6,6 39l is great board but difficult to duck dive.. advice

[lachyd333]

Hi,

My 6,6, 39l superfish 2 board is a great board. I enjoy riding it. However, I find it very buoyant when trying to duck dive waves. Anything much over the solid 3ft range and I have issues getting out as I simply can't get the board deep enough.

My problem is that I like the board and only bough xxxxx recently. I could resell it but then have no idea what would be a good board to get next. I don't want to step down too much as I'm no pro. I'd love a board that I could easily get out into 4ft waves (as that is what I need to start surfing to progress). Any suggestions on boards, or general suggestions in terms of volume/shape/dimensions would be great.

Would something around the 30-32l mark be okay at about 6,2-6,3 in length?

The other thing is that maybe i should just work on my duck dive? I use my knee and haven't figured out how to really use my leg?

Best,

Lachlan

[Big H]

How big/heavy are you and how well do you surf?

[dtc]

And noting that longboards can get out, why do you think you need to duck dive?

[waikikikichan]

1) DO NOT use your knee when Duck Diving. Use the soft(er) ball of your foot. ( unless you like deck pressures and delaminations later on )
2) If you have a tail pad, you can wrap your toes over it and use it like a ladder rung ( another good reason to use a tail pad )
3) You can push the tail deeper with the whole length of your leg than only half as much with your knee.
4) You don't need a smaller board, you need to learn proper duck diving technique, since you are currently doing it wrong by using your knee.
5 How tall and heavy are you ? I'm 5'3" and 125 lb. / 56 kg. and duck dive my 6'4" nsp fish which is very buoyant.

[kookRachelle]

when all else fails, turtle roll!!!

[lachyd333]

I'm 6,1 and about 80 kgs. The board is 6,6, epoxy 21 wide 2 5/6 thick and 39l. I'll give duckdiving with my foot a go and yeah that is a good point that longboarders manage to get out.

[waikikikichan]

I'm 6,1 and about 80 kgs. The board is 6,6, epoxy 21 wide 2 5/6 thick and 39l.

I'm 5'3" and about 56 kg. The board is 6'4", molded-epoxy 21 wide 2 1/2 thick and 40.2 liters.
It IS possible to duck dive that 6'6".
I would recommend you practice, away from the break, keeping you board submerge under the water perfectly flat at a 10cm depth. Yes, only a tiny bit under the surface with your chest/body above the water, hands hold the rail and toes of only one foot on the tail ( the other foot is counter balancing in the air. Then hold it down at 20cm. Build up ( well down ) to where you straight arm and the straight leg it ( face should still be above water ). If you can't do that,holding the board stable under the water flat, you can't do the second part, which is to scoop and go up after the wave cloud passes over you.

[waikikikichan]

Hard to find photos of surfer NOT using their knee, but here are some I found.

Screenshot 2018-02-23 at 8.39.56 AM.png (307.56 KiB) Viewed 3691 times

Screenshot 2018-02-23 at 8.38.02 AM.png (261.01 KiB) Viewed 3691 times

[lachyd333]

Thanks for reply Waikiki. I gave the foot method a go today and really struggled with it! (I don't have a a footpad which I think would help). My legs felt too long to get my foot onto the pad. I'm sure I'll get it with practice though

[dtc]

Foot pad definitely makes it easier. And for a bigger board, shuffle forward a bit and really weight down the nose (on waikikichan's pics, because they are shorter boards, they are grabbing 1/3 way down - you probably want to look at 1/4 way down). As the nose sinks, then you use your foot and rock your weight back. It does become more of a technique issue than a weight or strength issue (and its hard to develop good technique when you are starting with a big volume board ie you have to start with the hardest board to duckdive in order to learn the technique to duckdive...)

If you somehow have access to a smaller board, even a crappy one that you wouldnt surf on, you can give that a go for practice

[lachyd333]

thanks dtc and others also. Just wondering, do you bring your foot forward onto the tail pad in a straight motion (as when you are lying down) It feels impossible to do this as there's no room for your knee to bend (maybe I'm trying to move my leg through before sinking the board enough). Or do you chicken wing your leg out a bit as its sinking and then bring it in?

