Hey all, I have been questioning myself about duck dive... Since I finally had money to buy 4/3 wetsuit three months ago so I can surfing in the 35-45 degrees water... but I noticed my duck dive is different now. My board is 6'2" Rusty Bob 2 1/4" thickness... When I duck dive with rough rip current, for example today waves in NJ, waves intend catch me and pulls me back and made me paddle longer ha....my board isn't buoy enough to dive and resist the rip current under the wave..... I only weights 160lbs and I assume with full wetsuit adds up 10-15lbs while in the ocean. So do you think with the wetsuit adds up weight on the board affects the duck dive? Hang Loose
Maybe your board is too thin or you just havent done in a while but i weigh about 120 so i am not a lot of help
Maybe the wetsuit might absorb some water making it heavier and a little harder, i ride a 6'3 Ksmall with 2 3/8 and duck dive just fine and i weigh around 190 but maybe i got weight on my side lol
Mm okay, I do duck dive that well but with that 4/3 wetsuit, I do felt the difference... I am trying to figure out that if that wetsuit actually affected that...
im no cold water warrior. but where I live in the summer the water is 70 winter gets about 57. I go from boardies to a 4 mil fullsuit and my duckdiving is never affected. so what I gather is that it is probably the fact that u r exposing urself to super cold water. I mean, today the water temp is 58 and I duck dive as little as possible. and if its not a big wave, I don't go deep at all. its just a natural reaction. the colder and darker the water, the more I don't want to duck dive deep. I think its a physical response. tighter muscles and a mental thing. just guessing tho. jamie obrien did a cool article a few years back in surfer mag. he said how once u go down on ur initial duckdive, to hold both rails;about mid way up the side, then move the board back and forth downwards, side to side and the board will drive u down deeper. its a weird screwdriver affect. im not too good at it, but jamie says he can get like 20 feet deep with his board in hand. that would really help surfing the north shore.
Yeah maybe that ha... I haven't surf since September because of college which is far away from the ocean. I think I haven't gotten used with thicker wetsuit and colder water. I just realized I never thought of that the colder water the more dense which make it more difficult even with wetsuit... I gotta practice and get used with it. Thanks tho guys.
a 4/3 isn't thick enough for this time of year in NJ, I mean, you can do it, I did it for years as a broke-ass HS and college student, but your not going to last that long. Meaning your muscles start to lose power and flexibility very quickly, esp. during a duck dive where you're gonna have some flushing - thats why its harder. Also -- a heavier suit isn't going to make it easier to dive -the opposite in fact, as its more bouyant.
oh my god duckdiving yesterday was a *****!! I had to take like 4 or 5 hollow pounding 8 ft. waves on the head, by the third one i just couldnt feel my head anymore... that is my sole motivation to go to college somewhere warm, and maybe when i get older i will move to bali. haha
i live in jersey and im 165lbs and ride a a board that 2.15 thickness. you just need to practice duck dives in the summer i will bring my board in the pool and practice them
think about it - this is not rocket science! - wetsuits have air bubbles (that's how they help to insulate you against the cold!) - and they are buoyant - that's why scuba divers wear weight belts!
yea i know, i scuba dive. air is the best insulator of heat, that is why it is used for wetsuits and drysuits.
My thoughts exactly!! I find it hard to believe a college actually accepted someone with your lack of skill set??? Forget trying to duck dive..you need to learn ENGLISH! I'm just curious..what did you score on your SAT's(math must have been your savior)?
i think it has do to with muscle. Your all in your bordies and 2 mil wetsuits in the summer time.. then when you strap a 4/3 or thicker wetsuit on your now pulling up to 15 extra pounds. It may be more bouyant (sp?), yes, but the boyancy (again) IS the added weight. Get more muscle, and you should be fine.
