Surfing Waves

Why is surfing an Alaia so much different and harder?

A list of about five things.
No buoyancy, it floats like the slab of wood it's made from, does not support a human body in the water.
Doesn't paddle like a modern board you have to swim it out to the line up and then swim it onto the wave.
Your swimming speed has to be wave catching speed.
No fins, most of us are used to the hold and direction drive fins give, not many at this stage are capable of using a set rail to ride across the face of the wave.
The linear speed of the boards is exceptional, but a shock on your first few waves and it is a constant battle to be able to stop the side slide and go across the face and be able to control release.

They are great learning boards and the Paipo size ones are way beyond ordinary body boards for sheer speed, an Alaia for me is fine but the rider is not capable

ok thanks alot, i wanna build, what size should i do?

Friso I've got no idea, there may be a scale of weights and lengths, but it would also depend on the wood and your skill level, to ride lying down well just about a paipo length would do, Roy Stewart may be a really good reference point as understanding wood and I think he has paipo plans available.
He is keen on wooden boards of all sorts and is a fine craftsman.
Other than that I'd google something like build your own alaia and see what comes up. Tom Wegener too is a source for wooden boards.

jaffa1949 wrote:Doesn't paddle like a modern board you have to swim it out to the line up and then swim it onto the wave.
:

what do you mean with swim, i like cant lay down on the board and paddle?

YEP! you can put a little chest on them but that's about it
Have a look at some alaia surfing vids might give you a clue.

Haha okay, Do you surf one?

And what kind of wood should i use, paulownia is too expenisive for me, will pine or cedar work good?

Friso most of the answers are out there if you google them, Paulownia is the wood of choice as everything else takes in water except redwood and varnishes or sealants nee to be used.
What do you surf now or is this your beginner board project?

I surf a 6'2''

I went ti the hardware strore and they had wood with a maximum thickness of 1.8 cm ( 0.7 inch). is this too thin or is it alright?

Hey, Josh here from Xylem Surfboards. Yeah, paddling is harder cause of the lack of floatation. Riding waves is harder cause its hard to catch waves, the board slides (no fin), there's no rocker and the board just feels really different. There are certainly some drawbacks to riding an alaia, but the ride is really fast and really fun. Its like anything else that's tough... the bigger the challenge, the bigger the reward. I am fully biased but, I sold all my fiberglass and ride nothing else but alaias and paipos. To me, the challenge of riding this equiptment is greatly offset by the rewards.
Honestly, they are not for everyone... especially those that don't have patience or enough drive to learn something new. It takes some time to get confident and most people simply don't want to fool with it. I paddle out on my alaia whatever the surf. I wouldn't ride anything else cause it's just so much fun and it's a really great feeling to enjoy the waves the way they were enjoyed by a lost culture. It's just an awesome expirience.

Okay i'm looking forward to build one and ride one!

What did you surf before?

I had a finless fiberglass board that was fun for a few summers.

yh but think that a fiberglass board is easier than a wooden board.