I’ve had similar issues with wider and thicker boards in bigger waves. For me this would be overhead to double overhead California waves. The problem only gets amplyfied by waves that are tubular and fast. It’s very frustrating because the board paddles so well, you’d think it would get in earlier. Instead it stalls at the top. Does this sound like your experience?
I asked the shaper about it and he told me that wider noses resist falling down the face of the wave. His advice was to surf it with a heavy front foot in the drop. That may be true and his advice helps a little, but I don’t think it’s the whole story. I think it has a lot to do with where the board holds its volume (foil).
Basically, DeadShaper’s boards have a lot going on and a lot of experience have made them that way. It would be very hard, maybe miraculous, to recreate that.
I've had similar issues with wider and thicker boards in bigger waves. For me this would be overhead to double overhead California waves. The problem only gets amplyfied by waves that are tubular and fast. It's very frustrating because the board paddles so well, you'd think it would get in earlier. Instead it stalls at the top. Does this sound like your experience?
[/quote]
Hi c-slug, I have noticed this with my Walden Magic longboard. Riding it in some steep, fast breaking waves, I could not make the drops. I just kept getting pitched with the lip. Like you, I was thinking that "early in" would be a benefit, but it seemed like the buoyancy kept lifting the board up the face at the critical time I needed to drop down the face. When the waves get like that, it feels like there is only one takeoff spot, so "early in" has little significance. The wave has punch, so any board in the slot is gonna get launched, but if the buoyancy is too high, it gets lauched over the falls LOL.
Hey Lee, you’re in the Sf area aren’t you? Big, open ocean waves with lots of face? Could you post up pics of these thick boards you ride. I weigh about 160 (50 years old) and 3" thick sounds hella thick to me…
Think...semi guns. Average winter board was mid 7' length. Average width around 18.5. Lotsa leverage, need lots of resistance to buckile/breaks.
You can ride much thinner and duckdive, but you will only catch smaller inside leftover waves. Or you can go that length, get some paddle speed, get some range, and catch outside waves.
Most times, OBSF has a cross shore drift about 1.5 mph. Constant paddling. On W or WSW swells, you are constantly paddline S and you ride mostly lefts. On NW swells, you are paddling N full time, and you are mostly riding rights.
Sometimes it's something other than the obvious outline/side profile that can play tricks with you. Some of my best wave catching boards had some belly at the forward rocker entry and a little weight to them.
Some of the most difficult boards (longboards) to paddle in had wide concave noses - including a couple shaped by some of the best in the business. Once in the wave, they rode fine. It was a matter of catching them - offshore winds obviously made it worse.
Read up on Greg Loehr's old resource article "Theory of Pitch" regarding balance, angle of attack, etc. He mentions fins being a factor as well. Greg pretty much wraps it up with this article.
A lot of people that I’ve talked to have had
this experience. The board just won’t “fall.” When it does, it’s hard to
get a good bottom turn off because there’s not enough force. Speed
lost. Section gone. Sigh. And of course a fast tubular wave is the most
competitive, so you can kiss your next wave goodbye!
In silverbak’s rocker shot (especially the last shot) I notice that the nose rocker begins
to lift pretty far back. There isn’t much of a flatter, neutral section
in the middle. I would imagine that paddling this board as the wave lifts, the back half of the board might not engage fully with the wave because the fulcrum of the rocker would cause it to lift. But in my experience all photos of surfboards are deceptive. C
I’m going to put a smaller rear fin and test it again.
It reminded me of a board i had on a trip to mentawai’s and a session where i swapped the rear fin for a smaller one and , BINGO !! Board came to LIFE immediately.
Thanks Ace & Lee also, i know theres so many variables at work here so if we dont try different stuff for ourselves we’ll never know ?
Strong paddler, who wants more responsiveness, I ball up the volume. If he’s a balanced surfer, I balance the center of volume. If he’s front footed, shift it forward, if he’s back footed, shift in aft.
Weaker paddler, who wants sability, stretch out the volume, but keep the fore/aft idea.
Hard to tell how much difference it makes because waves were only chest high but, I did manage a coupla waves on my backside that felt easier to get down the face & attack more vertically than before the fin change.
Spose to be bigger over the weekend , so hopefully will geta chance in some bigger waves.
