Which paipo for hollow waves ?

What works and what doesn't. Share design ideas, references and contacts for paipo board builders.
soulglider
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#21

Unread post by soulglider »

Paipo_Fungly_5.jpg
never been hit by my wood boards. the stiffness difference you feel between boards is accurate. 1/2 inch plywood would give you a more flexible board.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#22

Unread post by zensuni »

Nice board soulglider, is there a rocker on both nose and tail ?
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#23

Unread post by zensuni »

bgreen wrote: Maybe to learn more about this style of board it might be worth considering starting with some less challenging conditions. But then again, some like the deep end as a place to start.
I agree, it would be much better to start with less challenging conditions, the problem I have is that where I live the waves are shaped like that, so I have to live with it. Most of the time I can't even reach the lineup, so I just practice on early shore breacks or reforms. In summer there are more opportunities. When I said overhead I meant 40 / 60 inches, but once again the problem is not really the size, it is more the way it breacks and closes out, and the waves frequency which gives you only a few seconds between 2 waves.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#24

Unread post by bgreen »

Zensuni,

"Since I was in shallow water I was a little concerned about being hit by the board, so I developed some skills in throwing out the board as far as possible from me when I felt I was about to be wiped out. Are you guys often hit by your board ? Do you wear an helmet ? "

The skill you need to develop is pulling through the back of the wave before it closes out. You don't want to develop the habit of throwing your board away. Once you progress this creates a hazard for others and you'll do a lot of swimming. There are other techniques, but these depend on conditions. I don't recall getting hit by a wood board - if so it wasn't memorable.

It sounds like you're making progress. The other thing to consider is wave choice. Catching the better waves in a session and knowing which ones to catch will also make a world of difference. If you are surfing waves with a short period (very close together) I'm not sure where you are surfing. Waves of less than 8 seconds tend to be wind swells and generated by more local storms, so less organised. Do you just surf the same spot or travel around, if the former consider trying some different spots. Do you know much about surf conditions? Around Biarritz there are waves that work on quite different directions and some will be much easier and better to learn on than others. Send some photos of the waves you are trying to surf.

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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#25

Unread post by zensuni »

Bob, I surf at Lacanau, which is a little more of the North than Biaritz (2h drive).
The main difference is that near Biarritz (pays basque) you will find different kind of spots, some exposed to the direct swell and some others protected from the swell by some structure (dam, harbor...). Near Lacanau (Gironde), there is nothing to breack the swell, the coast is directly exposed everywhere, so you will have almost the same conditions at any spots. There is nothing but woods, dunes and beaches. The only place where I know there are smaller waves is at the entry of the bassin d'arcachon, but it is more shore breack waves, plus there is a lot of current. I can go norther, to the mouth of the Gironde river, but still there is a tremendous current, and the waves are still quite strong, not really a place to learn. If I really want smaller conditions I would need to go above the Garonne, to Royan, but it starts to be very far. The Gironde surf is known to be "ungrateful", unfortunately, although it is very rewarding for talented short boarders. The others riders have to wait until the summer to have better conditions. Sometimes during the winter we have easier conditions, but it is rare. We also have a lot of rip currents, surfers use them to pass the barre easily.

Here is a picture of nice conditions at Lacanau, that's what you may have during the summer, sometimes:
http://www.lacanauocean.com/image/surf- ... u-1_xl.jpg
I ride similar waves on a boogie board.

This is what we have most of the time during the winter:
In this case I typically remain on the first wave foreground on the picture, when it is well shaped.

I exagerated regarding the period, it is probably not less than 8 seconds (today it was 9 according to surf report), but I feel like it is short.
Since I started boogie boarding, my problem in demanding conditions has always been that I really hesitate to pass the barre (not sure it is called the barre in english) beetwen 2 sets, because I am not sure that I could come back then.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#26

Unread post by zensuni »

I forgot the picture of the bad conditions, in winter:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6FpaIWAgf5o/V ... G_8541.JPG
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#27

Unread post by rodndtube »

Nice job on the boards!

