I'm posting this because I'm a bit confused about where to stand on my race board.
I have a SB race 2012 12.6 ast and when I paddle on flat water and move the blade towards me the water splashes up at the nose. this sounds normal but this means by 'pulling' the paddle the nose dives a little.
I was wondering if this is a good or a bad thing...
do I have to keep the nose from moving up and down?
is it me moving too much up (whilst reaching) and down(whilst pulling)?
normally I stand with my toes just over the footpads edge.
is this too far to the front?
thanks in advance
charlie
IMO where the right place to be standing is all about what's happening at the tail of the board.. You need to be far enough forward so the tail is just starting to lift from the surface of the water.. (Unless you're on an Ace) .. You often need someone paddling beside or behind you telling you because it's hard to look back and see for yourself.. Often the right spot will vary slightly depending how heavy you are even on the same board.. Also try and have your feet as close to each other as you can rather than out near the rails.. I find that on glassy water I can get them closer together than when it's choppy.. and I like to use a slightly staggered stance to give myself more forward and back stability.. Also if the nose is diving with each paddle stroke this might not be so much about where you're standing but how you're paddling.. You need to reach as far forward as you can and take the paddle out at or near you feet.. Doing this right should lift the nose with each paddle stroke.. Putting the paddle in to close to your feet and paddling to much past your feet will tend to push the board down more into the water.. and that's not good.. I found when paddling that 2012 SB Race the nose did a slight sprinkler thing when paddling really hard on flat water.. It might not look pretty but I think it's fine.
DJ
