i've felt like that before but on the twin tip when i'm over powered. Maybe you were overpowered? the kite would power the hell up with aparent wind as you sped down the wave face then simply tear you off the wave face. certainly i was unable to do a bottom turn upwind.


I'm guessing you were going up wind at the time. not down wind down the line?

I was out on my 7m in the surf today ,found myself in that same situation on a couple of waves as well.

blueprint said...

If it's not being overpowered due to kite size selection as you suggest then could be the specific shape or even just fins.

If it's fins then if it has futures or better yet fcs (they're cheaper can demo them and have non OEM versions available now) then have a look around for something that has a little less area. Where the area difference is is personal preference to some degree but you'll only know if you try.

If it's the shape the solution isn't necessarily shorter (shorter will reduce area and likely sit a little better but it'll also be more manoevourable which can mean that you find yourself in difficult situations more often, again where the area is is important). Really what you want is something gunnier, most likely on the narrower side all over but particularly in the tail (think pin or rounded pin rather than square or swallow), you'll also be looking for a different bottom shape (deeper concave/s and perhaps slightly more rocker) and lower volume in the rails.

Like everything exact length depends on skill, weight and conditions but you may find it doesn't vary massively from your normal board. Best advice is find someone local who shapes boards for other kiters, take your current board and ask a few questions/ have a conversation about what's working/not in the conditions you are targeting.

There are some people out there who can get away with one board for everything but I'd argue that even they fight their equipment in certain conditions and for the rest of us then having a selection of gear is the best answer.

Just my opinion

At the moment i only use one board 135 cab rival 2011

stuntnaz said...

At the moment i only use one board 135 cab rival 2011

I was specifically refering to SB as in the original post, I know 0 about TT

what kite are you running? is it a low aspect wave style kite or a higher aspect boosting machine. My ozone edge use to realy power up doing down the wave face. it was hard to shut the power down. my little reo is the complete opposite. let the bar out and the power melts away.

I lift the kite higher(not too high!) in the window and make a run towards it when im out of control macking. You feel it, theres pretty much nothing you can do stall wise when your skipping like a stone. The other thing i find is dont take the drop to late rather use the kites power first and let the wave catch you up, that way you can keep the kite at the edge of the window and less powered. I dont mind taking the mega speed drops but only a coupla times a sesh cos the beatings when they come can be rib breakinly heavy.

Your options are :

Don't race the line throw some powered bottom turns and smash the lip each time ( this will slow you down and turn the power into up and down as opposed to straight across the wave

Change your stance more weight towards the back of the board and get it to dig in to turn

A smaller board ( has the same effect as the above without shifting your normal stance as much)

The longer the board the faster it will be but ......it requires more weight to keep it stable and to turn..... Notice big wave (paddle in )surfers are usually fairly solid dudes. They need the long board for speed on the wave and to get enough speed to paddle in but then they need the weight to turn the thing ( adding weights to the boards also helps as the riders shifting weight also transfers the board weight to a different rail ( hope that makes sense)
Tow in surfers can use much smaller boards as they are not looking for speed as they get thrown into the wave by the ski they are then ( due to the smaller board able to throw much sharper turns )

From the original posters query riding a 6'1 in 6-8ft and skimming out.... I would say either you are less than 75kg, your stance is too front foot heavy for that size and/ or your board is quite wide particularly in the tail ie: square
A 6'1 with a pin tail would probably solve the problem. But if you have the kite for power go for a smaller board and enjoy the maneuverability and reduced swing weight.

The other alternative is cleaner surf ( more offshore ) when it's butter smooth even the fastest turns just seem to lock and hum.