Ride report by Steve83

Have you considered hooking up a small battery powered trolling motor to the kon-tiki log? Bet it needs one.

 

Oh yeah, 9th is good. That whole area down to the pier has been getting better than past years IMO. I'd write off the washout for that board there are much better longboard spots on Folly. Have you put a leash on it yet? I know you were hesitant about putting one on based on Roy's suggestions.

Let me know what you think about the gloves. I'd recommend busting out a bunch of push ups to get your paddle strength up over the gloves.

 

Just step up your paddle game Steve.

 

Don't rule out IOP. 9th st and 31st st have been producing some very long rides this summer.

 

Do you slightly cup your hands while paddling? This should give you an extra boost over flat handed paddling.

 

Trew Brew.

Come on out to Folly too. I know you're a east sider but you're too young to have the bridge crossing phobia so many have in our town. I spent a couple years only surfing IOP and I kinda regret it because it's such an easy wave. Easy but limiting, I've had to make a couple adjustments to accomodate the laziness that I could get away with on IOP. Folly packs more punch but you do have a better chance of riding all the way to the beach at IOP.

Steve,
Brew does have a point here, IOP is probably you're best bet and it's probably not any further from N Chas than Folly.

 

The problem also might be the 7" of rocker on your board.

 

I surfed the pier a couple times last summer on Folly. It honestly felt just like 31st on IOP, but was a fun time. I am sure both spots were decently punchy last weekend. I would love to get down to Folly more often, but summer traffic pisses me off so much.

 

The pier is the most IOP-esque spot on Folly. The waves gradually get steeper as you near the washout.

I hear ya. When I was living on Sullivan's Island, I rarely made it out to Folly. I couldn't justify leaving the beach to go to the beach. Traffic has calmed slightly with the drinking ban just don't try to go out there at 12pm.

I usually go early AM and in the afternoon so traffic is rarely a problem

 

Dude, i'm sure you're a cool guy and all and everybody seems pretty stoked about your wooden board that you built, which bravo man, that's incredible, BUT, If I were you, i'd spend a little more time paddling and learning to surf then learning to build surf boards. It would be a damn shame if you can built a great board but can't even paddle well enough to catch waves on it. That just seems bass ackwards to me.

"I'm thinking the gloves will help catch the ones I just missed", which is probably most of them if you have come to the point where you think you need gloves. It's not going to help btw, if you can't catch waves, you can't catch waves....

 

I dunno ... the gloves could look spiffy when accessorized with a striped helmet & an orangina flightsuit.

 

And not to pile on (well yeah to pile on) a better beginner board would have less rocker so you could get into the wave sooner and it would be easier to paddle. Maybe you should get started carving a new board and shelve the current one.

 

Oh totally, the image that comes to mind is pure gold. If you could find a picture of this I would make it my "avatar", isn't that what the kids are calling it these days?

 

Steve, i'm sure you catch plenty a wave (no sarcasm , don't take my comment too much to heart. I think it's just not going to help you in anyway though, ever wonder why you almost never see surfers wearing them? Just to give you an idea of how silly it is, I can and have caught waves on my SUP WITHOUT my paddle, using my bear hands (yes BEAR hands), just like on my regular surf boards, it's just a fatter surboard when you boil it down to basics. Fins on a body board makes sense since you gotta hug that little pillow with your hands. I just don't want you to get your hopes up thinking you'll suddenly be catching waves with the "supplementation" of gloves...

 

Phew! Wouldn't want to ruin your ride report with some silly off-topic discussion. Good move.

 

What ride report??? hahahaha

 

steve how does the surf forecast look in SC? Maine is garbage right now. thats whats keeping me focused on my current build.. New England has been scattered thunder and literally ankle high waves for a month now.. Anyways I do look forward to hearing more about your PP board and how it performs. Also did you draw that plan shape by hand and if so do you have any tips on creating it?