backfoot placement

[SAsurfa]

Just scrape off as much as you can then use mineral turps and a paper towel or two to scour off the remnant.

Yeah turps works a treat when getting that thin layer of wax off your board, do this to your whole board and it will look almost brand new

[FishStick]

^^^^^ Rub the board down with meths after that as the turpentine will make your board real slippy.

[Nick Carroll]

is there a general rule for pad placement? ie where/how far back to position the block etc.

This could be a baited question of which I could possibly get burnt answering, but as a general rule I always place the kick right over the back fin. I figure that's where you want to drive from when gouging a big layback snap and the like.

Me find most good turns flow off the end of the concave curve. Kick ends up back behind the back fin wrapped around the leggie plug. It's a wedge of last resort for me.

[ric_vidal]

...back foot over the front fins is enough for me without sacrificing speed, depends on your style and your weight distribution tendencies I s'pose...

How many bells to beer o’? You mean I shouldna had that touch of red with lunch?

I’m with ewes that little pocket between the fin cluster is as far as I need, that turning sh*t is overrated. Don’t use a pad anymore though.

Always know a board is right when there are compressions on the deck over the front fins.

[mustkillmulloway]

hmmmmmm.......i was a big tail pad fan :?

just use wax nowdays

[g_u_m_b_y]

I really like pads on shorter boards 'cause the turn angles are trickier in smaller waves (like up to 6') and for me the pad helps you find precise back foot position -- plus protects your tail deck from damage. Slides way easier to control etc.

I move around a fair bit more in larger surf and on larger boards (7' and above) and so the pad is kind of redundant.

It's pretty easy to get all the wax off -- sometimes if I'm not sure about a board I'll surf it for a week with wax only, then see where my back foot's going, then clean off the wax and set the pad appropriately. Just scrape off as much as you can then use mineral turps and a paper towel or two to scour off the remnant.

if your doing the turps thing i have been told to put nail polish remover where the turps where because turps reduce stick.

ps bill cilia reckons the best way to get grime off and keep it off (for longer than the 2 hours it lasts with turps) is jif, warm water and a bit of wet and dry....he did it on mine and its still clean. looks great.

2 weeks till new board

[lovemuscle]

Im finding it hard to get the ideal tailpad now as they all seem to raise in the middle. Now that is what can stop your feet moving, a real shitter.
Im also having probblems finding the best position for them as Id like my foot to be hard against the kick. I sometimes find myself with my foot on top of the kick, not a good experience.
I also have a problem with the price, $40 thats farken robbery.
Bring back the old mr x gorrilla grip ffs.

[mustkillmulloway]

mondo: a wild guess here, you're fairly young and you're amping too hard on takeoff and lunging forward along the line of the board during the pop. Perhaps also surfing too much on the front foot in any case.

interesting...my natural way surf is off the front foot but i'm trying push myself out this comfort zone and ride boards designed be ridden off the tail

it's frustrating but when i get my back foot right the board goes off

anybody think a tail pad help

[batoes]

I am a fan of the tailpad for foot placement. I use them on both my formula energy alien and my 5'8 nugget. Even though the alien is more front footed (all the width is in the centre) for snaps and bottom turns, feet over the fins is essential. I rode the alien for three months without one and was sick of having to shift my foot back. I get it right 95% of the time now. I don't know how anyone could ride a mccoy without a tail pad - if you don't get that backfoot in the right position - jump off the board

So in any case - yes.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I can't surf boards without the tail pad, I've never surfed a bare tail for long enough to get used to it. Anytime I surf one I have this confused feeling like I don't know where my back foot is on the board and it feels easy to slip off for some reason...

I really like a tail-pad as I find the back foot placement has a different sweet spot with each board. Knowing where it is in relation to the tail kick, arch bar, etc. helps me jump straight to it with a small shuffle here and there as needed.

[batoes]

Hey Captain, what about on your dim sim? What sort of tail pad do you use on a sim?

[Morgan The Moon]

I don't know how anyone could ride a mccoy without a tail pad - if you don't get that backfoot in the right position - jump off the board

Hey batoes, any tips for placement on a Zot ?

I'm pretty mobile on the Zot - move around a fair bit.

Tried to teach myself to get up further back and I started to hate the board- felt like the brakes were on. I just know that when I get that back foot right, the board takes on extra special powers.

Figure I need some magic carpet to hit the sweet spot every time.

[Topher]

I've had to do this for boards before, to find that sweet spot. I always get a pad with a big arch so you can really feel it. I like the squid pads because they are really soft and squishy so you can feel where your foot is even when it's cold and your feet are half numb. Cheap too.

[batoes]

Hey Morgan,

As far as i'm aware the zot has far less emphasis on the backfoot placement and pressure due to the girth sitting in the middle. Based on conversations with Marc at the Manly outlet and a guy i know who rides a 6ft zot - they are more like a potbelly in that they rely less on that backfoot pressure and can have more success on turning with some front foot pressure. That being said, it is probably more backfooted than other boards of similar plane-shape and still requires the right feet positioning. This was an area i really suffered with the new lazor zap. While my nugget (5'8) likes to have the back foot way over the last fin on the tail, my zap (5'10) became really unstable if i rode back there, probably because it had far less volume in the nose. I had to get my foot just in front of the fins - any out of position caused me no end of issues. My nugget is much more forgiving because of the volume in the nose, but of course it doesn't turn as well as the zap.
I'd be really interested to ride a nugget of similar dims to mine now, but with much less width and see how that sits with the tail riding. Compared to my alien, the nugget feels like a cork

[mustkillmulloway]

took the advice and first surf today with the tail pad

heaps better, even if i was surfing side shore crap

just helped me get my foot right quicker....changed the whole way the board surfed

i'm sure it's all in the mind....but it's working for me

i'd avoided putting a pad on cause this is a super lite self destruct kinda board

but i'm glad now i have...even if it cost $50 bucks

( unless better half finds out....than i'll regret it )

[Cpt.Caveman]

Hey Captain, what about on your dim sim? What sort of tail pad do you use on a sim?

I just used a regular tail pad but cut an inch out of the tail kick to place it smack bang in the middle of the leash plug. Its a board that rewards the back foot being as far back as possible I've found

[batoes]

I agree - the sims can be driven well from the backfoot, but they also respond pretty good with front foot turns as well. Because my sim is 5'1 i tend to get the feet placement pretty spot on!

[Morgan The Moon]

Hey Morgan,

As far as i'm aware the zot has far less emphasis on the backfoot placement and pressure due to the girth sitting in the middle. Based on conversations with Marc at the Manly outlet and a guy i know who rides a 6ft zot - they are more like a potbelly in that they rely less on that backfoot pressure and can have more success on turning with some front foot pressure. That being said, it is probably more backfooted than other boards of similar plane-shape and still requires the right feet positioning.

Cheers Batoes

Had a quick chat to Marc and gonna slap on a pad tonight. Fong got me excited.

Tried to put my foot way back on the Zot from take off and it turned into a dog. Placement is a bit forward so I'll see how it goes.