Duck diving a 7'2

[Mrsnikayy]

Hi I have be surfing on a longboard for a while and have been doing turtle rolls. I was thinking of moving down to a 7'2 fun-board and was wondering. Can you duck dive on it?

[jaffa1949]

It's a skill you have to develop , but yes

[waikikikichan]

I can't duck dive a 7'2" because I am so small and light. Depending on your height and weight maybe you could with proper technique. However in Hawaii, there are surfers that duck dive their 9'0" longboards.

I hope you're not moving down in size because you're tired of turtling/rolling thru.

[billie_morini]

Yes, it can be done. You need to be aggressive (move fast and with strength). Am too old and slow now, but used to duck dive 9 ft board.

[beachbumuk]

An Aussie mate of mine taught me to duck one rail, then the other to get a buoyant board down.

So as you are padling out and trying to get the big nose down, move your weight onto one rail and as that sinks, move it back over to the other and it goes down much eaiser!

[oldmansurfer]

I have seen guys stand on floaty boards to get them to go down quickly then dive down to finish the duck dive. I used to have a 9'6" big wave gun that I could duck dive but it was real thin and narrow

[tonylamont]

Unless you are very experienced, very heavy, or both, duck-diving a 7'2" is going to be a bear. Duck-diving is probably best learned on a true shortboard, when you are ready for one.

If you are moving from a longboard to a mini-mal for the first time, there are more important things than learning to duck-dive it. I definitely wouldn't move down just in the hope that it will make it easier to get to the line-up. You should move down if your board is a limiting factor in the type of turns / maneuvers you want to do, or in the type of waves you want to ride (i.e., faster steeper waves).