if something is puzzling me concerning boards this is the place to ask,,, so, when someone says a board "doesnt float me" are they specifically talking about when laying flat and paddling out or when standing on it. reason for question is i took one of my older boards out yesterday, as my daughter is now showing an interest and wanted to try and learn so we took it out in about 1-2 feet of water and when she stood on it it went straight to the bottom , the board is 6' 4" i would think it would be able to hold 65lb child standing still but appearantly i am wrong or do surfboards need the momentum of a swell pushing forward?compared to like a paddleboard that will float when standing no matter what? or is the board totally just shot and old?
It's been a long time since Iv weighed 65 pounds, but here's my thoughts.... 1. I would think it would float her standing still which makes me think the foam is shot 2. Boards deffinitly use that forward momentum to keep you a float. I can't stand on a 6'4 without it sinking but I can paddle/ride a 6'4 without it sinking. 3. When someone says a board dosn't float them/you, Iv always assumed it meant while paddling. Could be wrong though. But that's what makes sense to me. This probably dosn't help with your little girl, I apologize. Maybe someone with them children things can shed some light on board size for a little one
Is the board water logged? There is a sweet place when paddling and riding a board. If you find the board sinks pretty far and it seems harder to paddle, that is where the term "doesn't float me" comes in. On the other hand, if while paddling, the board floats really high and paddling seems like you are jsut gliding through, the board floats you very well and maybe too well for some people. Any short board you just stand up on is going to sink a certain amount. Does this make sense? I am sure some of the other fellas/ladies can add to this
View attachment 15409 its the old rip curl..i think its dead actually..but she likes the designs,colors shape for some reason http://www.swellinfo.com/forum/showthread.php?26183-Rip-Curl-Surfboard-100
Frosty my boy, there is so much more to surfing than the amount of foam under you. Yes, that board has seen better days but I don't think it will sink with 65 lbs on it. She should be able so sit on it and have the nose out of the water and when she is paddling should have most of the board minus her ankles out. Read all of these articles here http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/boards but especially Bob Simmons and Hulls 1 & 2, Bottom Line 1 & 2, Wide Open, and Off Your Rocker. There are some very intelligent guys on here that can answer your questions but you need to have a good base of knowledge before you can ask a more specific question. It's very interesting to me and helps keep you in the surf mindset when there is no surf in the low country.
yea i have some others that are quite a lot better shapewise etc,,but well for her i think it was a fashion thing looks wise,,i have a nice same sized thicker epoxy one but is just plain white and i guess boring looking..lol
You're overthinking it...."doesnt float me" is usually just a quick way of saying a particular board doesn't have enough volume for them in general. Unless the board is completely and literally waterlogged, a 6'4" is more than enough float for a 65 pound kid. With that said, that shape is about as bad as you could get though for learning....although my guess is just about every 8 year old in Indonesia is currently learning on something exactly like that.
my first shortboard was way too small for me. I could catch waves on it, but it was only good for the take-off...if a wave got weak at any point, the board would sink and/or feel like someone put the brakes on. So, yes, I would say wave size/power and momentum do factor in to the amount of float.
Frost- this is exactly what is meant by a board 'not floating you' It's when you sink it to your armpits when your sitting on it. Thus it's harder to paddle and catch waves. It's still surfable... Some guys actually like it that way.. Idk why. Either way- you can still ride a wave if you sink a board either by sitting or standing on it. Ps- the red foam board would be easiest to teach someone on... Even if it's huge board. Take her out two times with a kid and the kid will learn and be able to surf after two time...
Looks fun! Hey Frost, i've been a little outta the loop lately, what is the progresss on standing up on a wave?
"funboard" - check trac pad on anything over 6'6" - check trac pad too far up - check flame graphics - check NSP - check I'm not making fun of you frost, just the board. We were all beginners at one point. I still kind of am.
well went out sat. a.m ...still practicing popping up on land mostly,,but am getting a bit better at it..both feet landing near where they should..right foot is exactly where it should be ....left foot still too far near left rail,,need to bring it more toward center..i see no reason to try a wave if i cant pop up to the right spot and balance the board,,id only fall and come off of it
lol i know,hey look at my progress my first board was a 7'6 semi gun no way i could learn on it.. for 60.00$,which was bought with profits from selling some other boards,its basically a free beginner board for me.. and it paddles like a champ
