Surfing Waves

I just got a 7'6" FireWire Addvance LFT a couple months ago and am using FCS Carver PC thruster fins. I'm 6' and 195lbs and in great shape, and workout all the time so that I can surf whenever I want and not get tired easily. I surf in beach break in southern Maine year-round, and have been surfing for a year and a half, and taught myself 2 winters ago how to surf and progressed quickly last year from my 8'4" soft top to cheap boards off Craigslist and to the new Addvance. My preferred board was an 8'4" Al Merrick M13 for bigger waves and when I wanted to do more than my soft top would really allow. I got a 6'8" Dominator off Craigslist for next to nothing and tried it but I'm not ready for a board that short. So, I got the Addvance thinking it would be a good transition board and if anything, a fun board to have for the summer lull. That said, I've taken the Addvance out a few times now and while the conditions were "poor to fair" according to Surfline, there were some decent waves although a bit of wind and bump on the water. I've really struggled to paddle this board. I can catch waves fine but just moving in the water, it's like I'm a rock or something. I can paddle for hours and seemingly not move. Granted, we have a pretty wicked strong side current up here where I surf that is tricky to navigate when the surf is up and a storm has just passed. And we often surf right after a storm here because... waves. I'm finding this Addvance more difficult to paddle (not to catch waves) than my 6'8" Dominator and I'm not even ready for something that small. I figure my positioning has got to be the problem. I try to get my chest and shoulders over the wide section just as/before the rails begin to narrow at the front toward the nose. I've tried pushing back an inch or so from that and no luck. It's like I'm in one of those Infinity pools paddling nowhere. On my 8'4" I can paddle for miles and paddle all around my local beach and can get some momentum with a lot of work on the 6'8" Dominator and was able to paddle fine on the Al Merrick M13 as well. What am I doing wrong? I really want to enjoy this board. The conditions have been basically like a full bathtub in an earthquake, so there's been a lot of bump and texture on the water. One day I was out and it was small but clean and glassy and my board would move but just barely. Thanks for your help!

I am going to guess you need to go a little more forward on the board. One of the boards I have was like that at first then I moved forward an inch or two and suddenly it was all good. When I paddle it the nose often goes under water but that seems to be the key for that board. Not sure about yours but in general if the nose isn't going under and digging deeper as you paddle it might be a little more forward will help. if you hold the board and look from the nose to the tail, that is what has to be pushed through the water. If you then lift the nose up the amount of profile that you can see will increase so as you bring the nose up it requires you to push more water when you paddle.

Thanks oldmansurfer. There will be some lingering swell tomorrow after today and although the size will be smaller hopefully the conditions will be less bumpy and windy like it was today. It's usually a bit rougher the day after a storm but with an added day it's much cleaner but smaller as long as the wind cooperates. I'll try moving farther up when I paddle and see how it moves.

I surfed that Board last year and found that while it packs a lot of volume (I weigh 200lbs), it is very sensitive to your position. That may have to do with the narrow nose. At first paddling I had the feeling of being pulled back by someone else, but it is just positioning. One inch makes a huge difference on this board and so does how much you arch your back. I found it too difficult and actually frustrating to find the right spot. I wanted to like it, but didn't. But now I love my 8.4 CI Waterhog. Same volume, but much more fun.

put the board on flat water without you on it and look at how it naturally sits, where the nose is etc. Then, when you get on the board, position yourself so the board is (as much as possible) in the same position as it was when you werent on it. thats your starting position

The addvance has a bit of a nose flip, so that will push water and make things harder.So you may find that going slightly forward of the 'natural' float position helps, to push the nose down a bit and hence reduce the impact of the rocker (nose curve)

being such a light board (like all firewires), as Oldie pointed out, a small adjustment in weight will affect the board a lot more than for a heavier board.

All my boards are high volume boards. I have an 8 foot board and it paddles really well and it has lots of nose and tail rocker but flatter in the middle. My 7'6" board is the one I had trouble with. It has very little rocker and moving a very little bit made a huge difference but if the water is choppy the nose goes underwater with the chops. My new board is an 7' egg and wide in the nose and it paddled really well from the start (not quite as good as the 8' board) but it has a gentle continuous rocker. I am 6 foot tall and where I normally want to lay seems good. I think they all have around the same volume because I sit the same height on them all.

I (182cm 76kg) use an 6'6" Addvance and I think it paddles great, but it's all so relative to what you're used to.
The guys before me already said it, you'll need to find the optimal angle for the board in the water, dtc gave a good pointer for that.
The Addvance has a low overall rocker but a strong nose flip, so you'll need to move forward to get that nose down to get the board as horizontal as posible.