Yes, I do wear a helmet at a couple of places that I ride. Probably should wear one more often but does it ever screw up my hearing (sound vibrations inside the helmet).
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#28

Unread post by nomastomas »

Your summertime waves look really fun...wintertime, looks pretty gnarly. Although, a guy on a prone board would probably have more success than that SUPer in the photo. Bob's right about the pull-out, either over or through the lip. But sometimes that little shorebreak closeout barrel is too hard to resist. When I find my self in that position, I eject the board backward, away from my head. A 5ft leg leash keeps the board reasonably close.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#29

Unread post by soulglider »

Paipo Fungly 2.jpg
this much grinding in the nose. this much isnt necessary but it looks cool. you can try less "kick" and then add more anytime if you can feel its not enough.

bob is right, i never let go of my board, its a really bad habit, and is a kook move brah! LOL. when you first start and youre a bit scarred out there, its temping to push your board away, but dont! I personally NEVER EVER use a leash for my prone boards. the boards not going to hit you if you hold on to it and other folks in the lineup will think you are a STUD, WATERMAN when you NEVER let go of your board. Its not hard once you get over the temptation.

leahes have made contemporary surfers into lazy, sloppy surfers and ONLY kooks let their boards go, you dont wanna be a kook do you? lol. Just remember 1, if its thin wood, they will never go to far "if" you do happen to loose it, because of the neutral buoyancy and 2, my foam boards arent so thick that if i loose it it goes very far, but, then again i dont surf belly whompin close out beach breaks either, just reefers.

continued good luck, stick to it and you'll be a top notch bellyer in no time, brah! ;)
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#30

Unread post by nomastomas »

Zensuni, you should listen to soulglider. You can tell he's super cool by the fact that he "never ever" uses a leash, his frequent use of the term "brah" and his quickness to deride others. What a great guy...
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#31

Unread post by SJB »

My two cents worth.
1. The best bet if the wave is not too big and gnarly is up to the top and and over or through the lip. This presupposes you have enough speed and geography to make such a maneuver.
2. If a crunching is inevitable why not just turn toward shore...take the hit....and pull out the back of the white water?
3. I ride a float craft so I do have a leash and will occasionally let it go in the white water if I am having difficulty getting out the back side.....but since I am already headed toward shore I find myself on the ocean side of the passing wave and the board on the shore side. Minimal chance of physical contact with the board.
I do wear a helmet if there is size and a crowd.....especially if there are SUPs in the water. We had a sizable swell here Wed/Thurs and as is typical I hang a bit on the inside and down the line from the big boards and pick up what they cannot catch and/or cannot make. The beauty for me for belly boarding is the ability to take a more critical drop than most stand up surfers. Having said that....I got caught inside on a clean up set....and low and behold an inexperienced and idiot KAYAKER on the outside got caught on a bomb and lost it. I could see that monster bouncing sideways a 100 yards out....and its trajectory put the fear of God in me. I scrambled and it flew by and missed me by inches. I was once hit and bruised by a runaway surf board but if that kayak had hit me at speed....helmet or no helmet....my bell would have been more than rung and no amount of body armor would have spared me broken bones. That night I had nightmares about the near miss.
Be more aware and concerned about other craft in the line up than being clocked by your own board.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#32

Unread post by rodndtube »

Now, now, Señor Tómas!
nomastomas wrote:Zensuni, you should listen to soulglider. You can tell he's super cool by the fact that he "never ever" uses a leash, his frequent use of the term "brah" and his quickness to deride others. What a great guy...
I religiously use a leash. Usually the question is whether to use a 6' or 7' leash and I wear it around my wrist for more control (easy to grab and pull the board back on those occasions I lose the board). The 6 ft. leash is my normal for up to 8 ft. waves, then I graduate to the 7 ft. leash. I also don't use my leashes after two years except as spares at soft, low-impact beaches and then mostly as a convenience in paddling out in shallow sandy shore break waters (in other words reverse walking my board out in shallow white water which is easier to do with holding the leash a couple feet from the nose). The very thin, neutral buoyancy boards do tend to stick around more than the floatier boards. One thing you do not want to do is to be releasing your board during on-coming waves when anyone is around you.... important surf etiquette rule. Learn to eat it in those circumstances!

