Learn
how to Skim
Tutorial
Your
First Skim Run
Basically skimboarding is somewhat like surfing
but the only thing is it starts off from the
shore. A skimboarder stands about 10 feet
to 20 feet away from the shoreline with board
in hand and waits for oncoming waves. When
a skimboarder sees a wave approaching, they
start running towards the wave dropping the
board as they reach the wet sand, run on the
board as fast as possible while maintaining
balance and make the transition from sand
to water. Once in the water the skimboarder
glides all the way till the desired wave,
banks off it and ride all the way back. Because
skimboards does not have any fins like surfboards
do, it is much easier for a skimboarder to
perform tricks while gliding into the ocean
and back.
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Chad's
Skimboarding Video |
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1.
How to hold your board
Depending on your leg
placement on the board, right leg front or
left leg front you will hold your board on
opposite sides. It all depends on your preference
but basically it is the same either way. Hold
the board with one hand on the tail and the
other hand at the side of the board halfway.
Make sure the hand that is holding the side
of the board is straight so that when you
throw the board out with your other hand (hand
holding the tail) the nose of the board does
not dig into the sand but instead glides on
the surface of the wet sand. Once you have
drop your board in front of you run on the
board as quickly as possible and maintain
your balance.
2. Running onto
the board
Once you have dropped
your board or glide the board in front of
you, run onto your board with both legs apart
at the centre of the board. This is to maintain
and spread out equal balance of your weight
on the board. Bend your knees and spread your
legs further apart for better balance and
stability.
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3.
Transition into water
Riding your board on sand and in water is totally
different. Boards on water are more buoyant
and harder to control compared to sand skimming.
So make sure you have practiced a lot before
attempting to catch a wave or else the consequences
will be harsh. Make sure you choose the waves
that are nearest to the shore. Catch the easy
ones first and get use to the feel of the board
before attempting longer rides. Keep your eye
on the wave that you want and practice running
onto your board without looking down at it.
The moment you look down on your board you will
lose precious time and this will prevent you
from catching the wave you desire. Basically
it’s all about practice and perfect timing.
4. Coming back
When you glide towards a wave make sure the
wave is at its peak and catch it before it breaks.
Shift your weight to your back leg to maintain
balance and bend your knees and body to get
lower to your board for more control and make
a U turn at the peak of the wave. When it breaks,
the power of the wave will push you back in.
If you feel that you are off balance after making
the turn, bend your body and try to hold on
to your board. This action helps you balance.
5. Adding in some tricks
Once you have mastered all this, it is time
to add in some tricks to make it more interesting
and to impress on lookers especially the chicks.
From my experience big airs (Fly away) are always
impressive but you could add in more technical
tricks like shove-its, 360 turns, fakies, ollies,
switch stance etc.
6. Tricks on sand
Well there are a lot of tricks you can do on
sand. Basically most of these tricks were adopted
from skateboarding. If you have skated before
you can apply the tricks you know to skimming.
Technical tricks that you can do on sand are
360 spins, ollies, shove-its, fire hydrant,
yoda, coffin, bomb drops, speed runs etc.
Okay guys, basically this is all that I can
help you on. If you need more info please email
me and I’ll be more than happy to reply
back. For a quicker answer you can always check
out related skim sites or visit www.skimonline.com
written by Aaron Peluso (Pro Skimmer) for a
fast and accurate answer.
Tips
Cleaning your board
After purchasing your shinny new board make
sure you clean the surface of your board with
alcohol before putting wax or traction pads
on. This is because manufacturers usually polish
their boards to make them look good but makes
is hard for wax and traction pads to stick on.
Waxing your board
Now that your board is clean from any coating
or polish, you can begin waxing your board with
surf wax. Waxing your board is for traction
so you don’t slip off your board and hurt
yourself. There are many different brands of
surf wax and you can get them from any of your
local surf shops or you could purchase it online.
The main important thing about wax is its temperature
specifications. Cold temperature waxes are softer,
stickier and wears off faster compared to tropical
temperature wax. I would suggest you use tropical
wax as your base and use colder wax to make
it stickier. Waxing is the cheapest way for
traction.
Traction pads and Arch bars
If you find waxing your board is too messy and
dirty because it sticks everywhere especially
in your car you could always use traction pads
and arch bars. Traction pads and arch bars have
many different brands and designs depending
on your liking but they are very expensive as
well compared to waxing. Follow the manufacturer’s
instructions carefully on how to put them on.
You can get traction pads and arch bars from
your local surf shops or purchase them online.
Currently I am using traction pads from Billabong
and Poorboy.
Removing wax and traction pads
If you want to remove wax from your board the
easies way is to put your board under the hot
sun and see the wax melt away then clean it
up with some paper towels or cloth. You could
always use a thing called goof off too. I have
tried it and it works wonders.
To remove your traction pad try using a hot
hair dryer and scrape the pad off once the glue
from your pad is hot and soft. You could always
use goof off too if your hair dryer does not
work. You can get goof off from your local surf
shop or purchase them online.
To reattach your traction pad use lots and lots
of super glue. Make sure you seal the edges
around the pad good or else it will come off
again. This is good for transferring your pads
to another board.
