This question might be too general to answer but here goes- what makes a board come off the top easily? As opposed to sticking there? It’s probably just my lack of skill, timing, positioning, and (given where I live ) decent surf , but, too often for my taste, I go up to hit the lip (not vertically in my case) and it feels like I have to coax the board back down the face. I’m wondering what aspects of a board’s design might facilitate easier, quicker, smoother re-entry? What would eliminate that sticky feeling? Apart from 100 leg lunges a day or 6 foot point break waves…
On a similar note, does anyone really believe in the “pivot point” theory behind wings? I’ve actually been thinking about a stinger, because the stickiness I feel, somehow feels like the middle of the board. I can understand the function of stepping down the outline width (although I’d just as soon do that with a smooth curve). I can imagine how the break might create turbulence and loosen up the tail (although that might be detrimental), but a pivot point? Any thoughts?
Total amatuer but i have experimented with different fin setups on my midlength and have found as a single fin, it is a little sticky, but on the other extreme as a thruster, it releases very easily. Im sure there are other factors though. I thought weight might be one, but i had a heavily glassed twin keel that had no problems releasing off the top, IF you were in synch with the weight/momentum of the board, if that makes sense.
Not sure how to help with the stickiness, but I’m glassing a new board with wings. These are little wings near the tail, not the Stinger type. I never liked the stinger design, but I only rode those a few times. My brother had a Brewer stinger that I really didn’t like.
Just wanted to say that it is harder to glass.
Try to aim slightly lower on the top turn, maybe try to make the board turn about a foot below the lip. I started doing that to avoid getting stuck at the top.I found that by the time the board was aimed back down, I was almost off the wave. Then I have to jump on the nose and prepare for that drop back into the wave. Sometimes that can be a lot of fun too.
The other thing is how much speed you have coming off the bottom. With a lot of speed you can put your weight on your back foot and dig in and pivot off the back like a skate board when you lift the front wheels off the ground. You can also do glancing turns off the top that redirect you back down instead of trying to rip the top off. Then just continue the turn to take you straight back down. I like to do that with the longer boards I have that have lots of drive. Really hard turns off the bottom that send you flying up diagonally, then turn back down like that to get back into another hard bottom turn. I need over head waves, to make this work, but I can get up and going really fast.
Multi-fins, shorter boards, getting the wp around your front foot, getting your back foot near tailblock, curve in tail outline, crisp edge in tail, more tail rocker and/or V...
When you get closer to the feel you want you can tune it with fin selection.
fins fins fins. Get some tom carols or H2 from FCS. The right fins make a huge difference. I wont even sell a board with the standard M3 glass flex fins. In my humble opinion, fins can make or break the board. But thats my simple answer. Mike gave u the details.