8' Simsup learning curve

[bajasurf]

There are my thoughts after surfing today.  Surfing the smaller board, I feel like a kook, until I catch wave then everything is good.

The learning curve is slow, at least for me...The board is probably way too small for my experience, but once I am on the wave, its way too much fun to ride.

This is what I have learned over the last few months... My simsup copy.8' x32" wide x 4 1/2"   I added a way to deep rounded soft double concave... Sure feels nice when surfing, but I know it slows the board down paddling..I thought I could get away with a little drag with all that wetted surface area..

I am 5.11" #220 lbs and 51 yrs old..

1) Wave positioning critical.  I can get away with murder on my 10' board, and get tons of glide.  On the simsup, I have to be on the steep part of the wave to catch it. No exceptions..

2) Paddling is critical.  On the 10',  one or two strokes, and I am in... On the Simsup, I better dig hard and deep or the wave passes me...

3) Yaw, on the 10' almost non existent.  On the Simsup, I have to attack the wave from one side and continue to paddle on the same side turning into the oncoming wave, continuing to paddle until I have caught the wave, and then take a extra dig...If I try to paddle on both sides, I hardly ever catch the wave, the board yaws side to side way too much.  I have tried all the paddling styles..

4) Pitch, on the 10' almost non existent.  The simsup, Its critical, I better be in a wide stance...

5)Trim on takeoff.  On the 10' I can trim the board with both feet parallel stance, and then when I catch the wave, step back a foot or so with the back foot, and its sooo easy to catch waves. On the Simsup, again, it only trims in wide surf stance...

6) Float/Stability.  On the 10' I just hang out and wait for waves, if I am not paddling the 8' board all the time, its hard to stay on it, especially if its a bit bumpy.

7) feet positioning critical. On my 10' it just doesnt matter...On my Simsup, if my front foot isnt centered on take off, its never good.  I usually fall off.  My back foot over the inside rail is also important...

So what I learned... I have to use a wide surf stance while paddling, its a must. Always...  Now I only paddle on surf stance.

Just thought I would share my learning experiences with the shorter board.  I only have been actually surfing the Simsup for a couple of months, so I am a beginner.  I have been catching waves on the 10' for about 6 months, again a beginner, although I have over 30 years of prone surfing under my belt.

Wish I could ride a Original SimSup.... That way I could compare.  

[surfcowboy]

This sounds about correct for an 8' or smaller SUP.

I'd love to hear from the other guys but I don't get comfortable until I'm on an 8'6" and I'm pretty small.

[PonoBill]

I have an 8'8" X 31 L41 SimSup and it is exactly as you describe. 100 percent.

[bajasurf]

Man am I glad I am not the only one... Kind of feeling Kookish. 

[Dwight (DW)]

So what I learned... I have to use a wide surf stance while paddling, its a must. Always...  Now I only paddle on surf stance.

The only part I don't agree with above. I see a lot of talk about this on the zone.

Around here, we've been on tiny boards for years. Nobody does this here. I think surf stance hurts your chances of ever getting down to a 7'3.

You should use a narrow side by side stance. It's less upsetting to the fore and aft trim. Your feet must be in the exact right spot to trim the rocker for the most speed.

I'd advise breaking the bad habit, in the interest of having better skills down the road, should you discover the advantages of going shorter.

Think about it this way...

1) We all know a wide side by side stance is less stable than narrow. Wide upsets the board too much. You become your worst enemy.

2) The same applies to wide fore and aft stances. You upset the boards trim too much fore and aft. When your feet are side by side, you are able to find the precise spot to stand. And this spot if very precise on short boards.

[stoneaxe]

Its much the same for me on my 8-4. I'm usually in between the longboarders and the shortboarders in position. If there is much wind offshore its late drops or nothing.

I don't have the same experience with trim and falling though. My board is 33" wide and I had volume left in the rails along the standing area. I move all over my board even when getting on a wave...sometimes I'm almost nose riding to push it down onto the face for the drop.

[mrbig]

Wow! Great stuff on stances on shorter boards. Should tried that on the 8'11" raws. Newbie boy is way too wide!

