What would be the different characteristics of the two spots. One being for a fast wall and the other a bowl.
I as beacause I want something that pulls fast off the bottom and really slingshot you down the line.
Never surfed Maalaea, but I’d guess that lower rocker and a little extra length would get you down the line faster and help you keep up with the falling sections. Ala Moana has some hot dog sections so maneuverablity is key there, you can go shorter than you might think. I don’t feel that you’d need a special board, just a more typical shortboard shape for most days, with the possible exception of days with pole sets. Stay away from too low of a rocker line there, as my little flat rockered Nellis gored me and sent me to Queen’s Medical early one August morning back in the mid '80’s.
These are totally different waves. Ala Mo is south shore, and Off the Wall is north shore. One is a left the other a right. You can ride just about anything at Ala Mo except when the swell is up. There’s a pretty intense crowd when there’s a good south swell, so that may not be the place to go if you’re not already familiar with it. It can be a really long fun wave or an intense short inside out bowl. It all depends on the size and the direction of the swell.
I never go up to the north shore anymore so I can’t say what the crowds are like, but I would think you want a good short thruster that can handle barrels. The waves on the north shore have more power compared to the south shore.
I think the only thing they have in common is that you can get bounced off the reef.
If you plan to surf the north shore, I’d get a board for that side, then just tone it down some when you surf the south side. I have friends riding their 8’ semi guns at south shore spots. Maybe get a longboard for the south shore as a backup for the extra crowded days.
Howzit sharkcountry, Good answer and oh so true. Moved to Oahu in the winter time and lived on the north shore back in 69' so got used to the power of winter swells. I can still remember the first time I rode good sized town, 8ft plus 3's and missed a take off and then I saw I was going to take the next set wave on the head I thought oh crap, but it was nothing like what the same size wave at say Off the wall would do to you and even though there are reefs on both sides there are differences. One thing is on the north shore you will get driven deeper and fast but if things haven't changed if you hit the reef on the South Shore there's a good channe that a staph infectionis in your future if you don't clean the wound up asap. Maybe we can get toether before I go back to Kauai. 19 rad treatments done and only 14 left to go. Would like to meet you again since the first time I was in La La land from all the Morphine they had in me. I remember meetig you but after that it is a blank. Aloha Kokua
PS Bernie knows where i am staying
Hi Kokua, Bernie and I were talking about seeing you one weekend and helping you get around and do things like shopping.
I’ll taking my daughter to the mainland on the 21st and I don’t get back until the 29th. If you still in town after that, we’d like to see you. Maybe the first weekend in April. Be nice to see you without all those tubes stuck in you.
Aloha, Harry
Hey Ekim - What part of Oregon do you surf? PM me if you want to share spots - but just to be clear (Heck, you’re the one askin’) I have surfed Ala mo up to OH, I haven’t surfed Off the wall, I have surfed Maaleea, and I have surfed other spots that are more like off the wall. But a good board would work well at any of those spots.
My question is, just a reality check, do you surf spots like “Boiler” or “the point”/“shore break” regularly and comfortably? I’m sure you can guess, but my point is, reefs in Hawaii are not like many breaks here in Oregon.
Howzit sharkcountry, Actually the first weekend of April will be my last one and I am flying to Kauai on Friday the 3rd to take a bunch of stuff home, then am flying back Sunday afternoon and get in just before 5 PM then on Monday I have my last radiation treatment and am pretty positive HMSA will fly me home that same day since thay won’t want to pay for another night at the apt. Anoher reason I am flying home is so I can drive my car to the airport on Sunday so when i get back home on Monday I can just jump in my car and go home and no one has to pick me up. Sounds like we are going to have to wait to meet again unless we can get together sometime during the week. But it seems that your plans have you pretty much tied up, I will have to come back some time in the future to have this darn feeding tube removed, that’s what the surgeon told me, still can’t figure out why it can’t be done on Kauai but I do know my surgeon doesn’t think much of the surgeons at Wilcox. But any body with a brain knows that if you need any real surgery done then come to Oahu where the real doctors are. I have no idea when they will have me come back but I can keep in touch through swaylocks. Yeah I was a real mess when we met a the hospital. Aloha,Kokua
I think everybody needs to relax .I’m not going to build a board to go over to off the wall or Alo Mo and piss everybody off over there.I’m just asking about the different board shapes because I’m curious .I’ve surfed Hawaii before but would go to more low key spots like Leftovers.I use to surf the point but never comfortably.This was only because of the locals ,although the waves there would sometimes would get me breathing heavy. Never surfed boiler but I surfed boyscouts on the day of the tow in at Lincoln city. It was heavy but at least there wasn’t any pricks in the water.
