Technique tips on how to consistently place rear foot on tail pad on SimSup S3

[sinrumbofijo]

 Just took delivery of my L41 S3 SimSup. 8'8" x 32" x 4 1/2". Me: 6' 195#s. Had it in very small but clean surf today in SoCal. Very impressed with the handling characteristics but a little tippier than my 9'4" North Pacific.
   Can anyone recommend practice tips for me to get my foot farther back on the tail? I tried to look down and to feel the stomp pad but the size of the surf or its lack prevented me from having much success. Are there any specific training techniques to help me ride farther back on the tail?
   Thank you for any and all advice.

[balance_fit]

Feeling. Never look down. Once you have your take off stance dialed, you'll feel your board become looser as you approach the stomp pad. If the wave is too small, and you proceed further back, you might feel it stalling. If there's some juice to the wave, the trip back to the stomp pad will be smooth and rewarded by a light and nimble feeling board.

I like to ease my way back on one single slide, on my 8' S1, depending on the wave size, right to the stomp pad on the juicier ones, or just in front of it if it's too small. Or, a short trip to the stomp pad for a quick cutback, and then a bit forward to press on the gas to catch speed for the next section.

Your board, 8 inches longer, might ask for a bit more travel back to the stomp pad.

Experiment, feel and enjoy !

[Kojack]

First off, congrats you will love the board-I am 6'2" and about your weight-just a few lbs less-my board is smaller though 8'4" x31 and I now want to go smaller.  I found it took me about 5 or so sessions to figure out placement etc.  I found that while waiting for waves I was in a fairly traditional stance with my left foot two or three inches behind my right foot-I am goofy.  As I paddle for a wave, that spread would become greater so that I am almost in a surf stance at takeoff.  Practice and become familiar with your board will help you get to the right spot.  Two tips for you-I move my feet around a bit on my simsup especially turing where positioning a foot closer to the rail will have some benefit for turning.  Also, not sure how long your surf paddle is but as I dropped into the Sub 9 ft space I went down to a much smaller paddle and blade which I really think fits.

[jumpfrom13k]

Where did you find surf in So-Cal today? It has been looking like a lake for past couple days.

[supsurf-tw]

As you catch the wave immediately move back to the stomp pad. I have one on each rail of my wide tailed board. You cant turn these boards with your back foot in the middle of the tail that's why I have a pad on each side. You have to have your toes or heel on the rail if you want to turn these boards correctly so there's a lot of back foot movement to get used to

[kneecapSUP]

After about two years on a Simmons shape,  I can tell you that your back foot will be all over the place on that board as you get used to it. My toes are on the real through a front side bottom turn then i shift over to heel on the rail to cutback. The stomp pad only gets used really on tight snaps. Because of the tail width,  you kind of surf it like two different boards,  the toe side and heel side. That's one of the reasons i think assyms were getting popular for a while. Having a real active back foot and moving it through each turn seems to be the key to performance on these things in my opinion.

[sinrumbofijo]

Thanks very much to those that responded. Some great suggestions...I really liked kneecapSUP's advice that the 'stomp pad only gets used really on tight snaps', otherwise one needs to keep an actively engaged back foot moving from rail to rail. Supsurf-tw said just about the same thing so will really try and follow their advice.

Balance_fit was spot on--I did stall as the waves were only knee-occas waist. So, lesson learned.

jumpfrom 13k--Ventura Point usually always has something and we have many offshore mornings because of the wind patterns from the Ojai Valley. Also, with the SUP crew here having some experience, we are not regularly getting the Rodney Dangerfield ("can't get no respect") from the lay down crew.

Kojack--thanks for words of encouragement. I did cut my paddle down about a year ago; from 80" to 78". I have found that this really helps me quicken my cadence. I have a Ke Nalu Maliko 90% carbon/10% fibreglass which I love. Mahalo to Pono Bill for that!

[jumpfrom13k]

I've waxed the edges around the tail with just a base coat. Not often my foot steps over the rail part where there are no pad but it happened to me sometimes and I like having little bit of base coat around the tail so I don't slip.

I've base coated right half of the nose as well, so I can do cheater hang five if I get bored.

All you SimSup owners, what fin combo do you use???

[lopezwill]

  Fin set up is very subjective.  It's best to try a bunch of fin set ups to see what you like.  I hated the "Controller" front fins the board came with.  What works for me is 5" fiberglass fronts with fiberglass "Controller fins" in the back.