[waikikikichan]

Did you try the practice I recommended ? Holding the board under the water flat about 10cm.
You need to draw you knee to your chest, like the athletes do before a high jump.
( you do know you head has to moved up way forward over the nose right ? Not from the normal paddling position )

[dtc]

mmm, interesting question, had to think about how I do it!

First I lift my front body off the board (straightening arms to push the nose down) then I just bring my right foot up into the space created. So the first push you have scooted forward, but the foot is still flapping off the back of the board. Then it comes up. Perhaps there is a slight chicken wing (slightly out to the side) or maybe i'm resting slightly on my left knee (which is still on the board). But i dont really notice myself doing it.

For you perhaps its a timing thing - you straighten your arms (and get the nose underwater) first, then you bring your leg up to straighten out the board. Its more a sprinter start than a pop up

[steveylang]

Hey guys, I just got a 6’8” epoxy Hypto Krypto which is 51L. I am 5’9” and about 75 kg. Do I have a chance at learning to duck dive this board?

I have not learned to duck dive yet, but will start with Waikiki’s practice if you think it’s worth me doing it on this particular board. Based on Waikiki’s posts above (surfer weight:board volume ratio), it seems like it should be possible if I practice. It seems like a great thing to do during lulls between sets anyway.

After 2 sessions I have had no problems paddling and riding it (it’s gone well enough that I sorta wish it was 6’6 or 6’4” but this was a Craigslist find), the biggest obstacle has been that I can’t even turtle roll it very well yet LOL. If I have a shot at learning to duck dive this board I will be a very happy camper!

[waikikikichan]

the biggest obstacle has been that I can’t even turtle roll it very well yet LOL. If I have a shot at learning to duck dive this board I will be a very happy camper!

Woah Woah, you don't have the skills to grab the board with your hands, flip over on your back, and roll back over and pull yourself back onto the deck ?? Duck diving takes 10 times the skills more than Turtle Rolling. You mostly likely have "snow balls chance in hell" of duck diving.

[steveylang]

the biggest obstacle has been that I can’t even turtle roll it very well yet LOL. If I have a shot at learning to duck dive this board I will be a very happy camper!

Woah Woah, you don't have the skills to grab the board with your hands, flip over on your back, and roll back over and pull yourself back onto the deck ?? Duck diving takes 10 times the skills more than Turtle Rolling. You mostly likely have "snow balls chance in hell" of duck diving.

Ha ha, I was exaggerating a bit. It’s not that I can’t turtle roll, it’s just that the first time I did it with this board I was surprised at the difference in float vs my old board. My old board was a 7’3” hybrid, I don’t know the volume but I thought it would be similar (I guess not). So I just need to be more deliberate with this board. Everything else was easier, so it just took me by surprise when I first did a turtle roll an hour in. I only mentioned it because until I saw your post, it hadn’t occurred to me that I might be able to learn to duck dive it.

Anyway, my original question still holds- I guess with good technique it should be possible for a guy my size to duck dive this board? (not huge waves, I don’t see anything over shoulder high).

[dtc]

Paddle out to flat water and put your hands about 6-10 inches down from the nose. Straighten your arms and put all your weight over your arms. See how far you can sink the board. With really good technique, you might manage to duck dive another 6 inches deeper. With learner technique, 6 or more inches less.

Figures just rough based on a single data point (me!).

[Big H]

YES, at your (big) size 39L is not much to duck dive. You should be able to do it easily IF you practice proper technique (detailed above in WWK's posts).

[kookextraordinaire]

Yeah, it comes down to technique, as stated above.

There is one aspect which wasn't addressed. You need to have forward momentum when you start your dive. Just sinking an under-volumed board straight down deeply won't be enough, you will still be hit by the turbulence of the broken wave.

Paddle really fast towards the wave and start your dive about a meter before the broken wave. If you pull of a nice one you can even get some momentum when you come up.

Or, just be really patient, wait for a lull in the waves and paddle like a madman!