Are Simmons boards slow to paddle? Or, is it just the one I built?

I recently made this 8'8" Simmons:

http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=2505

It's super fun to ride, but, seems to be a poor paddler. On calm, clean days it feels fine. But, if the wind is strong offshore, even with a bit of surface chop (common in NE winter), the board is very slow to paddle. Everyone blows by me on the paddle out. One cause could be the very low nose rocker (2.75"). I read in other posts that the wide tail slows you down and impedes duck diving. However, I don't see problems paddling into waves. It takes off very early for a sub-9' board. Any thoughts on the slow paddle out?

it’s the belly

they make up for it by being able to catch a ton of otherwise uncatchable waves and the joy of the ride.

what’s even more frustrating is trying to get over in coming waves on those things. On my 7’3’’ I can kind of just charge over or paddle around waves no problem since I have some speed. The 5’8’’ I have, I sometimes resort to turtling on a shoulder high / chest high wave if it hits me wrong, I bet it looks pretty pathetic doing a turtle on something that small. 

When I ride a longer board, I will stop paddling and pull up the nose of the board. Just before the wave hits me I launch myself into it keeping the nose up and making sure that my body is high enough keep the board from being tossed backward. I am usually able to punch over/through the wave, but sometimes if you don’t get it right you may get knocked backward. Just make sure you have a strong board and that you have some angle so the wave can roll under you as it hits you. The object is to try to get the board over the top. If you have the right angle it will hit you but then go under you. I’ll do this in waves that are waist high with no problem.

Another thing we did before leashes was to sit back and the push the tail of the board underwater as hard as you can, at the right time let it go and launch it over the wave. You can get past head high+ waves with this technique Just be ready to swim hard to get your board before the next wave can get it. 

Who cares about doing a turtle in small waves. I do it. I think it’s funny when I’ll turn turtle next to some one who won’t and then when I come up I’m a good 10’ or more ahead of them.  

Hey eddy, I made a 7'6" egg out of xps with a thin glass job while living in Rhode Island.  It had a narrow tail and a significant amount of nose rocker (actually twice as much as yours). When riding it at the points there, I also had an awful time paddling it out.  Guys with much shorter boards were just passing me by. Sure, once in the lineup I could get in on plenty of waves before them, but then there was paddling back out.  I felt like it was the corkyness of the board an too little foward momentum that kept me in the drift as opposed to tracking along quickly as I'd hoped for when building it light with plenty of volume.   

Camplus, Your describing exactly my paddling experience. Everyone outpaddles me and I can’t make it through the sets easily. Mine has a very heavy glass job, and a 1/2" plywood stringer. It’s weight is similar to some of my logs.Given that, should it still be as corky (i.e. sit higher in the water) that the same board in poly? I guess I should research weight vs buoyancy.

 

Yeah, there's plenty of stuff on Sways about 'corkyness' and bouyancy vs paddling etc - kind of pick and choose though as there are so many opinions involved on that one.  I can tell you that I weigh about 165lb and that board I described was about 2 5/8" thick.  I noticed, however, that my short XPS boards (built during the same time, surfed at the same breaks, and  glassed the same) at least a foot shorter/ 1/2" thinner, seemed to paddle much better in good surf. 

Oh yeah - You wouldn't happen to know Johnathan LeMaster from your area would you?  Indie rock violinist, surfer . . .

I don’t know him. Does he surf around Boston?