Takayama in the pink...tough paddle

[voyager]

has anyone else tried a Takayama In The Pink? I bought a 9'3" last year with the idea of getting more nose time than my Walden Mega Magic 9' which I love [paddles into anything] but probably isn't the most stable board for cross stepping/nose riding. The thing is , the Takayama
[ Tuflite, Surftech] is one of the toughest boards to paddle into a wave that I've ever known, the wave has to be nearly perfect for it to catch with any reasonable ease. As you're going into the wave the board nose lifts quite noticably and if there's a hint of backwash in the wave or slightly deeper water you'll miss it . Obviously the nature of the concave gives the lift for getting those noserides but...
Has anyone else had any experience with them?
Did anyone find a knack to get the thing going?

[Big H]

What did you ride before/what are your other boards? How big are you? I have a big (10'4") epoxy nose rider longboard that for my size (97kg) paddles fast....at least faster than my 9'2" performance longboard by the same company. Bigger board has more float, more surface area and I can paddle into a wave more easily than I can the smaller longboard....the smaller longboard has more rocker, sits lower in the water, a narrower tail and is able to handle bigger waves more comfortably.....BUT....I have to catch the bigger waves later than on my bigger board and the wave is steeper and I have less time to get up and on.....could be that you need to catch the wave later cause though that board is labeled as a nose rider, it has a fair amount of rocker.....board made to handle big or small Hawaiian I'm guessing which is what mine are. Relatively speaking both my Jimmy Lewis longboards paddle like pigs, they both have a good amount of rocker, but I need that surfing here and it works great for me. Might be the board you have isn't exactly suited for the conditions, for you or both. That being said, longboards are pretty forgiving and I'm sure you can make that board work; paddle 5m inside of where you have been trying to get on, then 5m again until you find that magic spot.

[Big H]

[waikikikichan]

Like with any board, you need to always adjust where you chest/body lays down for that particular board and for conditions ( off-shore / on-shore , high tide / low tide, fresh / 2 hours later ). My advice is too scoot up your chest 1 inch. Catch a few, then move up another 1cm. If you begin to barely pearl, that’s good. As you said the nose lifts a lot, so it will pull up as you drop down.

[BaNZ]

When I purchased my first board, the owner of the shop showed me the takayama in the pink. She stepped on the tail and showed me the rocker of the board. She told me that board is not suitable for a beginner because I will nosedive easily with a board like that. They were recommending a cheaper epoxy board. She told me to come back and get takayama when I can catch at least 90% of the waves that I paddle for. Back then I would only get 2-3 out of 10 waves.

[Tudeo]

She stepped on the tail and showed me the rocker of the board. She told me that board is not suitable for a beginner because I will nosedive easily with a board like that.

Did she mean the board didn't have enough rocker or too much? Asking because interested in getting a nose rider myself, and interested in the 'Pink', I thought they have relatively flat rocker but could be wrong.

[waikikikichan]

Most noseriders have “reverse rocker” compared to “regular” boards. Entry is normally flatter yet towards the back there’s a kick up in the tail. So you are correct, the in the pink is relatively flat. It’s not the same rocker like on a progressive high performance longboard.
I don’t know why some (sales)people recommend the in the pink for beginners. They’re not able to control the tail.

[BaNZ]

She stepped on the tail and showed me the rocker of the board. She told me that board is not suitable for a beginner because I will nosedive easily with a board like that.

Did she mean the board didn't have enough rocker or too much? Asking because interested in getting a nose rider myself, and interested in the 'Pink', I thought they have relatively flat rocker but could be wrong.

She mean't that it doesn't have enough rocker and I would nosedive easily as a beginner. But the way I see it is that with less rocker, you will paddle faster which would help you catch the wave before it gets too steep. But I guess beginner doesn't have the strength to paddle harder so it kinda makes sense?

