Surfing Waves

Hi guys,

I posted before about thinking of getting a board, and was looking into the CI Fred Rubble.
Doing a bit more of research, I've come across Proctor Accelerator..
When reading up on different boards and shapes, most of them to me sound the same.. haha
but anyways, The acceleraor looks like it works in small mushy waves.. which where i surf is quite normal...

But when thinking of getting a groveler type board what size should i be looking? it says to be ridden 2inchs shorter and 1/4 wider or something(just an example) than your regular shortboard... im using a Rascal from proctor, 6'0x20 and wouldnt really consider this my regular shortboard..

so what size should i think of getting my groveler? i'm 5'8 155pounds and surfed for about 3 years now.. recently tried a 5'10fish and was quite easy to pop up but didnt respond too well on turns..

trying to get as much info before going out to buy my next board thanks!!!

Ebay. get on it. Its alot cheaper for trying boards than taking the 7-800$ punt.
If you want an amazing groveller that catches anything... buy my diverse fish .

Careful... turn response can significantly be reduced by foot position and fins. I've surfed some fishes that were so fat i mistook them for a bus... but then have handled amazing.

Also some fishes can be fairly sensitive. One of my current boards goes from a nice cruiser to a ripping weapon with a difference of about 6-8 inches in rear foot position.

Best bet is to go to a shaper... as they usually have a whole range of test boards you can take out.

hmmm I wouldn't of called the fred rubble too much of a groveller... maybe we have different definitions of groveller. A few mates of mine have bought AM biscuits.... they are wild, check them out

or amazon. amazon carries everything!!!

Threeo wrote:
"Careful... turn response can significantly be reduced by foot position and fins. I've surfed some fishes that were so fat i mistook them for a bus... but then have handled amazing.

Also some fishes can be fairly sensitive. One of my current boards goes from a nice cruiser to a ripping weapon with a difference of about 6-8 inches in rear foot position.

Best bet is to go to a shaper... as they usually have a whole range of test boards you can take out."

hmm i was thinking fishes should respond ok, maybe it is my foot positioning. I mean im no pro, no where near.. but im told the back foot should be on top of the deck pad/fins..

any tips on how to adjust foot placement after popping up? im at the stage whee im trying to get on the face and pump for speed.... cant seem to do so..

If you want a great groveller, check out the Channel Islands Pod. It has a fuller nose and will catch small waves easily yet still perform unreal. It's not a cruiser style fish, but a high performance responsive small wave board.

dream2live wrote:

Threeo wrote:
"Careful... turn response can significantly be reduced by foot position and fins. I've surfed some fishes that were so fat i mistook them for a bus... but then have handled amazing.

Also some fishes can be fairly sensitive. One of my current boards goes from a nice cruiser to a ripping weapon with a difference of about 6-8 inches in rear foot position.

Best bet is to go to a shaper... as they usually have a whole range of test boards you can take out."

hmm i was thinking fishes should respond ok, maybe it is my foot positioning. I mean im no pro, no where near.. but im told the back foot should be on top of the deck pad/fins..

any tips on how to adjust foot placement after popping up? im at the stage whee im trying to get on the face and pump for speed.... cant seem to do so..

I was in this phase for awhile. I would catch the wave just fine, turn into the face and find myself caught up in white water unable to pump. You are already half way there as you've figured out the problem is your foot placement. A few things helped me.

I try to force myself to take off steeper and deeper than I instinctually want to. With a steeper drop angle I naturally end up further back on the board so that I don't dig the nose.

If the waves are fat and mushy, then I really have to remember to slide my foot back. One way to do this is to move your hands from the natural position for popping up a few inches towards the tail. Then when you pop you will be further back.

Once I was consistently getting my back foot on the stomp pad I found it easier to pump and turn.

I try to force myself to take off steeper and deeper than I instinctually want to. With a steeper drop angle I naturally end up further back on the board so that I don't dig the nose.

I find this too. The steeper the wave the more the board drops away from you and there's suddenly a lot more room to work with. And if you get it right... you see where the pros get their speed from .

It may seem backwards, but worry about your front foot placement. The backfoot is usually easier to adjust. And if your front foot is good, then your natural stance should be good and back foot over the fins. You may find that if you adjust only your backfoot, you could be in the "stinkbug" stance... which is equally useless for pumping.


Further to surf docs good comment on hands;
-Don't grab the rails, have flat hands on the board. Less tension in the forearms restricting motion.

MASSIVE TIP -Sometimes it can help to offset your hands. Let's say you're natural and so your right foot is the back foot. When you go to push up, and you normally put your hands under your shoulders (or thereabouts), put the right hand (left for goofy) back towards the bottom of the ribcage.
This offsetting does many things... "preloads" the body twist on the way up, gives ever so slightly more room to get your leg under... AND makes your feet a few inches back than they otherwise would be.

Practice your pop ups concentrating on the front foot and let your back foot fall into place.

Another tip- when practicing pop ups on the ground, dont pop off your toes, pop off your knees. i.e. when lying on the floor, have your feet up in the air and pop from there. I wish someone told me that many years ago!!

Aloha!

P.S. I had the same back foot too forward problem and those techniques helped hugely!

thanks for all the tips guys! its flat season now in HK... hoping it picks up a little. its been a couple of weeks since i've been out. itching for it!