Issue changing from malibu to shortboard

[lchulo]

Hi pals,

I'm new on this forum.
I'm seeking advice from shortboard surfers.

Last weekend, I tried my new shortboard.
Actually is more like a progressive shortboard: a 6'10 epoxy board with sharp nose.

I used to surf a 7.6 and 7.3 surfboards before
with a round nose (kind of a Malibu).

If felt my new board was quite fast when paddling;
I might say even faster than my previous fibre-made surfboards.

I lied on the board and try,
to find the right position (nose neither popped out the surface too far, nor popped down).

But when I tried to take off,
I found out my front foot was too far on the nose
and made my board sink down.

==> I had a couple of wipe-outs where the nose was digging straight into the water at
the take off

I even found out my front foot was slipping off the board when I took off (because I didn't bother with waxing the nose of my board)


I realized that I had to sit farer back,
in order to have my hands in the centre of the board's length
when I take off.

I realized that I had to raise my feet while paddling,
in order to compensate for the fact that I'm sitting farer back.


I just wanted to have some feedbacks, heads-up.
Am I doing things right?

Did somebody have the same issue?


I'd welcome any comments.
Thank you!


Lorenzo

[still-learning]

In my opinion, you were lying to far forward. Compensating by lying further back would help somewhat. Your front foot should pop up more or less between your hands which should be around rib level. With your weight centred and keeping low you should be fine. At what stage are you with your development?

[jaffa1949]

The question I would ask is how experienced were you, before you changed down?
An experienced surfer usually only takes a few surfs to feel the sweet spots and nature of a new board particularly when the difference is only about 6 to 8 inches.
There is a lot more going against you in this than just being a shorter board.
Pictures of the board will help and what sort of waves are you trying to surf.

[waikikikichan]

In my opinion, you were lying to far forward. Then you OVER compensated by lying TOO FAR back. You even wrote " I realized that I had to raise my feet while paddling, in order to compensate for the fact that I'm sitting farer back. My friend calls that doing the "periscope". People feel they cant scoot up, so they "try" to bring their lower body back up to the center. In very extreme cases they do what I call the "Scorpion". Easy remedy is just move up a centimeter.
" I realized that I had to sit farer back, in order to have my hands in the centre of the board's length when I take off." - No, your hands do not need to be at mid way. Your body DOES have to be in the proper place for efficient paddling.
Go back to your original comments. You had a Round Nose board, now you have a Sharp nose ( ie, pointy ). Imagine getting a round dinner plate and throwing it down into the water. It displaces water and stays on the surface for awhile. Now get your TV remote control and fling it into the water. It easily pierces the water. Your round nose used to hold your board up at the bottom of the wave, your sharp nose is not. Now imagine this..... Hold the dinner plate flat in one hand and the remote in the other hand under the water. Now quickly bring both to the surface. Which rises faster and easier? Your Pointy nose digging isn't the end of the world. You need to trust that it will pop back out as easily as it went in.
I think your are focusing on trying to hold up the nose, when you should be looking down the line. Where you look is where you go.

[lchulo]

Thanks guys for the heads-up. Very appreciated.

Answers:
=========

to still-learning and Jaffa1949:
-----------------------------------

I'm still a beginner.
I went to different surfcamps in Portugal.
I live in Ireland, and I try to practise during the weekends as much as I can.

My paddling is good, deep and strong.
My take off is not too bad. I manage to take off in one jump.
==> Arch my back, chin raised, look where I want to go and pump from my knees.

So far, I just trim along the face.
My bottom-turn is OK. I'm still practising my backside surfing.

I only took a bath with that board.
This is the board in question: http://www.bicsportsurfboards.com/produ ... d,265.html


To Wikikikichan:
---------------------

Yes, the periscope is a pretty good assessment.

You mentioned:

No, your hands do not need to be at mid-way.
Your body DOES have to be in the proper place for efficient paddling.

Actually, my body is not in the proper place for efficient paddling;
that's why is sit farer back and compensate with raising my feet.


I thought the right surf stance was with my front foot right in the center (length) of the board.
If I try to take off with a proper paddling position, my front foot is too far on the nose;

With my previous board, I was right in the dead center of the board when taking off.

So, maybe I should lie in the proper paddling position (farer on the nose) and not to worry too much about the nose digging (or about not being in the center of the board). Is this what you mean?


Thank you for your comments.


Cheers,

Lorenzo

[waikikikichan]

You are thinking too much in "exacts". When you hold a bat, racquet or kitchen knife, do you constantly look at your hand to check if it's in the right place ? No, you go by feel. When you say you should now move more up towards the nose, just move up a tiny tiny bit. A centimeter will create a huge difference. Plus don't use marks or wax balls to show where you should lay. Again go by feel. And just like some of the recent posting on Off-shore On-shore winds, those can change your paddle position. Low tide- high tide. Your first wave and 2 hours later ?
Don't look down at your feet. Don't worry if your foot is not in the center of the board.