Not worried about you pissing anyone off over here. That would be your problem. There are lots of places you can surf without ever getting into a problem, and there are people that can’t go anywhere without getting into trouble.
A lot of my friends surf at bowls and never have problems there. But when the waves are epic you’ll have to deal with a whole different crew. I lived right next to the beach there for 15 years, and my apartment looked right into the barrel. It can be an incredible wave, but I always preferred surfing a less crowded break.
My cousin Brian Hamilton grew up on a boat in the Ala Wai harbor and was one of the best if not the best during his time. That doesn’t cut me any slack though. You gotta give people a reason the respect you, like you, or want to get in your face. It’s not hard to get along at most breaks, just start out mellow, check the action out and let the alpha males do their thing. Nothing helps better than a couple of good rides that let the others know you can surf. If you can’t, stay on the inside and catch the waves that everyone else misses.
Hi Kokua, sorry about the timing. I’ve been extra busy the last month or so. This week should be the last really busy week before our trip, then things should mellow out.
No worries about seeing you right away, I know our paths will be crossing again. If not here on Oahu, there’s always Kauai. I’ve only surfed there once which was in 1978. I stayed at Hanapepe for a week and surfed Pakalas a lot. That was a fun trip, and I’ve never gone on another surfing trip since.
Take care and let Bernie know when you come back here. He’ll let me know what’s going on. I was supposed to go with Bernie to see you both times he came by, but I was busy. When I had free time we was busy.
Aloha, Harry
Very true…
Back to the original post I’m just curious what would ne the different characteristics of the two boards. I had a Minami that had a rocker like a bannana but it just launched down the line.I would have guessed it would have been more of a pocket board . I’m no shaper but I’m very interested in how things work.
Oh and about the point comment.I don’t mean to downplay the heavyness of the Point.It is a heavy wave .It’s just that the locals are heavier.
Howzit ekim, The bottom line is they are 2 totally different waves and could ride the same board at AlaMoana but not at off the wall. Ala Mo is a playful sometimes long wave that ou could rie a wider more fun type board at. But off the wall is a heavy fast steepwave that you needa speedy board that will stick to the face of the wave wall or you will free fall and eat it big time. I suggest you find a couple of videos with both breaks shown on them and see for you self what to expect. At off the wall or what I know think is known as Kodak reef you make a late drop in and then hopefully get tubed and then come out and it is close to the shore and shallow as can be. Ala Mo is a ways out and when the swell direction is right on it can be a long ride with a few nice sections that you can get covered up in. Like sharkcountry said the crowd will beintense at both breaks when they are going off be respectful and hope you et at least a couple of waves even if they aren't the pick of the crop. There is a pecking order at every spot in the islandsjust like you most likely have at your home break. I would think that the thing that will make tthe biggest difference is the time of year you will be coming over since if you come in the summer you can pretty much forget surfing OTW and in the winter town is a shot for the obvious reasons. We are talking apples and oranges here. I don't know if this is your first trip to Hawaii or not but if it is enjoy and embrace the aloha that it has to offer. Asa resident of close to 40 years i feel lucky to hve been here when it was a laid back life style and things were simple and the waves uncrowded. Unfortuately you will be coming into adifferent situation so make thebest of it. Aloha, Kokua