12 February 2012

The Ugly Duckling

Before
My shortboard meets the technical definition, being only 6'2" long, but it's wide (20.5") and thick (2.5"). And it's epoxy, not heavier polyurethane. That means a lot of buoyancy for someone as small as me. As Steve pointed out today, I'm still sitting with my torso mostly out of the water when I'm on Rocket.

A couple of shortboarder buddies have told me it would be easier to learn to duck-dive (and perhaps easier to surf too, but that's another topic) with something less floaty, so this weekend I grabbed more potato-chippy PU board off of Craigslist to use as a training tool.

When I saw the surfboard in person, I thought the young guy who advertised it must've been high when he described it as "in very good condition," but he continued to express that fact-free sentiment when I stood before him. My poor patito feo ("ugly duckling") has been abused. If it was truly surfed "only about 10 times" as he claimed, they were tough sessions indeed. The "one repair job" was probably executed, quite poorly, by the dude himself; it seems sound but is very rough, and drips that landed elsewhere on the bottom deck were left to harden. The "minor indentation(s)" are countless, some large, and he "just noticed" a few small dings near the nose that need repair. Still, there is no delamination or present serious injury, and it was quite cheap.
After cleaning and ding-taping
Feo is not as short as I'd like, but at 6'2" long, 17.75" wide and less than 2" thick, I should certainly be able to sink it more than Rocket and hopefully get the mechanics of duck-diving down to transfer to my regular board. I have no intention of surfing it (although I'll probably try just for giggles); Feo goes back on Craiglist as soon as it's served its limited purpose.
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5 comments:

  1. Dr Mad FishFebruary 13, 2012

    You really should check out the 7S Superfishes. My 6' 6" gets me on fat waves, paddles easy, turns on a 'dime' (to use one of your sayings) and I can duck-dive it really easily. I reckon a 6' 3" (which as I said I used to get waves on but it was a bit small for a 75 kg aging gal so needed a fast wave) would get you cranking down the line and you could duck-dive it. Surely someone has one you could try.

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  2. CynthiaFebruary 13, 2012

    Thanks, MF. Now that I think about it, one of my very infrequent surfing buddies might have one I could try.

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  3. Dr Mad FishFebruary 13, 2012

    Excellent. You may even get away with a smaller one - I don't know how small they go.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 14, 2012

    As a recent devotee to the world of waves in SC it had been awesome to find your blog! Often times I feel like I am one of the only girls out there (especially at some of the more locally locked down breaks), and it is nice to hear from someone who seems to have overcome a lot of the frustration and challenges that I currently face with my surfing. Helps to remind me that all the hassle is so very worth it :)

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    Replies
    1. CynthiaFebruary 15, 2012

      Thanks, Anon. I feel like I still have a way to go, but it is so very worth it!

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