Technique: Riding position

[rodndtube]

Nice riding, Jarrett!

[RhodeIslandJeff]

I ride a pretty long board (6+foot) albeit very thin. I made a smaller one out of fir (5'2") with the same shape. Obviously heavier which really only affects the take off but the shorter board definitely has more drag making it slower on the fast sections and unable to carry as much speed through the mushy sections. Takeoffs on my longer paipo are done horizontally in steep waves like one would with a stand up long board and my trim governs the speed. The occasional drop of the fin or hand into the water to stall or increase turn speed but generally I try to stay out of the water to go as fast as possible. I've had more than a few days where I could make sections not even the experienced long boarders could make while pumping the wave.

On a side note about paddling out. Around the impact zone I slide the board into an airplane wing position. One hand in front and one hand in back to toggle the board under the wave. If the wave doesn't quite break then I go high and foil the board down the back. If I'm working through a set of waves I'll just keep toggling the board up and down but the transition back to the parallel position is pretty effortless. Mind you my boards have very little float.

Someday in the future I definitely want to work on the Mololo style cause it looks like a ton of fun.