Your Technical Surf Questions Answered

Welcome to the world of surfing! Whether you're an experienced surfer or just starting out, there's always something new to learn. Here at our surf blog, we're dedicated to helping you find the answers to some of your technical surf questions. From equipment to technique, we've got you covered. So grab your board, get back out into the ocean, and let's dive into the exciting world of surfing together!

 And for those of you who dwell below the equator, it's swell season so let's throw on one of our super secure surf bikinis or one pieces and start answering a few of your burning surf questions!

Q1: How do I do a drop knee turn and how do I know if I’ve done one?

 Excellent question, first of all, a drop knee turn is almost misleading as it has more to do with our foot placement than our knees. Instead of keeping the back foot in its default position where the toes and heel are placed between the two rails and over the stringer line.

We instead pick the foot up and move it over to the side of the board we intend on turning, and do a ‘will you marry me/ proposal’ lunge. The back knee doesn’t quite touch the deck of the board, but is ‘dropped’ toward the deck as a product of the lunge…hence the name ‘drop knee turn’.

By pushing into the back toes over towards the rail, you will redirect the board in that direction.

Practice the move in the whitewater to get a high repetition rate, and keep your arms over the rails for the left to right stability, and stay in a soft and relaxed lowered stance to keep your center of gravity low.

Q2: I stall out of the wave when trying to cutback, what is going wrong?

A few things could be happening here. We can assume the wave is soft and low on power since that’s the reason we’re choosing to do a cutback. Our aim is to make it back to the apex of the wave, to rejoin the wave at its most powerful point, and with that in mind perhaps we want to be more passive with how much weight we’re using in the back foot during the carve. If we use too much on a low-power section of the wave then yes we will stall out.

The same can be said for our timing, if we are waiting too long to initiate the turn, then we might not be able to retain enough speed or wave power to keep us on the wave. So any inkling that a cutback is necessary lets cutback nice and soon.

If you have a bit more experience, then it’s worth noting that the relationship between how much weight we put into the back foot and how much weight we put into the toes or heel is all relative. If the carve is slow and wide then we only want a small amount of weight back and on the rail, it the carve is tight and fast then we need equal amounts on the tail and rail.

Practice these ratios in the whitewater for high repetition, the Malibu one piece will be durable and comfortable enough for all that movement. And remember practice and data increase progression so pay attention to both the successes and mistakes.

Q3: Where in the fin box should I put my longboard fin? 

The answer to this is simple and straightforward; if you want a looser sensation from the board creating perhaps a more dynamic or less predictable experience then slide the fin as far forward as it will go inside the fin box closer to the center of the board.

In contrast, if you would like a board that steers from the rear with directional predictability from the back foot, then slide the fin into the back of the fin box closer to the tail of the board.

The best analogy I have to explain why a forward fin is looser and a pushed back fin is more direct-able is to just imagine how the board would feel if the fin was dead center in the board; the board would spin in circles like a spinning top, i.e looser. And the fin right back at the tail stops the tail sliding and slipping, allowing you to lean into it and direct the nose exactly where you want it to point.

Thank you to the SEPTEMBER community for the questions and keep them coming!  We love to answer every and all questions!