Kicking for waves?

by **Skel** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:55 pm

I've been using a minimal for the last year and i'm now experimenting on a shortboard with a fair bit of volume - 6'4"x20.5x2.5 - though still finding it a struggle to catch waves so I guess I still need to work on my technique. Is kicking your feet actually effective in giving that extra bit of propulsion for a take off? - i've tried doing it but it feels clumsy and awkward although a lot of other shortboarders seem to do it.

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by **PapaW** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:38 pm

Its more or a motion/motenton thing for stand-ups... the body seems to find more power via swinigng the legs!

by **Brent** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 5:57 pm

yes it works. you'll find that whatever you do when coming down in board size it's harder to catch waves - regardless of how much volume the board has, it's the length that makes the difference, shorter boards have less paddle speed - but provided it has a nice wide nose you'll still get into the waves fine - just alittle later than you're used to.

by **Skel** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 8:12 pm

Brent wrote:yes it works. you'll find that whatever you do when coming down in board size it's harder to catch waves - regardless of how much volume the board has, it's the length that makes the difference, shorter boards have less paddle speed - but provided it has a nice wide nose you'll still get into the waves fine - just alittle later than you're used to.

Brent - how does a fuller nose enhance wave catchability? - does it help when throwing your weight forward for the take-off? Thanks for your advice.

by **Brent** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:09 am

The wider and flatter the front/nose of a surfboard the more surface area that when you paddle - will plane earlier & with less effort from you. Make sense? You're trying to get on top of the water ahead of you...rather than push against it.

A narrow nosed high performance surfboard is much harder to catch waves on than a stubby nosed mini-mal or a fish. This is why surfers on those boards have to make such an effort to catch waves kicking & paddling.....and why riders of mals etc often only have to give a paddle stroke or two to get going.

We each have our own tricks when using shortboards. I lie on mine with the nose actually just on the water surface, and I arch my back upwards when paddling to catch a wave using quite short paddle-strokes. As I start moving forwards & start planing I lower my back down to trim the board so the nose is barely out of the water and take much bigger paddle strokes. I kick abit also...this works for me.

by **Brent** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:17 am

How wide is the nose on this board of yours?
Lie it upside down (fins up) & measure down the stringer follow the radius of the curve 12" down from the nose. How wide (in inches) is the board at that point?
If it's 20.5" wide total I'm picking about 14-14.5" inches???

If so it should be pretty "average" for catching waves on. Not too hard but not a mal either.

by **Skel** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 10:30 am

Yup, the nose is 14.5 so that seems ok for a first shortboard which I use on beach break surf of weak-moderate power. Thanks for the tip Brent - actually my technique is not too different but not that refined either so its something I just need to work on and maybe try to get used to kicking a little.

I think a more fundamental problem I need to get my head around is to be more consistent in my wave positioning. I seem to have a subconcious tendency to hang too far back when I should be more inside for a later take off - a legacy from too many hours spent on a mini mal - but means a lot less waves caught on my new board.

Someday i'll get it...javascript:emoticon(':?')
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Kicking for waves?

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