Found this shot of AB riding the original 7'er in what I assume is the 81 pipe masters.
It's a shame the swell had dropped so much overnight as I wanted to take it for a spin.
Hopefully it will come back up enough overnight to give it a paddle in the morning.
On the subjects of longboards what kind of volume does one need (or dimensions) to be able to knee paddle a longboard easily if you where 90 kgs?
I had a look around and found this old thread about knee paddling longboards.
Saw it was several pages and figured it would have some good info.
It didn't even make it to the end of the first page before it went off topic and then Roy turned up on page 2 and it got entertaining.
forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16209
I was right, and still am.
Let's face it most of these know it alls regarding rolling under just bail and rely on the leash most of the time anyway, so their opinions are just hot air.
Right or wrong is immaterial to me since I had no dog in that fight...er I mean discussion.
Though I have been on the receiving end of the throw the board away in front of me surfers at my local point.
I just wanted to figure out the requirements necessary for an effective knee paddler from the knee paddler thread.
There's a guy up here selling a 6'4 Merrick Biscuit on Gumtree. I was curious abut the volume and went to the website and saw that it's 47.4 litres. That's an SB that would even float my curvaceous form.
Amazing how much volume they are getting into some sub-7ft boards these days. Still, there's the glide-factor to think about...
And there's a nice quote that may have been shared before from Rob Machado: “…foam is your friend…don’t be scared of it. A little bit of extra foam here and there is good for the soul… and your surfing.”
it is everyones friend... I have just dropped down a bit on my new one,and although the paddle is a we bit harder,when you get on that wave it does make a big difference....on longboards a few litres here or there means fark all imo. just like taking away a 1/4 here and adding a 1/2 there,its a scam
Volume is my friend and understanding lover
She has been there on my journey back from the brinks of "Lardism".
She cresses and coaxes me out each session ensuring my ego is still pumped by a high wave count.
She is forgiving and patient, allowing for amateurish mistakes as I continue ego driven quest to cross step up and down the board, even allowing for those moments when I go for a switch stance (pretty high failure rate there atm).
We have an understanding that while her lussious curves don't allow for knee paddling, she doesn't keep point out that it has something to do with my weight, and further caresses my ego by allowing me to use my weight to burry the rail on a bottom turn.
Is she perfect? Well no! Like all women, she has "no go zones" . I am allowed to get within reach of her nose, but beyond that she is very firm that I need to shape up a lot more an loose more kilos before my toes are allowed to move anywhere near her front and caress those edges...... sigh!
Understanding? Yes.
Patient? Yes.
Forgiving? No. Be in too much of a rush to get out the back and not time sets properly and she will remind me of the importance of patience and timing with all of her volume. On smaller days I am left upside down holding onto her as we thrash around in the white water hoping she hasn't had enough and bail me.
On larger days she reminds me of just how tenuous our relationship is when I am left with no other option but to giver her her moment of freedom and hope she comes back to me , believe me there has been occasion when she has left. Leaving me to contemplate my stupidity and lack of patience/ timing as I chase her pack to the rocky shore.
Opps, I seem to have gone off on a tangent.
Volume definitely has its benefits, but as someone who has come from ridding a "Shark Biscuit" years ago, I miss being able to duck dive under waves.
This is the official way, as taught in 1965.
(And yes, I know it's not double overhead, but that's not what I surf.)