[bajasurf]

Hi DW,

I will try it   I will take all the positive advice I can get

I went out this am and I noticed the wide stance is less stable, but it's the only way I have been able to get into waves  I understand trim, but it's the pitch that gets me

I am heading out tomorrow am and I will start to change my stance, I really want to get this down pat

[PonoBill]

Pitch is really tricky, since it's something you normally don't encounter on longer boards unless you are WAY off. The narrow stance advice is spot on. You learn that quickly in downwinding. If you brace wide you'll fall constantly. I have a problem with putting most of my weight on one leg anyway because of my screwed up knees. Dave Kalama told me a long time ago "the easy fix is put your feet closer together". I thought he was nuts at the time, but of course he isn't. Wide stance is unstable and keeps you locked in one position because when you shift your weight the board tips.

Working towards a narrower front to back stance to handle pitch is challenging, because you need to be spot on with your front foot position. I find it's most critical to get that foot in position when you first stand up, so I move forward more than usual to get to my feet. My hands are past the end of the pad, but them I'm a stiff old geezer. The point is to get your front foot well forward when you stand, and then keep the stance fairly narrow both side-to-side and front to back so you can move on the board. But I find that when I don't start off well forward I don't really get to the sweet spot, even if I've moved around a bit. No idea why.

I do tend to surf the board more like a shortboard, with weight shifts instead of foot shifts, but I run to the nose to catch a wave sometimes. Other times I can just move my front foot a big step forward and lean. My noggin is so big it's about all I need well forward to tip the board into a face.

I fall a lot. The price you pay, and I'm constantly moving. That's cool, it's a workout.

[supsurf-tw]

I've found as I went shorter that a med width stance and a hybrid\parallel\ surfstance works best. The toes on the forward foot are about 6" in front of the toes on the back foot.

[stoneaxe]

I need to get some video of myself. Not sure I'll like what I see but I think my stance is pretty wide both front to back and side to side. I move a lot. It does surf short easily with just weight shifts but it's so easy to walk and so responsive when I move around I have a blast getting to the edges.

Pitch on these boards is so much harder...my 9'er I rarely pearl. Most of my screw ups on this board involve burying the nose. I feel like I made some big improvements on Saturday though....trimming and getting to the nose came easy for some reason. Conditions helped but I think it was more than that.

[adamrod]

One trick, that took me a bit to figure out, is on these shorter boards, it's very easy to paddle too much. On your 10', you can take 10 strokes, and be accelerating the whole time.

On your 8', my guess is after 4 strokes, you're at max speed.

So, when a wave comes, be patient. don't paddle for it. wait until it's nearly there, and take a couple beastly power strokes and you're on it.

the smaller boards accelerate faster, so you don't need to take as many strokes to get up to speed.

If you're not catching a wave after 4 strokes, you're probably waiting too far out, or you need to improve paddle strength/technique.

I also use the slightly staggered stance when paddling for a wave. feet maybe 6" apart front-back.

[supsurf-tw]

One trick, that took me a bit to figure out, is on these shorter boards, it's very easy to paddle too much. On your 10', you can take 10 strokes, and be accelerating the whole time.

On your 8', my guess is after 4 strokes, you're at max speed.

So, when a wave comes, be patient. don't paddle for it. wait until it's nearly there, and take a couple beastly power strokes and you're on it.

the smaller boards accelerate faster, so you don't need to take as many strokes to get up to speed.

If you're not catching a wave after 4 strokes, you're probably waiting too far out, or you need to improve paddle strength/technique.

I also use the slightly staggered stance when paddling for a wave. feet maybe 6" apart front-back.

This is good advice

[Dwight (DW)]

Went through iPhoto looking for some shots of the best shortboard SUP guy I know on a 7'8. Here are two waves. The paddle stance, and the drops.

Notice the feet. I looked through lots of photos and found we all twist our hips slightly to favor a better stroke. Feet offset just a few inches. But certainly not surf stance stroke.

In these photos the hips are twisted the wrong way simply because on those waves, he's on his weak side. Normal stroke and takeoff for him is paddling the other side.

[mrbig]

Went out in RI this am in choppy slop on my 9' focus. Abandoned my wide stance and tried to survive with my feet about a foot apart. Took about a half hour to feel comfortable - what a difference! Main problem was standing up and not going wide. Caught a lot of waves and hardly fell in horrible conditions. Newbie boy is grateful for all the experience everyone shares so readily. Ran into stoneaxe and pieces of eight on Friday at Eastons while riding a large hobie RAW with very distinctive dots up on the tip. Glad they were their on a little cover up. Is it ever going off shore here on CC.