Carver Skateboard

All this talk of pumping reminds me of the Fibre Flex Henry Hester model I used to ride. Google it. They had slalom competitions that you had to pump around cones in the fastest time, early 70's I think. Those were the days, right after we got off the clay wheels and into urethane. I remember power sliding the clays and getting flat spots haha. I may have to try one of these Carvers, looks pretty cool.

 

i think im going to pick up the 31" resin...ive been watching some vids and it looks super fun. cant wait!

 

Question for the brain trust...

Below are pictures of a 10" x 29" Powell & Perralta I bought in the mid 80's. I am a young 50 y.o. learning to surf (just started last fall w/a SUP). Currently I am working with a 9' SUP (just stepped up to a nice responsive board that is designed for surfing) and I am working at bottom turns and going "down the line", either right or left. Need to build up speed, etc.

The discussion of this thread has sparked my interest and I've dusted off the old board below. My questions are:
1. Will this board be good/helpful for my surfing/carving, etc. (as discussed in this thread)?
2. Should I loosen the trucks a little to get more "play" and "carving" action. They are "Independent" trucks and seem a little stiff -- although I can do 180 kick turns.
3. What are some things I should be doing with it? Hills? Pumping through flat lots? (This may already be answered somewhere in this thread, so I can do some review)
4. Anyone do any work with Kahuna sticks or facsimiles? Looks like a good core workout that would translate to paddling.

Thanks in advance and I appreciate all the good knowledge that is shared on this forum.

 

For the SUP it's all about getting on the tail, you gotta get as far back as you can over that fin and on the rails to get the turns you are looking for. If you aren't already doing so, get that paddle in the water to help control that turn, making sure it's on the inside on the face of the wave, not on the other side of the board, weight toward the tail and you'll be surprised how much turn you can actually get, especially on the 9ft board you got, i'm working with a 12 footer and she's very fickle, but it's more manueverable than one would think with the right foot / weight placement.

To answer your question, i don't know if that particular board (although pretty cool that you still have it, I use to own one myself) is going to get you what you are looking for as far as being able to pump and get momentum and get that surfing feel, their are better options available but it would require dropping a few bucks on one of those long board skateboards. Worth a try though, what's the worst that can happen? HA HA

 

I just got a 36" a couple days ago. It's pretty awesome. Pumps easy and fun to ride.

 

Thanks hanna. I could skate this board "back in the day", and still can do 180's (although better clockwise, to the worry of my wife and embarrassment of my teen age daughter --I tell them I could do worse for a mid-life crisis ). I'll try loosening up the trucks a bit and some of your other suggestions.

@DawnPatrolSUP- Agree about foot and weight placement. Paddle is also a great asset as you say, just need to utilize it. Last couple of days been working on finding the sweet spot on the new board. It maneuvers much better than my other board, actually very responsive so I do not have to work as hard or "throw my weight" as much. Toward the end of the last session, was really getting the feel. That why I'm thinking extra "out of the water" balance, pump and carve work is going to pay off.

Similar ideas going on in the other thread "How can I learn to carve ..". Thanks for all the ideas being shared.

 

No doubt, and good luck with your progress, if you have any questions about the SUP let me know, also with regard to the skateboard, (i skated for 10+ years) you will only help your balance by messing around with that board you got, but the new carver boards that are out seem to be more similar to surfing in that it's closer in size, the smaller skateboards will narrow your stance and give you the wrong muscle memory IMO, I have some good habits i brought with me from skating and some bad ones, one of my things i'm working on now is the wider stance on the much larger board

 

That's a sick board, you could probably get a decent amount of money for it to put towards a carver if you wanted. Those old Caballeros are pretty collectible. Don't just loosen the trucks, you don't want any slop. Your best bet is to go with looser trucks and upgrade the bushings to allow for some better carving. Check out bones hardcore bushings, they are great with Independents. Any skating will help your surfing, just go cruise around and have fun man!

 

wait.. doesn't anyone bomb insanely steep hills drifting their longboard like a snowboard?? i thought thats what they were for. i've ripped through wheels on flexdex, sector 9, dreggs and a couple no names. doesnt matter. they all drift like a mutha when you're doing 25 mph.

 

and make your trucks about as loose as they can get. you dont get the wobbles if you're constantly on edge.

 

i love to carve but i've never really been into sliding other than on friends' boards. can i use any type of wheel if my trucks are loose enough? i've got a board with sidewinders but the wheels are extremely soft for doing deep carves. if i just took regular cruiser wheels and put them on that could i slide without killing myself?