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Straps opening for wave riding... a few doubts remain
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:24 pm    Post subject: Straps opening for wave riding... a few doubts remain Reply with quote

I ride 77 and 105L, both only have one rear strap. Last year I was sailing lakes exclusively and little by little I came to open my straps more.

Now sailing at a wave spot, I opened the straps completely. Only that, a few days with heavy chop more or less forced me to tighten them again.

The problem was that I had a hard time controlling the board with my ankles in the large chop. This, especially with the 105 but also with the 77 (fsw) when things go really fast. In brief, I can't adjust the board angle as fast when I'm in deep with my ankles versus when I'm using the ball of my feet with my toes sticking out.

Also, when I'm in all the way to the ankle, I feel like if I fall forward I'll leave my feet in the straps and take off with the rest.

When I tighten them, at the bottom, it feels a little weird since I'm kinda tip-toeing. Therefore, I have a little bit of hard time drawing a nice and precise curve on the rail, especially if the wave face isn't that clean.

Then when the turns accumulate, my feet get a little more tucked in progressively. It does this with any opening unless I'm all the way to the ankle. If I tighten them more than I really get stuck. I got my front foot stuck after a speed jibe once and it didn't feel that great!

However, at the top turn and cutback, the turn is much sharper since the heels are farther towards the rail.

So, are there wave riders amongst you all with tigther straps? What do you think of your board control at the bottom? If you are of the all-open category, do you need to untuck before jibing? The straps do need to feel somewhat tight during the jumps.

As for the freestylers, I can't even dare to ask them!
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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

the more front side days i get, the more i like looser straps. the more onshore days, i tend to like them a bit tighter. typically, i'm too lazy to keep fiddling with them. i find a happy medium and keep 'em there.
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bred2shred



Joined: 02 May 2000
Posts: 989
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I generally run the straps a little more open when wave sailing. It lets you get your feet farther over centerline of the board so you can initiate a carve more easily. You don't want to go crazy and end up with the straps loose (you still want your foot to be held firmly). You may find that you prefer to sail with the straps set up asymmetrically also. Many times I will adjust the straps so that the tack heading out has the front strap set tighter and possibly more outboard. The tack heading in (wave riding tack) will have the straps set looser and more inboard. You can also offset the rear footstrap so it's more outboard on the way out and more inboard on the way in. The idea being that you want to have your feet more over the rail when going out so you can stay upwind and be powered up for jumping and you want your feet more over the centerline when coming in so you can carve more easily.

sm
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

On bigger less maneuverable boards (say > 100 liters)), I don't mind loose straps because I'm not maneuvering or jumping as aggressively. By "loose" here I mean my little toe might stick out significantly past the front straps. There's no way in hell I'm going into a front strap up to my ankle; I will do or avoid anything to avoid another ankle sprain or fracture and the subsequent year of down time and pain. On smaller boards, on which I’m constantly pushing the edges of my control envelope, front foot release in a crash is more important than ultimate control. I thus don’t want that foot in so far that the pressure point on that arch is higher than the centre of my forefoot … right between the front of my shin and the bases of my toes. That way the front peels out of the strap -- I hope -- in a forward fall. My front strap screws are set widely enough (>6.5 inches) that my feet can twist out sideways in most falls to moderate twisting forces on my ankles and knees.

I keep my back strap loose enough to center my foot on the centerline for max heel'n'toe maneuverability 'cause it always slips out in a crash. On boards designed to turn primarily with the back foot out and forward, getting that strapped-in back foot centered is much less important.

Is any of this optimal? I don’t know, but (at least until two months ago) my ankle integrity was my single most important constraint in windsurfing. I’ve gone into full shock too many times with ankle sprains and fractures, and don’t EVER want to encounter a lisfranc injury.
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daviddk



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ditto bred2shred. Good advice.

isobars doesn`t wavesail, he just likes to bloviate.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And so the thread goes to hell.
I do all the things Manuel asked about.

We thank you, David. You're a peach.
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daviddk



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

He asked about wavesailing. I didn`t know you wavesailed??
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks all for the feedback, it helps a lot.

jingebritsen, thanks I used to be middle but got a odd cyst on the bone mid foot, I think it was due to a bad strap but still, constant pressure on the same bone will create that. Also, when mid point, I still feel like my foot gets jammed in there little by little, my friend puts anti-slip on his pads. I'm afraid anti-slip would slow foot sliding when ejecting.

bred2shred, I agree with getting over the centerline, this is quite easy with the 77 even when narrow since the board is so small. Therefore, you need to untuck before jibing for example? I cannot adjust the rear strap as there's only one set of holes but I do understand the idea.

isobars, I too like to have the straps a little wide so I can twist out, yet when too narrow it doesn't seem to help the jibe release. I liked open straps when I could push my foot downward and slide it out easily. I guess really the rear foot isn't a problem, maybe there's as much tension on it as there is on the front, but I feel ok have it more open. It's the strong front foot drive at the bottom (a blast) that's I'm unsure about.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've sometimes placed a narrow raised rib of EVA foam across each front OEM pad right beneath the bases of my toes, in front of the ball of my foot, as a stopper or at least a reference line for how far my foot should go into the front straps. With my toes relaxed it does a decent job of preventing the foot from sliding too far into the strap or at least telling me my front foot has entered too far (landing jumps, especially), or I can grip it with my toes when I definitely want my feet to stay in the strap. It's nothing more than a 1 cm X 4" strip of self-stick deck pad material, so installation and removal are simple.

Mike \m/
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 4:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice tip.

I adjusted the angle where the velcro crosses inside the straps to create a better stop with the foot strap, it seems to work better. Time will tell.
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