For what it is worth, I also religiously use fin tethers. Learned my lesson one early Sunday morning at Big Rock on a nice 4-5 ft day when the fur ball in the tube sucked my fin right off my left foot. No more surfing for me that early morning.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#33

Unread post by rodndtube »

LOL, forgot once last piece of protective wear that I use at a couple of breaks: rib protectors. You will see surfing specific chest protectors that are integrated into the rash guard -- I don't care for that style as they can't be interchanged with different rash/lycra shirts. Okay, you probably won't need the rib/chest protectors if you are already wearing a 3 to 7mm wetsuit. The protector I use was developed for lacrosse players, are not bulky, and shed water. The issue mentioned at the beginning of the thread, "water skipping," is relevant here. When riding an open ocean wave there is invariably some cross chop from swell or wind on what otherwise appears to be a very clean day. But the speed, wind and every so little bump can create a real pounding on the ribs.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#34

Unread post by SJB »

On another subject...
How satisfying it is when stand up surfers are scratching for the horizon and a belly boarder can turn and burn on a dime for a late down the line take off....
sometimes involving an air drop but if one can hang on through that first critical section it turns into the fast and furious. :D
Belly boarding....there is no substitute. 8-)
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#35

Unread post by rodndtube »

Amen!
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#36

Unread post by zensuni »

Yesterday I didn't use a leach as I was alone, playing on the shorebreacks and reforms. But I'll definitly add a leach, for safety of me and others. The coolness will come itself at some point, when I will have develloped some riding skills ;) That said, I tend to avoid crowded lineups, there is always more and more people in the water year after year, and the surf etiquette isn't always applied (or even known by occasionnal riders). By the way, do you guys see a lot of paipo riders in the water ? I have never seen a single one here, and if I wouldn't have watched "the endless summer" I wouldn't even known it existed.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#37

Unread post by kage »

I like a leash and I hold on.
In big surf -- if the ocean wants your board it's going to take it.
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#38

Unread post by GeoffreyLevens »

zensuni wrote: That said, I tend to avoid crowded lineups..
This of course begs the question, "If you get an insane, truly epic ride and no one else is there to see it...do you still get coolness points?"
(See "tree falling in forest" and the noise factor vs audience.) :lol:
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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#39

Unread post by Nels »

Jeez...I got into this to NOT be cool...and near as I can tell it's worked so far! Winning!

I have always hated leashes, just hate the feeling. Have used them once they came into the world, first just at rocky beaches like where nomastomas rides. Eventually had to just because the crowd was so clueless that a loose board might be a loose board. There was an online surf community by that time and it was rife with complete pricks who insisted they never ever wiped out and thus never were not in total contact and control of their boards and that anybody who did was a kook.I call them liars and I piss on those people from a high place, and began moving almost exclusively into prone equipment and bodysurfing. Have never leashed a bodyboard or paipo although I don't have a problem with it. Not riding waves with serious consequence much anymore though and that makes a huge difference.

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Re: Which paipo for hollow waves ?

#40

Unread post by rodndtube »

GeoffreyLevens wrote:
zensuni wrote: That said, I tend to avoid crowded lineups..
This of course begs the question, "If you get an insane, truly epic ride and no one else is there to see it...do you still get coolness points?"
(See "tree falling in forest" and the noise factor vs audience.) :lol:
Coolness points should be based on water temps! If you want to be cool, ride in cool water. If you want to be chill, ride those cold water spots. If you want to be hot, ride the tropics ;)
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