Drift vs Wave-riding

[seanocaster]

Apologies if this if this question has been asked before, but i'll go ahead again ask again. Any feedback would be really appreciated :)

Just some background info quickly. I'm a South African guy, living and working in the middle east. Dubai to be exact. We have a small skim scene here, but its growing rapidly. Here's our facebook group link, check it out: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15835172257

The waves we get in Dubai are smaller and weaker than most other places in the world. It makes skimming a challenge as the waves are often a bit far from shore and usually too weak to skim directly towards. For this reason, we skim more at a side angle. To summarize, the further one can skim, the better the session. Check this out: http://www.vimeo.com/18425599

I recently got my hands on a brand-spanking-new victoria poly carbon XL (http://victoriaskimboards.com/boards/poly_polyester_carbon.php), which should be more than sufficient for my weight (88 kgs) but i'm really struggling to get distance on it. My mate got a Tex Haines L (http://victoriaskimboards.com/boards/tex_haines_pro.php) at the same time, and when ridden side-by-side, it performs better than the carbon. The carbon is a high performance board, but would i be correct in saying that it isn't ideal for these conditions? The board i was riding before the carbon is slightly smaller, but has less rocker - and actually gets more drift?

And then the real question is: What would be the ideal core / rails / rocker / material and size combination for having a board that prioritizes drift and distance (rather than wave riding) to reach waves which are further, and once caught, to have more float when riding them? In my opinion, i would say the Tex Haines has got the ideal shape and technical specification for this situation - but for my weight i would need to custom make an XL as it currently only comes in large.

Any feedback welcome??

Cheers, Sean.

[ben410]

boxy rails, 3/4th rails

the larger the board the further and faster it will carry you, but you are sacrificing manuverability

[tom]

Stoked to see skimmers in places I never expected! In holland the waves are the same, (weak, small and far out), most of the times even smaller than yours. I've a square, and for float they are soo perfect, i have this board (large-carbon) for a year, and the float still is mindblowing . they are shorter than a normal board, but a lot wider. your first 4 wraps you must practice a bit, because of the square tail ;) with the board you can ride any wave, but a smaller, normal shape board is faster when reaching a wave



And try to perfect your balance, sideslipping, and drop!

oh and the vid is sick, nice to see the Burj al Arab Hotel in the background!

[Jim Gordon]

You need a fish shape, they have a large planing surface (to get you out farther) and are a little shorter so they turn quicker. Like Tom said, side-slipping will help a lot too.

[RexSkimmer]

the waves are bigger than i would expect for over there

[WSMassiv]

hey those look like some fun little waves in that vid man! honestly, those are breaking really close to shore. you guys need to watch some pro videos on youtube, or better yet buy some skim vids, and learn how to 2 step or one step drop. most of you guys are just hopping onto the board, which is absolutely killing your speed. you need to learn to walk onto the board as opposed to jump on, and you will be shredding those pretty glassy little ankle biters in no time

[seanocaster]

Thanks for the feedback guys, all points noted. Seems boxy rails, 3/4 core thickness and a fish tail is going to be the best combination. Also, a slightly bigger board.

We don't always have waves in Dubai, its mainly during winter months. During summer, it can go for 3 months without even a ripple. Arrrrg!

[potatosteak]

Nice waves; I wish we had those in vancouver.

Pretty much what everyone has been saying; at the very least get a board that is 3/4th inch thick. A fish shape will be the perfect shape (for pretty much anything in my opinion) because it has speed without sacrificing turning abilities.

What I learned skimming worse conditions than that? Transition. When I first started wave skimming 1 1/2 years ago I could barely get to the waves let alone actually wrap them. You need to constantly practice your drop; make it so seamless that your board does not move when you step onto it and you'll get so much more speed out of your board. Practicing on carpet is so underrated; so do that at least 1x a day just to smoothen out the kinks in your drop.

Hope that helped.

[Jim Gordon]

Shorter wider fish shape......good for head high or below. Narrow longer pin tails.......good for head high or bigger. That's the way I see it anyway, this seems to work for surfboards too.

[Romulo]

Man.. i never expected to see skim in Bali, beatyfull beaches in this video!

[ben410]

Although the waves are very close to shore as WSMassiv pointed out, they are small too. I like Jim Gordon's idea about a fish shape combined with my idea for 3/4th boxy rails. I also recommend a slightly larger board because it will help you with float and speed and you probably do not need as much manuverability because you will g=be getting long rides down the line as compared to wrapping big waves.