Here's a few pics showing how I did my 14' downwind board for those who may be confused about all these rail tape application methods.. I'm not saying my way's right and the others are wrong but this way has worked well for me..

1.. I first worked out the correct position for the tape to be on my board by checking how far I reach forward with my paddle at the start of my stroke.. You need to make sure the tape is forward enough along the rail to protect this area.. I also positioned the tape more towards the top half of the rail because that's where most paddle hits are.. and I used a few pieces of duct tape to hold it in position..



2.. I started at the front by pealing back the backing paper and lightly pressing down only the centre part of the tape..



3.. I then worked my way along the rail pealing the backing paper as I go and again only lightly pressing down the centre part of the tape.. Doing this will allow you to easyly lift the tape and reposition it if not straight..





4.. Once you've got to the end and you're happy with the position go back to the start and push down the sides by pushing from the centre out to the edge to avoid getting bubbles.. Do this along the top and then along the bottom..





You will be amazed at how such a thick tape can be so plyable and how the tape goes onto a doulde bend radius of a rail without any wrinkles.. It's that easy..

I had my first go yesterday at applying rail tape and did it as per DJ's piccirs above (watched his vid before doing it!). I put on ion tape as I couldn't get any rspro due to being sold out everywhere. Highly recommend the ion as it has the same feel and texture as the rspro looks and I even peeled it back in a couple of places to realign it with no dramas whatsoever. Easy as!!

looks like you need to have a stiff rum on hand when you do it