Surfmat riding tips

Was in the break at Lennox this year and a mature guy on a mat was screaming at warp speed on a few big ones on a mat . No other than george greenough himself. we shared a chat and he got off the mat ,squeezed and bent it in half to demonstrate that you dont pump them up hard. then the fins he wore were shortish blades.Try letting some air out of it . Then it moulds into your body and wave contours. Happy surfin

So I heard about this website called google......

What a cool video though!

http://vimeo.com/23898716

Was in the break at Lennox this year and a mature guy on a mat was screaming at warp speed on a few big ones on a mat . No other than george greenough himself. we shared a chat and he got off the mat ,squeezed and bent it in half to demonstrate that you dont pump them up hard. then the fins he wore were shortish blades.Try letting some air out of it . Then it moulds into your body and wave contours. Happy surfin

By: "surfer281049"

That would have been pretty cool, George Greenough is definitely one of a kind, Crystal voyager came out a long time before i was a grommet, but i still loved that movie as a grom, I found it quite inspiring how he thought outside of the box in everything he did, boards, fins, filming loved it how he had a dream one night that inspired him to build a boat.

" I found it quite inspiring how he thought outside of the box in everything he did, boards, fins, filming loved it how he had a dream one night that inspired him to build a boat."

I believe he thought outside the box with what he used for ballast for the keel:-)

What a hoot. And you can do it without a leggie !

Will hunt down some shorter fins,
Most of the core Mat Riders use Voit Duck Feet fins (GG actually cuts a good 50mm off his)
The fins are what you use to act like a fin(s) does on a surfcraft.My suggestion is to start with it only 1/2 inflated,& squeeze the outside rail into turns & concave the bottom from the same grab-points whilst in trim.A good site to check out is ukmatsurfers.org & swaylocks.com have a good mat thread(do a surfmat search),even though they are a surfboard construction site.Plus any info searching Dale Solomonson(Oregon US),Paul Gross(Cal.US)or even Mark Thomson's site should be of assistance.Stick with the mat,it's a whole NEW surfing adventure/challenge.ATB

Most of the core Mat Riders use Voit Duck Feet fins (GG actually cuts a good 50mm off his)

By: "silversurfer54"

A correction here - GG cuts down Voit UDT fins, not the Duck Feet. The UDT's are uber big & stiff, hence mods. Don't think anyone mods the Duck Feet, they're a more manageable size while still being a bit bigger and more powerful than most of the body boarding fins.

Plywood piopo styleboards are apparently pretty fast and fun, i bet dangerous too. (serious)
Easy to make. Not sure what style waves you would use them in.

This might be helpful:

http://www.ukmatsurfers.com/how-to-ride-a-surfmat/

Cheers

G

check out Mark Thompson at Lennox Head

Actually been riding a plywood bellyboard since 1964, and very fast, not dangerous. As they barely float its easy to duck dive out thru the breaks, often dont break a beat , just nose down and keep kicking like a submarine. If your going to get dumped just bail out, make sure its not in your line and recover after the break, as it barely floats its never more than 5-10 metres away.

Growingnup in Newport we were all inspired by George Greenough. Made both my ply boards, just takes a day. Rode my first for 30 years, my current one had for 15 years, tough as nuts, throw it throw baggage checkin, plastered with travel stickers...

Bought a Paul Gross mat about 2 years ago and hard to choose which I prefer. Still learning the mat and its definately faster in small breaks common here in Danang, Vietnam. But above 1m with a power swell and the bellyboard sings..

As for fins, really hard to find but for the bellyboard the swim fins are best, the ones that have a heel. They balance the need for thrust when kicking on to a wave with the gentle idling out the back, remember the ply barely floats so you are constantly idling. I tried boogie fins but not enough kick , seemed really ineffective and dive fins were crazily soft. I use the same fins for the mat and seem a good compromise.

Hello!

Good fins are a MUST. Personally I use oversized DaFin with padded heel straps and filled out with boots. The end result is a big driving fin with the weight of a lightweight fin. I don't arm paddle at all, other than 4x4 when racing sets.

G

PS - Look at http://customsurfmats.com

Made a ply paipo last year. Copied the design from a Hawaiian guy that's been making them since the '60s. He makes modern ones now that look molded or vacuum bagged or something. Full pear shape. He had some action shots in solid waves that looked good.

