Some people can do it, others find it too hard.

Any tips on setting up and sailing a slalom board in open ocean and big (1m and over) chop?

And stiffen up those legs. (You should be moving so fast you only touch the top anyway.)

jn1 said..
Sheet in.

When in doubt, don't sheet out.

Fred Heywood

ikw777 said..


Any tips on setting up and sailing a slalom board in open ocean and big (1m and over) chop?

Not really.

Good luck.

I am no expert but... Don't worry about all the macho stuff.

This is what I do (see Stroppo above): Soften up those legs and use them as shockies, de-power when you have to (front hand and backhand), try and read the chop ahead and concentrate (focus)!

This will slow you down but it will make the ride more comforable...

Go around the peaky bits, not over them. Avoid air-time.

Tuning and trim,trim,trim.

If its hard work you have it set up wrong.
Until you get to the sort of limits they push
on the PWA. Then you DO have to be strong
to win.

Speed comes from control.

Set up should be neutral. No downforce onto
your board, which causes rail and nose to smash into every little piece of chop. no tail walking/ front foot coming out of strap.



you should be able to stand up comfortably too. no crouching under the boom.

This is all achieved via boom height and mast foot positioning.

OPEN UP YOUR STRAPS!!! you have zero board control with only your toes in and your ankles out on the rail hitting every piece of chop.

nEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLOUGH THE NOSE OF YOUR BOARD INTO A WAVE OR CHOP - iT ENDS QUITE NASTY, HEY kEL.


tip#2 - always check your caps lock isn't on before typing your response.

Haggar said..
Take one of those pills you tell me to take.

Have a cup of cement Glenn!

Reflex Films said..
Tuning and trim,trim,trim.

If its hard work you have it set up wrong.
Until you get to the sort of limits they push
on the PWA. Then you DO have to be strong
to win.

Speed comes from control.

Set up should be neutral. No downforce onto
your board, which causes rail and nose to smash into every little piece of chop. no tail walking/ front foot coming out of strap.



you should be able to stand up comfortably too. no crouching under the boom.

This is all achieved via boom height and mast foot positioning.

OPEN UP YOUR STRAPS!!! you have zero board control with only your toes in and your ankles out on the rail hitting every piece of chop.

Tuning and trim, trim, trim + 1
.............. and every now and then you pick up a water shed moment through TOW and the advice you have received for many years ...............

sausage said..
nEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLOUGH THE NOSE OF YOUR BOARD INTO A WAVE OR CHOP - iT ENDS QUITE NASTY, HEY kEL.


tip#2 - always check your caps lock isn't on before typing your response.

This ^^^ fRom a slOp sAiliNg exPerT

Haggar said..

sausage said..
nEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLOUGH THE NOSE OF YOUR BOARD INTO A WAVE OR CHOP - iT ENDS QUITE NASTY, HEY kEL.


tip#2 - always check your caps lock isn't on before typing your response.

Yes Saus the sail repair is almost complete

And that was at the lake..... with no waves, Glenn so I still haven't worked out how you buried your nose

lee1972 said..
I'm with Hager on this one, take some of that medical advice you hand out!!

Yeah? Well you can harden up and all mate!

Ian K said...
A raked fin or a smaller fin appears to settle them down a bit. Not many free ride fins come with the tuttle base that most slalom boards require. The Tribal weed speed is the only raked fin with a tuttle base I've been able to find. It sails much better than a full on weedy and ( to me ) makes the board easier to handle in a lumpy ocean.

Never thought of going for a weed style fin. How do they handle pointing up wind? Or is it the profile or foil that affects being able to head upwind?

Not as good as an upright slalom fin Surfnfreak, but the ~ 30 degree Tribal fin is feels better upwind than a regular 45 weedie



I tested a 33 Tribal weed speed back to back against a 38 cm C3 Sting. Patrik 100 slalom, 7.0 NCX. Not fully powered up so neither the 2 upwind angles are brilliant. The upwind angles are about the same though. The C3 felt crisper upwind. Might have been more wind @nd run so can't be sure about speed.

And of course I had the upright C3 fin in when I hit the shark. I can verify that the Patrik boards have very strong fin boxes, it was an instant full stop catapault against a big solid shark. Minor damage, a stiff neck, a bent front fin bolt, a small crease in the nose. Didn't get to see how the shark fared he'd pissed off.

Nice find !