Making your board go faster
To make your board go faster try waxing the
bottom of your board with car wax or any other
similar products or use bowling alley wax. You
could always purchase Slick speed wax or Everglide
as well from your local skim stores or buy it
online.
My secret is to use the finest sandpaper (2K
grade) that you can find and sand the bottom
of your board with soap water vertically from
nose to tail gently. Warning do not sand your
board horizontally or circular motion. This
will on the other hand make your board lose
speed. I repeat make sure you sand your board
vertically from nose to tail and no other direction.
The lines or scratches at the bottom will make
your board go faster trust me!!
Keeping your board away from the sun
In order to prevent your board from melting
down and significantly weakening your board,
keep it away from the sun. Boards that are dark
colored or made of carbon are move vulnerable
because it absorbs more heat. Under intense
sunlight the surface of your board can reach
and surpass the temperature at which your resin
breaks down. This will cause your board to melt
and significantly weaken it. Keep all boards
in your board bag when not riding or constantly
soak your board in the ocean when not riding.
Do not leave it out under the sun too long.
Before sticking your board in the sand make
sure your know the temperature in the sand as
well. Also try and turn the rail of your board
towards the sun until you can only see the smallest
shadow of your board. The more sunlight hitting
your board the bigger the shadow will be. The
smaller the shadow only means there is only
a small amount of sunlight hitting your board
hence avoiding heat on your board.
Repairing dings
If there is a ding in your board make sure you
fix it fast or take if for professional repairs
as soon as you can. Dings will cause water to
enter your board and soaking your foam core.
This will not only make your board heavy but
when the foam dries up it will eventually deteriorate
your foam core as well making your board weak.
Also dings may cause the bottom skin of your
board to tear off if left un-repaired.
The cheapest way if you could not afford professional
repairs is to buy a ding kit. Ding kits are
available in your local surf shops and skim
shops or you could purchase it online. Some
hardware stores have instant epoxy that comes
in tubes too for a very reasonable price.
Always fix a delamination
The strength of a skimboard is the bond between
the foam core and the fiberglass shell. Delamination
is when the fiberglass is no longer attached
to the foam core creating what looks like an
air bubble. You may think that this is not a
serious problem because your foam core is still
protected by the outer fiberglass shell but
in reality it will cause your board to break.
If you see what looks like air bubbles on your
board do get it repaired straight away or return
it back to the manufacturer or retailer for
a new board.
Dealing with wind
If you are having a hard time throwing down
your board when it is windy try kicking some
sand at the bottom of your board. Wet sand will
usually stick to your board making it heavier
and easier for you to throw it down. Once you
are riding on your board the sand will automatically
come off making it light again. Do this over
for multiple skim rides.
Kicking wet sand on your board
Wet sand sticking on board
Getting on your board
The best way to get on your board is by ‘running
onto it’ instead of jumping on. Running
onto your board decreases your chance of falling
or the board slipping out from under you and
it makes you go faster. By jumping onto your
board you will weigh down your board creating
drag and eventually slow down your speed. Jumping
on puts pressure on your board downwards but
running on makes it go forward faster and further.
Trust me it happens to me all the time.
Reaching waves
To go further in order to reach your desired
wave, try turning your board sideways (90 degrees)
the next time pointing your toes towards the
wave and turning back your board to your normal
position when you reach it. If you do it correctly
you lose speed at a much slower rate compared
to your normal position. This is called side-slipping.
Stretching and inspecting the beach
Before each session do take some time to do
some stretching and warming up. Walk or jog
along the beach to warm up is a good way to
prevent injuries and it gives you a chance to
inspect the beach as well. Besides walking and
jogging a long the beach, try stretches that
focus on your lower back, hamstrings, calves
and groin muscles.
Make sure to inspect the beach for shells, sunken
wood or stones, debris etc before you start
riding. Inspecting the beach is also a good
way to look for the best breaking area. But
please try and prevent from skimming at crowded
areas or give the other beachgoers the heads
up before you rip it up. This will prevent any
accidents from occurring.
Tides
For wave riding the best time to go skimming
is during conditions of incoming tides within
hours before the high tide peak. Basically for
incoming tides the waves will have more push
and as the tide goes higher the closer the waves
will break to shore. This is the ideal time
to learn wave riding. Low tide on the other
hand, is ideal condition for sand skimming because
during this time sand is exposed more. Make
sure to check the tide chart for your local
area before leaving for the beach. To prevent
disappointments learn about your local beaches
more.
Protecting your board while traveling
The most important thing to know is to always
protect the rails of your board (the most vulnerable
part of your board). Putting your board in a
board bag won’t help much if you are traveling
on a plane. You know how the luggage guys are!
The best way it to buy an oversized board bag
and wrap as much padding as possible around
your board before putting it into your board
bag. I usually wrap a few thick towels around
my board before putting it into my bag. Other
suggestions would be stuffing your bag with
clothing, wetsuits, foams, pipe insulation etc.
Anything goes just as long as your rails are
protected properly.
Info taken from www.skimonline.com.
Pictures courtesy by Ed Krebs and Poo Skimboard
Malaysia. |
603-22848928
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