Hi all!
How do you get your short single fins to cutback well. is it in the fin positioning? how far back from the tail do you like the fin and what size fin.
is it your technique
eg Dropping your back knee like on a longboard…
basically i wan’t to find the best way to make a single fin cutback without the rail fins.
by good cutback i mean full round house and bounce off the foam at a nice consistent speed.
LeeD? others?
The best advice I could give you would be to watch 1970’s vintage videos, Free Ride, Stylemasters, Playgrounds in Paradise, etc. Bertelmann, Buttons, Liddel, Shaun, PT, Rabbit, MR to name a few all ripped on single fins and had strong roundhouse cutbacks. I’ve found I need to push my single a little more harder to get it up to the speed it needs to bring it around to rebound off the whitewater.
the rails are the fins
oh yeah
find the magic zpot
its there you will kno it
when yu fine it
too far up it don go
pushing the noze rail iin
don make you feel koo
step back krakka jack
twinkle them toes to set it up
then liff up thet fut
place the heel accross da stringer
yes on tha udder side
the as you have just stuffed it
fall into those lovin centrifugal arms
the dynamix of the commitment will bring that
surfboard back up under you
and timing the re direction
is you nex ques t ion
do it once and you feelit
do it twice and then again
and over and over
and
over an it will feel natural.
all you need is a wave…
…ambrose…
some body give the lad a wave
Thanks!
Very Helpful.
I watch 70s flicks regurlary and espicelly enjoy fantasea.
thanks Ambrose the makes sense, i’ll have to try it next surf.
cheers guys.
hiya Josh !
two things I found very helpful
…in slow motion [frame-by-frame grab , if neccessary] .
Study the surfer’s centre of balance , weight distribution , upper body positioning / shoulder and arm rotation , and of course, foot placement .
practice practice practice
Of course , a LOT of the 1970s and early '80s footage was filmed in good quality , consistent reef [and point ] breaks, so don’t be too discouraged if it’s harder to consistenly make roundhouse cutbacks on a single fin in short, sharp , but sometimes mushy Sydney beachbreak , I know what that’s like …you should try doing them at this time of year in PERTH beachbreaks !!
And never underestimate the effect of good rocker and foil in your board too , as well as trying a variety of fin templates and positions [you’ve got a fin box in that greeny , right ?]
okay mate , I hope this helps !
ben
All I can say is practice, practice, practice, and commitment to the rail.
I must also agree the video tool is a really good one.
I remember years ago the Surfabout was televised for 30 minutes on a friday evening. My friends and I used to watch it, then go surfing, daylight saving.
Talk about amp your surfing up, all we wanted to do was (try to) rip, really good visual stimulation and motivation.
Josh, from my experience Ambrose is really right: use your rails!
If you can have a good fin in the right place it plays a big part, but, specially on cutbacks, the rails are your tool.
For me the best part about surfing singlefins is that you really learn how to use the wave and the rails.
Start with the fin closer to the tail and your foot more advanced than when doing a top turn, maybe both around the center of the board… of course, it all depends on the rocker and template.
Coque.
Big roundies, start the move at the top, dropping down into the face, so you have lotsa room to work.
Get low to maintain balance and carve, look at your target, which should be the oncoming curl. Slight hand drag helps you stay low and carving.
Speed is your friend, that’s why you start at the top of the wall, dropping down the face.
It’s not a snap or a lipslide, which is momentary photo shoot stuff.
Having learned to surf in the 60s, I have noticed a lot of single fin riders today have weak cutbacks. The reason is that they are doing their cutbacks entirely from their heels. By way of contrast, the drop-knee technique has an actual functional advantage - it is not just a style thing. By shifting to the ball of the back foot, placed over the stringer, greater pressure can be brought to bear on the inside rail. This may not be so applicable to short singles, but I have seen people use it.
WTF???
Having surfed in contests in California in the late ‘60’s, mostly on twins, but some 6’ singles, and winning 3 separate 3A contests, I have no idea why anyone would drop knee while riding a shortboard.
Heel is more power, you just gotta figure out where and when to use it.
No points for style and cruising, it’s all about vert turns, as many you can pack in as possible, bottom to top.
Good point LeeDD, speed is your friend. A carving single fin roundhouse cutback is a beautiful thing to behold, and even more fun if you are the one doing it.
Feel that rail all the way.
Thanks guys! that really helped. i already feel my cutties are better and whats even better is having full speed tubes you don’t have to cuttie on… like yesterday for example…
fun!