How important is tailpad placement??? very! with narrower high performance tail outlines, it is critical that the pad be placed in the right spot. pads are a reference point for your back foot, and if placed too far up, the board will not respond as it should. I have had a few guys say "the board did not turn good, or its not east to turn" and when I checked the pad placement, it was too far up in all cases! 
your back foot should be right over the back fin for maximum turning effectiveness with thrusters.... (quads are not that critical as far as placement goes, but should be in the general area).
the pad should be placed so the foot is over the rear fin when on or against the angled kick part of the pad. put your hand over the rear fin location on the deck, and imagine that being your foot. then mark the location and put it on. simple right? if yours is not in the right spot, consider getting a new one put on correctly, and thank me later!! 
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have you ever had the desire to shape your own board..(which every surer should!) Hand shaping takes a long time to learn, and longer to get it to that flawless shape!! We have a solution to that! you can download free shaping software, either akushaper or shape3d, and play with it until you like what you have, and send it to me, and we can cut it for you. you then can use one of our free shaping rooms and finish it, and either have us glass it or do it yourself if you want. Other option would be to come in with your idea, and we can sit down and design it with my assistance and make that special board!! This makes a great gift for the kids too! They stoke on making their boards on the computer and then watching it get cut!! we have it all in-house!!