pearl-diving on 9'0" longboard?????

most likely you are lining up similar to where you would take off on a shortboard - with a longboard you should be sitting quite a ways outside and be up and cruising by the time you get to where you would normally start paddling on your shortboard. But still paddle your butt off like you were on your shortboard. You really have to change your lineup mentality when you switch to a big board.

 

Most likely. . .

it's you. If it keeps pearling when you do certain things, then don't do them anymore. On a more practical side, try adjusting your approach to the wave with a tad more angle. Once you get the knack of turning the board more effectively, you should find some success.

Longboards are quite a different creature from your average shortboard. Different style, and different skills package. Also, wave types have a lot to do with it. The advantage of a longboard is the ability to pick up the wave further outside where it's not as steep, but if you're still trying to do one paddle takeoffs on the inside, you're asking for face-plants. Be patient, and go for the fun factor, and you'll eventually get a handle on it.

 

its not weight of the repair. If the board was completely snapped and the rocker botched, that could do it, but your board wasn;t snapped in half.

It sounds like operator error

My advice on paddling into waves on a longboard, is to sit outside, paddle fast, early in, and a nice mid-face turn with weight shifted back, then trim forward and your off to the races/cover-ups. nothing more fun than longboarding in hollow walls.

 

i think that your problem may be that when you pop up to stand, you are too far forward on the board, the increased weight up front is causing the pearl. focus on getting on your feet farther back on the deck of the board - when you're on particularly bigger (or more hollow) waves, it sometimes almost feels like you need to be standing right on top of the skeg!

 

its just you. its just you man.

 

When i first started surfing, it was on a shortboard, after a year or two i bought a longboard and was having the same problem. I noticed that i knew how far forward i was popping up on the longboard, but i realized that i knew visualy how much board was in front of me on the shortboard to work right, and natural tendancy was settin in on the longer board. So.... Kurplunk i went, nose in every time. Just think about standing up further back on the board, and you'll be fine. There's nothing quite like a nice slow run on a longboard on a glassy day. good luck

 

your too far up on the nos back down and it takes time to find the sweet spot for where you can stil catch the waves but the nose wont go down.

 

duck dives

think we all go through this when surfing a shortboard for 10-20 years then trying to pick up one of these logs; my problem was staying to far inside then getting creamed on take off, but you just experimnet with it and eventually will find the sweet spot on the board and how far outside to sit in the lineup...... good thing is that you have the right of way, especailly right on the peak


On another note does anybody have some advice on the duckdives: I've got the whole role the board upside down then pull it under the wave... my only problem is when I'm under the wave sometimes I lose my grip on the board beacuse the sides are slippery ( new expoxy) is there anything I can do to help me get a better grip??? maybee put some wax there??

 

That right there sounds like a problem that can be solved with handles. Just an idea. Strap some handles on that longboard and no more slippy rail.

 

thats what i do just put some wax were you hold the board and you wont slip for how many times. trust me it works.

 

I too had this problem at one point. The best thing to do is stay outside further and get the wave earlier.If you do find yourself going for one too far inside, stand up fast and as soon as possible. There will be a fine line between a premature stand up and the right time to pop up when doing this. Also begin standing much farther back on the board than normal to avoid a nose dive and gain control, then move forward to regain speed. Some longboards have little to no rocker which will make your nose diving problem worse. As far as duckdiving on a longboard, fuhgedaboudit.

 

To the OP, I suggest you focus on taking off on an angle. On a high-rocker short board you can be facing straight towards the beach and then wip a bottom turn, but on a longboard, especially if you're new to it, you need to cheat a little and take off early at a bit of an angle. To start with, take off facing the direction that the wave is going. It helps to get in early, but an alternative if you're a little late is to take off in a less critical section of the peeling wave where it is not quite as steep. The key here is to angle the board, paddle hard, wait until the wave is pushing you, and then pop up. You'll already be pointing in the correct direction so no real bottom turn is needed.

Once you get the hang of that, you can experiment taking off facing in the direction towards the breaking wave (eg, if it's a right, point a little to the left on take off). Then when you pop up, plant that back foot and wip the board around as you hit the bottom of the wave. If you do it right, your momentum will carry you back up the wave and slot the back of the board in the mid-to-upper part of the curl. You can then cross step right up to the tip (with practice of course), or pump down the wave again.

I suggest you get a few longboarding movies and watch how they do the take off - bottom turn - trim.

 

NOW yur talking! This is gonna get you slotted/barreled on the log. This works nicely on a log with some tail rocker, after pearling is no longer a problem and you're bored with the "point and paddle" stuff mentioned above that instantly takes you way out on the shoulder.

 

base coat only on the rails where you put ur hands. works like a charm

 

I agree also that you have to be back farther on the takeoff,Now in then I use my buddies 8ft and have the same problem.I think you just have to experiment until you find the right spot where your nose will stay up.Dont let that 9 footer hit you in the head.ouch

 

I just learned to surf this year, but will give you a beginner tip that will guarantee to get the young, experienced sufers howling, but it works. I too surf on a 9\'0, and with the waves here at Carolina Beach, I pearl and get pitched quite a bit. I start very early, and paddle like mad, and many times I get on the wave, but they stand up so quickly here that I still pearl. So, I stay on my knees or continue to lay on the board until after the wave breaks, then I stand up late. Unfortunately, it gives you fewer options of what you can do with the wave once you are up, but for me, I can ride all the way into the sand and jump off the board without even getting my toes wet! (I can here them laughing right now!) This may also relate to your problem: alot of times the waves here are tall enough, but don\'t seem to have a great deal of power. If I stand on the back of my board, it\'s like slamming on breaks and I just drop right off of the wave. I have found that once I am up, my sweet spot seems to be more than half way up the length of my board, which seems really weird, but that\'s where I have to stay to keep enough speed to stay on the wave and ride it all the way in. I hope some of this beginner knowledge helps you out with your surfing!!

 

As others have already said, you probably need to stand farther back while taking off. Plus, it sounds like you may be paddling too far out in front of the wave. Maybe you need to stall a bit just before you stand up. This will keep the nose up and keep the tail in the water more.

I hope that explains what I'm thinking.

 

You are probably taking off too steep/deep/late or you are standing way too far forward on the board. Try not to point the board straight at the beach when you takeoff, go at an angle pointing more down the line. Try and take off a bit more towards the shoulder as opposed to the peak.

You should be nowhere near the middle of the board when you first stand up. In order to crank a smooth bottom turn on a longboard, your back foot needs to be back about where the fin is. As you come out of that first bottom turn then focus on shuffling your feet forward (to get the board more in trim). When you get that down, don't shuffle your feet - cross step.

 

Arching your back will also help keep the nose out of the water. Once the wave picks you up a bit, arch your back as hard as you can and pop up quickly. For some logs you'll need to be surprisingly far forward while paddling to be in the sweet spot. Really just takes repetition.