[Tudeo]

Yes for a beginner it's better to have some nose rocker to avoid pearling, i guess.
An experienced surfer would know how to position himself and paddle fast to take advantage and get in early, if the wave permits.
If the wave is steep you'll have to angle the takeoff, the fast paddling speed will help with that.

For me it's the ease of paddling that's getting more and more appealing. I'm looking for an allrounder that lets me play around with nose riding, lets me turn and handle overhead conditions. But most important is paddle speed.

Maybe something like this: https://shop.firewiresurfboards.com/collections/firewire/products/longboard-the-gem

Earlier this year Taylor asked Dan to consider a ‘one board in the trunk’ option for long boarders who want both trim and turns; he was essentially asking Dan for a design that would land somewhere between his TJPro and his TJEveryday.

I like this review of the In The Pink

[Pubsurfer]

Interesting, I recently got a chance to demo the 9’3” Takayama pro. The main reason I’m buying one is how easy it is to paddle and catch waves early. I don’t know what board your coming from or how much experience you have....But I find your review a bit odd. IMO

[IB_Surfer]

has anyone else tried a Takayama In The Pink? I bought a 9'3" last year with the idea of getting more nose time than my Walden Mega Magic 9' which I love [paddles into anything] but probably isn't the most stable board for cross stepping/nose riding. The thing is , the Takayama
[ Tuflite, Surftech] is one of the toughest boards to paddle into a wave that I've ever known, the wave has to be nearly perfect for it to catch with any reasonable ease. As you're going into the wave the board nose lifts quite noticably and if there's a hint of backwash in the wave or slightly deeper water you'll miss it . Obviously the nature of the concave gives the lift for getting those noserides but...
Has anyone else had any experience with them?
Did anyone find a knack to get the thing going?

Riding a tuflite epoxy board and comparing it to a fiberglass board there is a world of difference. I bout the Takayama 10'2 a while back and it paddled worse than my 9'6. Also, since it is lighter, it seemed to shake if there was any kind of chop. I honestly sold it withing 3 months of having it. The fiberglass boards are heavier, so they cut easier through the chop, and usually make it easier to noseride. Lastly, a 9'3 is not a good size to noseride unless you weigh 150lbs, I can barely noseride my 9'6 at 175lbs, but since I don't longboard much I have not bought a bigger board.

Hope that helps, based on my limmited experience surfing longboards, I usually only ride a longboard a few times a year.

[tommykrebs]

Hello,

last August I bought a Takayama ITP 9ft (PU) and since then I catched four (4!) waves with it. Four from a couple hundreds paddling attemps. It is easier to catch waves, around 2m height, with my long Phish (7ft). But one meter mellow waves with the Takayama, not a chance. I weight bit more than 80kg at the moment and my paddling skills and my endurance are good. When I watch other longboarders (most have longer boards than 9ft), they catch shallow waves very easy and their paddling speed is much higher too. I tried everything with no positive result. When I go out with the Takayama I catch nothing. I cannot move more towards the beach to paddle in steeper sections. The wave will break before I start to glide and if I move my body further towards the nose I will pearl. In my opinion the wrong board for me to catch smaller waves or do I miss something? It's a pitty to pay so much money and gain nothing. Why didn't I bought a longer board in the first place, you ask? I couldn't get it in my camper van.

cheers, Thomas

[jaffa1949]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the board you don‘t need longer , not sure what but there is something wrong with your paddling technique.
What is the height of the nose out of the water when you are paddling?
Are you trying to straight paddle or looking for an angle take off?
HMMMMMM??

[tommykrebs]

I think my paddling technique is spot on. I paddle hard when the wave is reaching the tail. Not wasting energy paddling hard in the flat. I usually paddle straight down because paddling on an angle is even harder. Okay, I'm 58 now, but I do a lot for my fitness and paddle strength. Everyday yoga for instance. On the board I am in the sweetspot. Nose is almost touching the water while paddling. I see no mistake other than I'm not fast enough paddling or the wave is not steep enough. Like I said, I cannot paddle later because I will get washed.

