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Stefano W-surf said..Taavi said..
Note that you are not going particularly fast there, and in all the turns you are sliding, not engaging the rail at all. This is not how pyramids behave, not at all.
The video is only here to highlight with images the flaw I was complaining about. However, that day I immediately felt that the Pyramid was too nervous even at that low speed, so I preferred to return to shore immediately...
You keep saying it's the flaw of the board, yet you do not seem to be critical of any of the other variables which there are many. From what I can see your control issues boil down to the technique and to the way you have set it all up. See, you are not putting the board on the rail.
It's difficult to say based on your short clip what's the main reason for lacking control, but I would look through and be critical to everything in your setup:
- is your stance wide enough
- are your feet deep enough in the foot straps (especially important in the bottom turns when using a board that's fairly big for you)
- are you putting enough pressure to the front of the board through the rig, via the mast base
- are you using correct fins with your board, that would actually help setting it up for speed and control
To make this board work you need to have more rail in the water. Period. There cannot be any control if you set it up so that you can only keep the very last portion of the tail area in the water. This is what creates this nose bouncing up and down effect for you.
And similarly, even when riding in a straight line, while not turning, it's also important to pay attention to which part of the bottom you are actually riding. The pyramids have a fair bit of tail rocker, and especially when you are light weight and riding a bigger board size (less than 70 kg, 87 L board, as you said), you may unintentionally be riding just the tail rocker, with the nose of the board pointing up too much and the mast base portion and your whole rig levitating in the air. Again, this would cause the bouncing up and down. And that has not so much to do with the V or mono concave in the bottom shape, as you seem to think. Instead, the balanced feel and the control would come through the leverage, that is by applying a correct amount of pressure to the board through the mast base and through your stance, and by how draggy are your fins, etc. Lots and lots of variables there.
And notice how the same happens to you in the top turns as well. The fins that you have selected do not provide enough hold and slide out. With a thruster setup you cannot rely that much on fins only, especially when you have decided to use 2-3 cm shorter center fin as you did. You need to use the rail of the board as well, which you don't. Quad fins are generally more forgiving there, and provide better grip.
In the top turns, put the board on the rail, don't expect just the fins to provide enough grip for you to have control in the turn. Something like this.
Stefano W-surf
3 months ago, 5 Nov 2025
