teatrea said...

Their is a big thread on another forum about tail handles for controlling the board in big surf.Any one tried one?Im thinking of installing one on my PSH.

i'm against this idea, i think its a shoulder injury waiting to happen. try hanging on to your railsaver in a couple of big ones, easier to let the leggie take up the strain

my point is, i have strained my shoulder a bit hanging onto the railsaver on just medium waves. a bit of planning ahead and summing up a situation goes a long way. sups are just to big to hang onto. try letting a wall of foam hit you while hanging onto the sup,you just get smashed

I'm going to put a couple of foot-strap inserts in the tail of my 10' Mana and mount a tail handle.

I was about to do it back here.. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=50537&SearchTerms=tail,handles

I decided not to because although the handle feels good when gripped with both hands and I'm sure you would have a lot of control with both arms and had not thought about what you do with the paddle.. and the thought of just hanging onto the tail handle with one hand is asking for some kind of wrist, arm or shoulder injury.

There is the idea of having some kind of clip mounted onto the paddle so you can clip it onto you leggie so that you then have both hand free to grab the tail handle.

I'm going to give it go and if I feel any twisting I'll just let go.

DJ

if it's action you want .... here ya go.

the vid is of sam and the waves aren't big. but, you get the point:

I swear by tail handles. I think they should be compulsory on all "beginner" type boards as they make controlling the board so much easier. I use home made handles tied onto the leg rope or the leg rope plug. They look pretty horrible but they're cheap and they do the job. The key, as was mentioned by someone else, is using the proper technique. Flip the board fins up and pull the tail under water as the white water approaches. Lacey, your boards are so small I don't think you would need a handle. Anything over 10 ft gets a bit hard to hang onto in the surf and a handle is a tool that helps.

And another option from supsurfmag.com (ca 12/2007)


Leash Wrap Technique: Two hands and solid.
Now, for medium to large surf, we were stoked to discover the "Leash Wrap". SUPSURFMAG.COM editor Nate Burgoyne figured this one out a few weeks ago but wanted to test it several times to make sure it worked. This technique will give you a full two handed grip on both your paddle and surfboard. As the approaching wall of foam looms on the horizon, grab your paddle in one hand, near the handle, and the leash in the other, about 5 feet from your board. Wrap the leash around and around the paddle shaft multiple times crisscrossing the wraps if possible. Then, when the water is almost upon you, grab the paddle shaft with two hands, one on either side of the wrapped leash and hold on. When the wave grabs the board, you'll have a solid two handed grip on the paddle and board. If a second wave is on its way, you may have to re-wrap the leash as it may loosen after he initial pull.

,,,,,,,,,pretty sure I dont have time to do this when I'm getting pounded but thought it interesting any ways.

Ive recently been turning my board upside down when going through the whitewater and it does make a huge difference.

Ronnie

WTF I must have missed something, Is it April first??? Why in medium to large surf would you be faffing around wrapping your paddle up in your leggy?? paddle like fck then organize your board dive for the bottom.
Small surf whatever, but a dirty great handle on the tail of your board will add heaps of drag, be an injury risk in wipe outs and if you hang on to it in big surf rip your bloody arms off. Aunty Jack anyone lol

Yeah, I was really just wanting to show how far things have come since 07 when this was considered possible. Hell, by the time I would get my leash wrapped around my paddle I could have paddled in, had a cuppa/coldie and sat out the white water. When I'm getting pounded I cant imagine going through all that bunk!

Plus, another key to getting out is to stand up as soon as you can and start sweeping.......Which would be pretty hard to do when your paddle is wrapped up in a leggie!

Oliver no idea why you always have the personal dig?? Can you just get over it and it was Oahu not Maui at least get the facts right.

As I said before small surf whatever, still think some of the hard handles pictured above would really hurt the toes on occassions and cause drag. On drag I use a much shorter (2m) leggie in small surf, the board is much closer and takes less punters out.
Let us know how it goes.

as for wrap you leggy around your $500 paddle, and hold on

say the shaft snaps,,, and as it does the sharp carbon edges uncontrolably slam into your face or your neck

......hmmmmmmmmmmmm

dont think so

must be APRIL 1

paul.j said...

what about just eskimo roll like on a Mal with the paddle under your arm. I do it all the time and works well...

Jacko

Think that would work, have not tried on a sup works a treat on a longboard. Keep the nose down.

i think the handle caper would only work with the board upside down in small stuff. what worries my is someone doing this on a bigger wave getting thrashed. i've seen a guy turn around, sit on the tail as a wall of foam hit him.he got cart wheeled about ten foot in the air. i have visions of this happening with someone hanging onto a handle- you cannot let go fast enough imo

Gday,
I agree with Lacey on the shoulder injury issue with the handle.This clip shows the way I use to get the F out of the impact zone and to the safety of the shoulder of the break.Works for me,but its a point break so maybe different in beachies,
Robboo