I had a 9ft longboard years back and from my memories it had more volume. I remember to catch almost everthing. It's amazing to see other longboarders catching just humps with no effort at all. I cannot match their paddling speed.

In the end not very disappointing because I prefer to surf bigger waves with a mid size. It's just puzzling why I have such a hard time with this board.

[tommykrebs]

At least for it's 2150€ it is very pretty, hanging from my ceiling. I think I am done with it. Doing something over and over again and expecting a different result... you know what I mean....

[jaffa1949]

At 74 I can still call you youngster, but since you know your way around a board, not sure what to offer by way of advice!
The whole seems to be alittle 50:50 on paddling

[tommykrebs]

Thank you anyway. And yes, it's not the board, it's the indian. But have to add that I watched a lot of different longboarder and how they paddle into the same waves. There are very experience guy's who can paddle into steeper sections with almost no paddling required and I don't have this skill of perfect timing. There are the hard worker, paddling early, hard and very fast on longer boards, which I can't do either and finally young woman with 50kg/110lbs catching every wave they want. I weight at least 30kg more. I could only compensate this with more experience and very good timing. So, I have to be realistc and paddle for a wave at the peak somewhere manageable before the wave gets too steep. The 9ft Takayama has not enough volume for me to catch small waves. At least for my skills.

[tommykrebs]

And for paddling I'm using the Rob Case method (YouTube) which I practiced for 2 month, every day, in a regular swimming pool. I can paddle for many hours without getting tired, which is very nice. But I know there is a difference between endurance and explosiveness power. Maybe my problem is the latter. I need more slope to catch a wave.

[BaNZ]

And for paddling I'm using the Rob Case method (YouTube) which I practiced for 2 month, every day, in a regular swimming pool. I can paddle for many hours without getting tired, which is very nice. But I know there is a difference between endurance and explosiveness power. Maybe my problem is the latter. I need more slope to catch a wave.

I used to live very far from the beach and would go surf once a month. Throughout the week I would swim none stop for 3-5km. Then I get to the beach and I'm out of breath after a few waves. It's just different set of muscles. To be lying on your belly and engaging core muscles + lifting chest and the whole shebang is just tiring.

After moving close to the beach and surf few times a week for the last two years. It's just so easy to paddle. It doesn't even come across my mind that I'll miss a wave because of my paddle. It did took me almost a year to train up paddling. It's a combination of skills, being able to read the wave, at the right position and paddling strength. Because I don't have the skills like the others, I trained up so much that I can out paddle anyone at my local break. My point is just keep practicing and you will get there eventually.

[tommykrebs]

Thanks for the kind words. I surfed during a round the world trip in 2009 and started last September in France again. I live in my RV and I need something to do. Now I'm in Peniche, Portugal. On the way up here I paddled a lot in vain but at the same time I learned a lot about waves. For instance, why I nosedive and go over the handlebar when paddling for hollow breaking waves with my longboard. haha. The problem is that once I catch a wave, probably because of pure luck, I'm pretty good in surfing the wave. Surfing is like learning to play Golf, but different. But it doesn't matter how much you suck at Golf, at least you play Golf. I'm just paddling. Decide what is more frustrating. The reason I bought the Takayama was not because longboarding is a lot of fun but to catch more waves. Gain more experience. My weight is 83kg/183lbs and the Takayama has just a 70L volume. Too little volume for my weight and skills.

I am too old to be frustrated, but ambitious enough not to quit because I understand that catching a wave with almost no paddling is an experienced skill. From tomorrow on I will solely concentrate on catching the wave without thinking about taking off. To paddle hard till I feel the glide and going into the cobra pose, pulling out and repeat. Otherwise, when the waves are big, steep and hollow, I tend to panic when the tail of the board is lifting and I know that I have no time at all to jump on the board. I had a couple going over the handle bar moments with the Takayma and this was pretty scary. So, I think that the Takayama is not a "hard to paddle board", but it would be easier for me to have more volume.