tail to help you stay ahead of the wash but you usually only see the guys do one big carve or turn because they slow down to much due to the tail design.
I reckon because the wind powers us windsurfers tail design is probably a little less crucial.
I believe it has to do with the shape of the wake that the different tails leave that determines their effect.
swallow tails allow wider tails which keep you planing in small surf.
also,
a swallow tail can give you the power and drive of a wide / square tail board with the grip of a pin tail when bottom turning.
pin tail boards tend to loose speed exiting bottom turns (especially in mush) as there is simply less area in the tail. rail shape comes into it also to either increase or decrease the grip/drag/drive
pin tails also usually like more front foot commitment where as wide/swallow tail boards can handle a little more back foot pressure.
long live the swallow!!!!
as for bump and jump.
swallow tails can lower your planing threshold.
agreed with above 2 - but they're not hard and fast rules as all those can be done in a pintail with a wide tail (just a tighter radius in the last 15-20cm to make it come to a point) with rocker changes and rail changes
You can make a pinny that planes early or a swallow that is slow and mega loose (as evidenced by the first gen EVO's with a square tail that were not early planers but looked like they would be due to the wide tail)
I tend to agree with G salt first couple of comments.
It may not seem like much area ,,,,,, if you extended the swallow into a pintail. BUT IT IS .... supprisingly enough as you push off on your top turn you LL have less volume / AREA behind your fin and stap on your tail which will give u more release and potential slide as apose to a solid pin which will want to hold all the way through your turn.
Anyway what sounds better 8 foot 1 OR 7 Foot 11 ???
As long as it fits into the ute ............she be right 
Ps werent swallow tails designed so the didnt fall out of the retails racks 
Re the ute coment. Found out a couple of weeks back my new extra cab hilux will swallow a board. This means for the first time in my life I'll be able to lock up my own gear at the beach, I almost cried
Ps thanks to all the boys you have jammed my gear in their cars for the last 20 yrs
