Does anyone have any tips for how not to keep bottoming out in shallow water?

I was out on my big board (it didn't look very windy on the forecast, ended up blowing in the high teens, was spewing I left my 136 at home as the big one is harder to go upwind with) yesterday and got trapped in the maze of sandbars at Altona.

I must have crashed at least 10 times because I caught a fin.

Don't kite in shallow water or go so fast you just plane over the top of the sandbars?

Bit hard when there isn't enough space for apparent wind effect to kick in.

remove the fins from your light wind board

will improve light wind performance as well as stop you sticking into the sandbars at altona

can do the same for your high wind board as well, gets a bit skatey but fun just the same

Got big tidal flats up here so I find myself in a couple of inches or less of water a lot of the time on 2 inch fins
with the crystal clear water we are getting this year it is really pretty awesome
gotta get everything except the back edge of the board out of the water
either that or head slightly downwind and flatten the board out

...you could take your fins out but I am sure someone puts them on every single board for a reason

When you come to a shallow, or even dry section, tilt your board hard up on the heel side rail. That will stop the fins from digging in and the bottom from sticking to the sand. You will carve across the sand and ride out the other side.

Don't let the board flatten out until the water is deeper or you will come to a sudden stop.

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Rails said..


...you could take your fins out but I am sure someone puts them on every single board for a reason

skim boards don't have them

give it a try, nothing to lose

if you don't like it, put the fins back on

I've found that getting the kite high and just hang under the kite with light pressure on the water and a flattened board will get you through the shallow sections.

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Rails said..


...you could take your fins out but I am sure someone puts them on every single board for a reason

Yep. For the ******s that can't ride finless in light wind!......

No fins makes popping in chop hard and sketchy to land fast.
But without fins you can ride across shallow water easy. This can be done 2 ways, the first being to keep edging across the shallow water with your weight back. You will hit but will cut through the sand rather than sticking.
The second way is what i usually do, but it only really works downwind. What i do is edge hard and ride the board toeside first, similar to when you start/stop on a snowboard. What i do is get a good bow wave out the front and this makes the water effectively deeper under the board. It works well too because you can ride for about 2m on damp sand by doing this as you essentially ride your own wave.

This is what happens when you kite in shallow water

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Gorgo said..
When you come to a shallow, or even dry section, tilt your board hard up on the heel side rail.

Also put more weight on your front foot to use as much of the side rail as possible in the water. Ideally the middle of the board is at the lowest point, and since it's such a gentle slope to the ground you will slide over the really shallow stuff without grabbing too much.

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Plummet said..

Rails said..


...you could take your fins out but I am sure someone puts them on every single board for a reason

Yep. For the ******s that can't ride finless in light wind!......

loosing respect for plummet ...........

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fingerbone said..

Plummet said..

Rails said..


...you could take your fins out but I am sure someone puts them on every single board for a reason

Yep. For the ******s that can't ride finless in light wind!......

loosing respect for plummet ...........

Sorry mate. I let you down!.... I felt the desire to troll.
It consumed me like a smoking addiction.

I kite loop in 5cm deep water lol,
Fishermans grip, hold on and pray

It's high stakes kiting in shallow water . I do it all the time and use the techniques people have already recommended except removing my fins.

In the last 6 months I've had two big wipeouts where I have stuffed up or lost concentration at Altona. Smacked my head hard and probably would have been knocked out if not for my helmet.

This happened to me last wknd. result was a sprained ankle and wrist. I may have broken my ankle if not for the Nobile's safety mechanism in the bindings.

hi
I have the same board and also have broken mine at the same point,the plastic push through fitting that the strap wraps through.
Id you look at those there is a design problem,very thin on the plastic.
I ensed up making stainless versions to fix the problem.

They cost $5 to replace and are supposedly built to break before you do. I reckon its a great design.

yep some others have said this but I agree (especially if you don't have time to stop and take the fins out while you have your kite parked at 12) Keep the kite high, slow your speed down, lean back into the harness taking weight of the board and putting it on the kite, if you are going to bottom out tilt the board right back so it is almost 90 degrees to the sand which reduces the drag and increases your chance of skimming over the top, really bend your knees and pull them right up to your chest, the idea of pushing water out in front of your board like a bow wave where you have your board also facing 90 degrees to direction of travel much like a snowboard breaking rather than carving helps...and be ready to jump out of your bindings and daintily prance across the sand at speed if your board does stick. This last point is probably the most important and I can't stress it enough that you must do it in a dainty fashion so those watching from the beach can cheer you on and all comment on your daintiness at the end of your session.

Thank you to everyone for all the helpful hints...there is much to try here!

I will have to work seriously on my dainty twinkle toes dismount as a priority area for improvement...maybe wear some colourful boardshorts over my wettie to get the look just right too

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Macster said..
They cost $5 to replace and are supposedly built to break before you do. I reckon its a great design.

Any idea where to buy the replacement part? All I can find is the complete strap, which defeats the purpose...

love ver the board but straps and fins don't seem to last too long...

Agee here,looked all over ,were do you buy these for $5
thanks

Kitepower Sydney my friends. I just bought 6 of them this week for $30 and $10 postage.

why would I pay that? My body heals for free

Time for some actual advice from me.

For ultra shallows 3cm say. Remove all fins. Finless riding is a good skill to learn and is fun. it means you can slice shallower than anyone with fins. It also means you can do real smooth slides too.

Taking finless into chop requires a precise edge. But it is easily doable. Then take the same finless board and ride some waves with it. That's a different level of cool. Sure your not going to be drive super powered bottom turns with no fins. I have done some surreal sessions In head high waves finless. Its SOOOOOOOOOOOO smooth on the wave face.

To ride a finned board in ultra shallows you have to ride it flat like a skim board. Don't edge in like you would in the deep. Then when you get back into deeper water worry about edging upwind.

If I was at location that was shallow with multiple sandbars with ultra shallow I would not use fins at all.

Of course the boards with channels will give you better edging.......

+1 for Plummet....Respect back...

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Macster said...
Kitepower Sydney my friends. I just bought 6 of them this week for $30 and $10 postage.

Hey Macster,

Seems like you got the last lot.

They have now sold out and it's unlikely they'll get more. Apparently there is lots of issues with the Nobile distributor and most people won't stock them anymore.

That will teach me to go a bigger brand for my next board.

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fingerbone said..
+1 for Plummet....Respect back...

+2 for plums

he has learnt quickly as a newcomer to the sport

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Plummet said..
Time for some actual advice from me.
...
...

To ride a finned board in ultra shallows you have to ride it flat like a skim board. Don't edge in like you would in the deep. Then when you get back into deeper water worry about edging upwind.

I agree with the flat ride advice, but I disagree about not edging. I often end up on the shallows after doing some jumps and I am talking about an inch of water or two at the most. I've been able to still edge, but in fact I deliberately edge it even harder in case the fins are about to touch the bottom, so instead I am pushing it so the edge of the board touches, not the fins. Works fine for me and I get a lot more control upwind to get back to deeper water, and I save snapping a fin. But I guess it depends on your board shape and style.