Nose diving

[Mini2]

Hi
From your experience when Nose starts to dive while surfing do you lean back or forward, in my little play boat I tend to lean back don't know if this is right . I was out with some experience sea kayaker on longer sea kayaks and I was told to lean forward
Thanks

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[Gary F]

Yep, leaning back pushes your feet down, leaning forwards (especially with a bit of aggression) pulls them up momentarily which can be just enough to get you on the plane.

Also putting a little bit of angle /knee lift on take off helps I found in my butt bouncing days

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[Chris Bolton]

A lot of discussion in two previous threads (but it may take some reading!):

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=72243
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=116724

I think a key point is that a long boat doesn't change attitude much when you lean back (try it on flat water and see if you can tell how much the bow rises) but leaning back seriously affects your balance and control.

[StoneWeasel]

Funnily enough I was helping a friend with this over the weekend. They were leaning back on steep take offs and nose diving as a result.

Essentially, leaning back is not often a good thing to do. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, it tends to push your feet down and nose dive the boat. Even if you don't nose dive you will be a lot less stable while leaning back.

You are much better off leaning forward and lifting your beachside knee. If you are pointed straight at the beach, pick a direction and lift the knee that will become your beachside knee. This will set a rail and cause you to carve through a bottom turn rather than nose diving.

There is some really good advice on take offs over at surfkayakskills.com

Hope that helps,
Denzil

[Mini2]

Thanks everyone I tried this on the weekend I leant forward while lifting my knees , and yes it worked and I had more control
Thanks to everyone for your comments

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[yabbadabba]

Another vote for leaning forward and and lifting a knee.
By lifting a knee and tilting/edging the kayak slightly you remove the pressure of the water thats making the bow plough under and you allow the bow to slice back up to the surface.
If messing about bow stalls/perling can be great fun but not in shallow water if there is a risk of hitting the seabed or in big water as doing a face plant followed by a big wave isnt so nice.
If in a playboat when coming in on the white water try to steer the kayak using knees only with your paddle out of the water and it will give you a good idea of how much you can edge the kayak when catching a wave.

[Mini2]

Thanks ill give this a go net time I'm out

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