a continuation on carve nalus thread" how to safely canoe paddle surf w/ Pics"
due to the increasing interest in surfing with a paddle (kneeling or standing) i thought id share with you all how we do it in new england…
first, when starting out its important to find a spot thats empty with not too many people around.
this place was perfect, water in the high 30’s( no wetsuit!!!) air temp 40 + , light off shore breeze grooming the waves to perfection, you get the idea.
now, getting out, you’ve really got to time the sets. this day was a bit hairy but i managed to get out safely,(its bigger than it looks!) watch it for a half an hour or so before heading out , time the sets, look for obstacles in the line up, rips etc…
next when you’ve cleared the shore pound paddle like crazy until you make it outside.
when you’ve caught your breath and regained composer its time to choose your wave. this is crucial. you want to get a good one but DONT OVERDO IT!! this day was not the best example as there were clean up sets every 10 minutes! wait for a day when the waves are small and mellow,be patient. again this day is not the best example.
showtime!!! when you’ve decided on your wave swing that big hog around and start digging!!
once your in ,dont panic its just like regular surfing only ,your standing up??? yeah, somthing like that.
things start to happen quickly now. you have to start thinking about an exit. this day was a little big and walled up to really kick out so i decided to just straghiten out and face the shore pound once again. as the shore begins approaching , prepare for exit!
at the last possible second ,make sure no one is in harms way ,and jump!
congratulations you have entered the wonderful world of stand up paddle surfing!!!
remember to take it slow at first and most importantly be safe and courteous.
(a side note; a few days after these photos were taken it finally got small enough to safely practice these techniques , unfortunately there was no photographer available so we had to go with these photos.)
yeah its a carbon one . weight is the only difference (that i can tell) between this and a wood paddle. the fin is 9.5 inches and was scraping the sand shortly after take off.
"Have you tried getting out the back without your feet and dacks getting wet? "
unfortunately , nature calls and you always end up with brown dacks when it’s that gnarly out …
why , just this morning , I spotted a blind mullet floating past as I paddled out …[I think it must have been a leftover from yesterdays junior clubbies carnival …
it took courage to get this watershot , but somehow I returned to shore unscathed …
My hats off to you… This has got to be one of the gnarliest paddle outs I’ve ever seen!!! How in the heck did you make it out??? A few feet further in and you would be part of that boiling, churning, death soup!!!
Style, Grace, Balls to charge… The package deal!!! Like chip said… You sir are a HELLMAN!!!
dude, i think the champane bathing happened before he paddled out in thoise clothes he slept in on the beach the night before ? “lazymodo” for a reason ? “f*** it , i couldn’t be bothered putting on my wetsuit” I’ll just paddle out in chip’s homie gear. and I ain’t saying your gay , by the way
the board was purchased online about five years ago from a guy in florida.its called the" twelve pac o love" .the lam reads “DAVO”.
its eps with two luan stringers, epoxy, pretty heavy glass ,etc.
12’ long 26.5" wide, 4" thick. this thing is a testament to the benefits of epoxy. about a month ago i did the first ding repair on it in five years. the wind got under it in the parking lot and blew it out of my hands and down six feet to the awaiting granite bulkhead stones. still just minor damage. this thing has been by far the best surfing investment i have ever made. i ride it probably 10 times to every one time i ride any of my other boards,large or small surf. and now with a paddle its even more enjoyable.
im actually working on cloning it at the moment. ive just finished the foil template to cut a few new blanks out of #2 eps. id like to try it as a squash tail for comparison and maybe push some of the rocker out on another version for smaller days. i might thicken it a little too for SUP as you can see from the pics the deck was in the water most of the time.i saw one of dave kalamas boards and it was at least 5 inches thick. just massive rails. other than that , the guy put three full size fin boxes in it but i have yet to ride it as a multi fin. ive been using the pro tech 9.5 soft edge fin in it ,mostly for safety reasons but it rides nice too.
a tri fin setup might be the way to go though on these really wide boards because when you move forward into the front third theres so much width that the tail leaves the face and it slides out . unless you had a 15" long fin or something,three fins i think is the call.
i noticed on the pohaku site alot of those guys are on thrusters and it would make sense having the extra fins out on the rail . as soon as i find some side bites that fit a standard fin box im going to try it.
as far as rails go , kind of an exaggerated fat down rail, almost hard in the tail, nothing special.
that thing you made is awsome. its inspiring me to get my stuff going. your going to have a blast on that pig!
if you ever want rocker specs let me know this board has a really nice curve to it.
