Hello. I have been learning to surf for about the past 16 months or so and would like a little advice:
I am 6’2" and weigh around 200 pds and recently purchased a David Nuuhiwa Nose Rider that is the below size. (it has a big nose and tail flip) I have gotten good at getting up on the board from sand bars, etc… but have not gotten the knack of paddling into waves yet. Is it timing, placement, etc… any tips that might help with paddling into the waves. (with such a big rocker would it be better for me to place more weight on the tail of the board or towards the nose when trying to paddle into the waves)
That particular board is very, very, notoriously, heavy & hard to get going.
But as Dale Velzy used to say, “You going to paddle it, or surf it?”
So…keep it. But get something else for the next couple years. When your wave count goes up, your learning curve goes up - no way around that. Find something 10’ long, single finned, and less than 20 lb. Beyond that, it hardly matters who shaped it (or what machine) and what ‘style’ it is. Just get some waves on something that takes 2 strokes to get going, and not a dozen.
I am assuming the the board is between 9 and 9’6". Are the waves you ride steep or sloppey? I am also assuming you are a strong paddler. I am a big guy so I need to get the board to plain fast. I start off with a free-style stroke to get the board moving and I’ll double up with a butterfly like stroke to force the board down the face of the wave. Your head position is also important. If you raise your head/neck, that will force the tail of the board down. If you lower your head, it will cause the nose to go down and create better planing to catch the wave. If you feel that the wave is getting too steep to quickly, raise your head and arch your back, push down on the tail with your foot to force the tail down to help to prevent from burying the nose and stand up quickly.
If you are not a strong paddler, paddle every chance you get. Swim a lot, workout on a Vasa trainer if you have access to one during the off-season.
Watch the experience surfers at the local breaks. Look at where they are lining up. Look at surfers that have similar body types / weight and boards like yours. Look at their wave catching solutions.
I am not sure if this helps but this is my 2 cents worth after 39 years of surfing.
when i surf that board, i put my weight waaayyyy forward. it has a lot of tail rocker, and tends to pull down from the rear. i am also 5’9", 145 lbs…you’ll need a more sensitive touch with weight distribution…shift back before your pearl.
however, that really isn’t the board for slop. save it for those rare, glassy days when the wave just lines up forever. get something a little more forgiving for the east coast slop we know and love.
all boards with lots of curve in the tail are hard to catch waves…good for nose riding cause they slow down and keep you in the hook…get a board that is wide all the way round…unless you are getting your toes over the nose, if so you have the right board ,if not get a board that is wide and thick in the area that you lay down on and stand on this will help 200%…also study the take off zone and keep good lineups…no lineups no waves…surf it up
When you are paddling out move your bod around back and up when you r going the easiest look at where your nose is- try it again–maybe put a x in the wax. u might want to be just forward of that spot to get your wave.
If you surf that spot alot you can pick the right takeoff area-- maybe sink the tail of your board and grab the rails as it comes up and a stroke can get you into it with little paddling–guess when we get older we just get too lazy to paddle.
on a longboard if you dont get the wave in 2 strokes save your energy cause u r going uphill and the wave passed ya cause u r too far back or poor timing
I am in my 40’s and get out about 4 to 6 hours a day in the summer but that is reduced during the winter to about 6 hours every couple of weeks. But I generally have the opportunity to get out quite a bit.
OH GOD THE NUUHIWA NOSERIDER! that board is a beast, and i mean that in the nicest way possible. just get on the nose and it rides it’s self. take off with it is a little tricky because of the lack of nose rocker. You should start paddleing a little earlier than usual to get the board up to speed, there are no one stroke take offs on that thing. it helps to have it a little bit angled as it is a bit tough to turn.to turn it you need to be right over the fin.
A common practice at Windansea, prior to the introduction of shortboards and crowds, was the ''no stroke takeoff ‘’. I’m sure young people today reckon it can’t be done, but it was just one of our techniques of catching a wave with a late takeoff.
No, the “no stroke take off” can and is still done once in a while. I was about to bring that up. It’s very handy (and fun) on those east coast choppy days when there are peaks all over the place and your bobbing up and down and you suddenly bob over one wave to see the peak coming straight at you. All you have time to do is turn around and place your hands to push up. Kind of an “oh shit” moment.
Ok, my first question is David Nuuhiwa Nose Rider made by who? Tudor or is it a Bing. The Tudors tend to have way to rounded rails that are way too thick. I do not think that when Shrosbee shapes them he takes into acount the amount of glass that goes into them. Having surfed them both I went with the 9’4" Bing nose rider. I am 6’2" and 210 and find the board to be one of the best wave catchers I have ever owned. Not too much rocker on the bing, just enough tail kick and the 10 oz glass gives it the weight to glide like a dream. A true copy of a vintage DN does not have too much rocker. The main difference I found was that the balance point on the bing was shifted more forward leting me get down the face and into the wave way earlier than the balance point of the piece of Tudor board which i found to be shifted on center or even a heading back. My next question to you is why? Sure you could buy whatever board you want, but for someone who has been only surfing 16 months and cannot catch a wave very well it seems as though you have purchased a very technical board (if its a Bing that is) for a very specific kind of break/wave. Did the salesman lead you astray or did you buy it for the coolness factor. I do not mean any offense by this its just I see it all of the time here in SD. Someone is talked into, or buys a board that is way beyond their ability level and ends up getting frustrated. I have fallen prey to the same thing myself thinking I could ride a 6’3 fish. What I should have bought after all of these years of longboarding and finally did buy was a 7’8 bing karma singlefin egg. My only advice is either keep with it (although I think its a bit much for someone at your level) or trade it in for something a little more all around. Some kind on 9’6 pro comp board with a trifin setup or something. It also seems to me like you went too big. A 9’8" board is a lot of board for a begginer regardless of who makes the board.
I have a 9’6" action that is pretty flat and a 9’6" robert august w.i.r. and can ride them pretty well, so I decided to take a look at a design that was simular to a very popular North Carolina custom design that is produced at Action Surfboards called the Buddy Pelliter Shape (this board is typically 9’0" long, with a very agressive rocker and is quite popular among the longboarders in the area) (named after the surfer).
This board is probably the closest to it (in rocker / size); but, a little longer and thicker (I did not feel comfortable with what I saw in shortboards just now and was looking to add to my quiver)
Now that I have it and really like it, I am just trying to get it dialed in, to where I can be paddle into the waves with it easier.
SO, from what I am to understand, it is not a Tudor, Bing or even Takayama for that mater. Well honestly, I do not know what to tell you. I doubt it rides like an actual DN at all then. Is it 10oz glass even and does it have a glass on fin??? When you ask about riding a DN Noserider you are going to get very specific responses. If it is not from one of those 3 shapers (Calvani/Tak/or Shros/or even Byzak) or manufacturers then I would doubt it is even close. I used to own a Dano noseglider which is pretty much his attempt to replicate the DN. Again, not even close. Good board…but not even close.