[nose_manual]

How much does board length matter?  Anyone have anything sub-9'6" that they can noseride well?  Can rocker, bottom contour, etc make up for less length?  Of course skill is a factor too, and there are surely people who can noseride smaller boards, but I'm mostly curious if there's some kind of rule of thumb w/r/t surfer weight and board length or something, specifically for noseriding.   

I am aware of the jokes that can be made here, and let me tell you, there are respectable lengths below 9'6". 

[nose_manual]

Wait, never mind.  Just found a Sway's thread about this.  Carry on.

[nickzilla720]

Can you send the swaylocks thread? I am curious about this topic as well.

[uncutproducts]

had a 9'0 that i could noseride well. have a 9'4 now that's much easier. a total joke when i borrowed a buddies 9'8. i'm kind of a little dude though. being pretty light on my feet helps more than weight IMHO. send sways link though.

[nose_manual]

Can you send the swaylocks thread? I am curious about this topic as well.

It's not the longest or most informative thread, but it's something.

http://www2.swaylocks.com/node/1027759

[malibu casey]

I think it has more to do with proportion to your body and skill than length.  My 8'0 Takayama NR3 (grom sized, like me) and 6'8ish Takayama Egg are prefect noseriders.  I think the egg is actually easier to noseride than the longboard.     

[jscottk]

Length of board should be 3 full cross steps forward from mid starting turning point of where you land after a bottom turn...
Least thats how it was in the 60's...




My own thoughts
Im not a true believer that a board has to be super heavy to be a decent nose rider.
Alex Knost proves that the nose doesn't have to be super wide
The length matters but if you cant swing it into the pocket and all your turns are late, well you wont be noseriding anyway


Watch this video and then watch the end where the winners are standing with their boards..
a ton of variation with size and shapes..





Its all about the surfer in the end.

[Dorado]

Real good nose riders are cross stepping to the nose off the bottom turn not on the shoulder and really locking it in as far as I can see . I can manhandle a longboard well but no one calling me a style master by a long shot .

[HydroGlide]

swap into a bigger single fin on your current board before you buy a bigger board - it may be a big improvement for smaller dollars

[Harry Balzsac]

swap into a bigger single fin on your current board before you buy a bigger board - it may be a big improvement for smaller dollars

This.

[Kyle]

I think it has more to do with proportion to your body and skill than length.  My 8'0 Takayama NR3 (grom sized, like me) and 6'8ish Takayama Egg are prefect noseriders.  I think the egg is actually easier to noseride than the longboard.     

Do you mean full 10 wrapped? I'm not sure I would agree, Cheater 5's, definitely.

[damian]

It took me a few minutes to find where this gem came from, but as stated in fineline surfboards longboard description and echoed in the above swaylock thread, fine tuning the length is about your gait from sweetspot to nose.  None of this applies to me and other mortals who shuffle to the nose.  I've got a lot of work to do before i have to worry about perfectly placed cross steps.  Like Dorado said a good nose ride is mostly about locking your board back in the pocket. 

[NJ Longboarder]

http://www.noseriding.com/pages/TomWegenertalksWalkingonWater.htm 

My go to noserider right now for beach break is a 9'2".  I personally only like boards up to 9'6"  Anything longer than that takes to much time (for me) to set up in the pocket.

Like dorado said, noserides are bottom turn, walk to the front and the board is lifting up the wave, stand there, board starts to accelerate out of the pocket, start taking steps back as you get out onto the shoulder, little cutback fade to bottom turn and do over. 

The dedicated noserider boards are actually slow to lock in the tail and not out run the wave.  They don't seem to turn well for me so I avoid them.  I think they are better suited for points.  Beachies you have to be quick and nimble.

Just my 2 cents.  Haven't been on a longboard for a while but used to only surf them. 

[nose_manual]

Much appreciated, all of you. 

My question was somewhat rhetorical, since I mostly shuffle around and then eventually either pearl or shuffle back too soon, all of which takes place on a board that isn't meant for noserides at all.  Hence my post in the buy and sell part of the forum asking for a Mayo softail or similar.  And I was really bummed to have missed out on that Terry Martin retro classic Hobie that sold last weekend in LI, which was a 9'0 and was what prompted this question.  Damn.

The search continues at the board swap in NJ this weekend.