how to turn????

[Guest]

Hi

Great website. Still having trouble turning my board, especially right after the take off. Friends told me to push my weight down onto the surboard to turn. Is that true??? Is there another way to turn ????

Thank you MUch

[sinistapenguin]

I have explained this in a few posts on this site now, so here goes again.

It helps to understand a little about how a board works.

Think about this. If you are in a canoe and you dig a paddle in on the right hand side, you will turn right. If you do it on the left you turn left. The reason is that you are creating drag with the paddle and the momentum of the boat causes you to turn.

A surfboard works in the same way - mainly because of the way the tail is designed. Run your hand along the rail of your board and you will notice that the edge gets much sharper at the tail. If you put your weight on the tail of your board, it will slow you down. So, if you put your weight on the tail and on the right hand side, you will create drag on that side and the board will turn that way. Therefore if you are regular footed (left foot forwards) and you put your weight over your toes on your right foot, the board will turn to the right.

If you try this, you will probably notice that you turn, but you lose all your momentum and the wave overtakes you. So, next step. If putting your weight over the tail slows the board down, putting the weight over your front foot does the opposite. Essentially it pulls the resistance area (tail) out of the water more and the board moves on the planing surface in the middle. The trick is to find the balance between front and back. The more weight on the front, the slower the turn, the more on the back, the faster.

Play with this theory and you will get it!! - One final point, the faster you are going, the easier it is to lean over with your weight - centrifugal force and all that.

Cheers

Sinista

[OHHHHH YEAHHHHHH!]

just remember to keep your wiegth shifted. If you are doing a cutback and feel 'out of control', hang in there and the board should come beneath you and you will have control. And if u need help with forehand bottom turns, just lean and keep your knees bent. If u want more 'bite' in your turn, push more with your legs.