Spent Fucking hours making the thing, but put no strap on it as the Hawaiian had the same theory as speed1953 that it never goes too far away... Well I proved that wrong.

At Blacks one gray arvo I gave her a trial run. Got halfa duz waves, full work out for somebody that had been out the water for awhile. Had to flipper and use it like a kick board, cause if I mounted it I could barely keep my head above water. I felt exposed to creatures of the deep.
Anyway sun goes down and it's time to go in, nose dive on the take off. This is where the theory went to shit... No board. I swim to the shark hole at the end of the wave but can't see it in the low light. Looking at the cliff for direction from some of the people that had just exited. Every time I looked up I was been sent in a different direction. After swimming in circles for awhile, I came back to the button, and last guy in the water gave me his board to try again. I sprint paddled out into the hole again, and in the gloom and darkness I had no hope of finding it, it had cammoed right in, and in the glassy double gray I gave up, to say it was spooky is bit of an understatement.

Um, so I don't believe they hang by you in a wipeout.
And if anyone finds a funny piece of ply, with F1 decals resin in, drop us I line, cheers.

speed1953 wrote:

Actually been riding a plywood bellyboard since 1964, and very fast, not dangerous. As they barely float its easy to duck dive out thru the breaks, often dont break a beat , just nose down and keep kicking like a submarine. If your going to get dumped just bail out, make sure its not in your line and recover after the break, as it barely floats its never more than 5-10 metres away.

Growingnup in Newport we were all inspired by George Greenough. Made both my ply boards, just takes a day. Rode my first for 30 years, my current one had for 15 years, tough as nuts, throw it throw baggage checkin, plastered with travel stickers...

Bought a Paul Gross mat about 2 years ago and hard to choose which I prefer. Still learning the mat and its definately faster in small breaks common here in Danang, Vietnam. But above 1m with a power swell and the bellyboard sings..

Keep practicing. Mats are the quickest but you need low inflation and low input.

G

I used to snowboard on a Macdonalds tray???
I suppose that is very similar and I was on the ball back 20 years ago?????

I live in France, near by South West Atlantic coast, I have been body boarding for a few years (average level). I occasionally use plywood paipos, for small days, when it is uncrowded. What I like with them is their speed even in small waves, plus they don't need big waves to take off. The thin rails really works great, you can feel it bites the face of the waves. You can have very nice, clean rides with thoses. But plywood can be very dangerous for your head (or for other riders around you) ! I would recommend to use a long surf leach to avoid that kind of issue, do not use short bodyboard leaches. If possible wear an helmet. Then, a few months ago, I switched to surf mat. First reason, the security, I didn't want to use a plywood board in the middle of the summer crowd, it would have been crazy. Second reason, I like speed and I heard that I could get some with those things. Surf mating is kind of complicated to learn at the beginning (a few sessions were necessary just to understand how to take off efficiently ), but when you start to get the hand on it it is very very rewarding. Now I use it almost every time I go to the water. It is fast, it holds a line (to my big surprise sometimes), it allows to connect sections that wouldn't be possible with a bodyboard, it is safe (in case of wipe out you just need to apply a bear hug to the mat and wait), and quite aesthetic as it is all about fine tuning. To me, the only disadvantage is the fact that there is no leash plug. Duck diving is more or less possible, but sometimes when you are caught inside a big set you have to let the mat go, then hello long swim to the shore... Now a few tips from my short experience. At the beginning you will need the waves to have some size, like 3 or 4 foots, not great to learn on too small waves. This is because the mat gives its best with some power, if the take off is fast, then the mat speed will keep increasing. If the take off is slow, it will be more technical. For the takeoff, when you are paddling, keep the arms extended forward, hold the mat forward, don't lay on it yet. You want to be as flat as possible to have a big planning surface. When you feel that the waves catches you, keep paddling a little, then when you have enough speed go on the mat, and make your body as flat as possible (not like bodyboarding), head low. Squeeze the outside rail a little to firm up the inside one. You may let the inside swim fin dragging in the water if you need more grip. The other one can be lift. Then, let the mat drive, don't be too aggressive with it, like you would be with a bodyboard. And keep your position forward. To duck dive, squeeze both rails to stiff up the mat, will be easier to dive. Have fun !