Thanks everyone. I took it out yesterday in a weakening swell but much cleaner conditions than the day before which was bigger but very difficult to navigate because of the storm being so near at sea. It was 2-3' yesterday when I went for dawn patrol and a very light cross shore wind which made for some clean and some closeouts, but all much faster than usual. I found a dark piece on the bamboo deck that I aligned my eyes with to make sure I was far enough forward. I found it much easier to paddle and part of it was likely the strong current and bumpy water which made it difficult as well. The next challenge was that because I was so far forward when I would take off on waves for the first time in what seems like a long time I would have a hard time getting back enough on the board without slowing paddle speed and the board would pearl. Even when it didn't pearl I found it difficult to get my feet back far enough on the popup to find those sweet spots for my feet. I say sweet spots for my feet because I've noticed you can take off on this board with the volume and skill from riding waves relatively easily, but unless you have your feet in the sweet spots you won't control the board so much as the board controlling you or at least mostly. Should my back foot be over the center fin and tail pad like most boards or because of the forward paddle position and length, should it be just in front of the tail pad? I've oddly enough found that it seems to respond well when I ride it like my Carver skateboard which is a hybrid length between short and longboard with my back foot in front of the tail and close to the right tail and my front foot just past the middle of the board and slightly to the left of center (regular foot). Have you had the same experience with a 7-8' board? I imagine a 6' Addvance would be different being so much shorter that the paddle position is likely different and it probably would be more typical, like my 6'8" Dominator. I've found that I need to take a step or two back after takeoff on the 7'6" to get my feet locked in the right spots and that it doesn't seem manageable to swing it right at takeoff when I'm so far forward. The alternative is to move back on the board a bit after getting into lineup position and still paddle like hell but catch the wave and have your feet farther back at popup in nearer the sweet spots, though the difficulty with paddle speed when moving even an inch or two back. My guess is I just need more time in the water with it to figure it out like any board. Yesterday I tried it for an hour to try different positioning and paddling but it was more difficult to catch waves, so I swapped for my log and caught everything. It always feels good to catch everything but I know if I want to progress I have to put myself in the position of missing a lot of waves while trying to figure out a different board. I guess I just want to have fun until then as well, lol.

One of the problems in switching boards is they require different popups and paddling positions both on the board and on the wave and different tactics if they are markedly different. If you want to surf the 7'6" board you can learn to or if you would prefer another board use that one. Like I said I surf an 8 foot board which took me a while (like 6 months surfing only 30 minutes a week) to relatively consistently do the right popup and footing after riding a 9'6" longboard for 3 years. I never felt like I wasn't catching waves just that I couldn't consistently do some maneuvers. My 7'6" board didn't give me any problems other than the paddling position as I mentioned above and the 7 foot egg never gave me any problems at all as it seems to match my natural desire to paddle popup and stand.. Maybe you are too far forward. A board that size an inch or two would be all you need to change so having to step back means that is more than an inch or two. But if you want easy then try to find a board that is easy for you to ride.

SaltWaterHeart wrote: Should my back foot be over the center fin and tail pad like most boards or because of the forward paddle position and length, should it be just in front of the tail pad?

To answer your question, here's a question: Do happen to be turning at that moment ? "Rule" is your foot should be over the fin(s) when turning. If you're not turning, then it doesn't need to be directly over the pad ( but it might have to be in a split second )

Good question waikikikichan! I haven't progressed in my surfing at this stage of the game where I'm doing a whole lot in terms of top of the lip and top turns. No doubt I've done more than a few top turns but it's just kind of happened and hasn't been so intentional. My most comfortable style of surfing just cruising down the line at this point in the critical section. I'm working on my timing for better take offs as well as speed in pop ups and thinking about the different things I want to try on waves, but the bottom turn is really the only thing I have down well. In light of that, I've been approaching this board like I taught myself on the other boards and just trying to take off and cruise down the line by angling first before experimenting with stuff I might do on other boards and do well. Generally, when my feet are in the sweet spots on the board and my back foot in front of the pad and to the right, I feel like I have a good enough feel and enough control to anything without moving my feet and I can do a strong bottom turn pretty close to the water without moving my back foot. I know if I want to do more maneuvers that I really need to use the pad for faster turns and snaps, but for trimming down the line it doesn't seem that I need to move my foot much. I just wasn't sure on a board that size if my feet had to be that far back or if it was normal to be in front of the pad? We have a small swell coming over the weekend and the wind should calm enough early next week to take it out again, but I'll definitely experiment with it more. Again, I think I just need more water time with it and need to be careful to not surf it like my longer boards but figure out how to surf it as is and just go with it. I love the process of figuring a board or spot out and surfing them different ways. Some of the sweet nuances that help with the stoke of a good time on the water.