I tried to jump in from the side and drop in from above. The wave wasn’t strong enough to hold the tube.

The transfer is the easy part

Then I wanted to try and do a board transfer onto the river wave. The transfer is the easy part. Getting onto the wave with two boards was really hard. A board transfer doesn’t count if you don’t paddle onto the wave with the boards yourself.

Finally after a few tries I got onto the wave and made it happen!

I ended my surf session on an inflatable surfboard. It surfs so well from rail to rail for an inflatable. I never have to worry about dinging it up or anything! One of the best investments in my quiver!

The post River Surfing Board Transfer appeared first on Riverbreak.

First thing is first. See what style of fin box you have on your board. Are they FCS style or are they the Futures style? FCS fins have two tabs that are inserted into the hull of the board using screws. Futures style fins are inserted into the hull of a board with a larger single tab using screws. Then you want to look at your fin set up to determine how many fins you will need. From my experience all you need on a river wave is a twin fin (2 fin) set up.

It all boils down to what style of surfing you want to do.

When surfing a river wave you are surfing straight. This allows more of the boards surface area to be in the water. Your fins are going to spend majority of the time in the water. I find that a twin fin (2 fin) setup works really well. I don’t really like a quad set up because it makes the board react a lot slower while turning and doing tricks. If I am riding really short fins I will throw in a 2 + 1 fin set up ( 2 side fins and 1 middle fin). This seems to help provide a little bit more stability and still feels loose enough to do tricks. Keep in mind this is my personal preference from my own experience and surf style.

Quick Fin 101

Fin Size

The fin size is referring to the length or height of the fin. A fin that is larger will help provide stability and control. A smaller fin will create a lose skate like feeling on the wave. In bigger more powerful river waves a larger fin will help you keep more control while surfing. Overall a longer/taller fin provides more stability on a river wave.

Fin Base

The fin base refers to the part of the fin that sits flush with the board. It is typically the widest part of the fin. The length of the base will impact how your board turns on a river wave. A longer fin base will create longer turns. A shorter fin base will help you turn quicker.

Fin Flex

Fin flex refers to how much flex the fin has while surfing on a wave. All fins have a certain flex but some have more than others. For the most part the base of the fin will be stiff and toward the tip is where the flex will be. A fin with more flex will allow the fins to break free for a more skate feel.

Find out which fins work best for you based on your style and board setup

Wrapping It Up

Looking at these basic fin features you can decide what fin is going to work best. You can determine what style of surfing you want to do. If you want to have a looser skate style and be able to do all sorts of spin tricks and pop shove its. Use a smaller fin with a shorter base. If you want to hack massive turns and throw buckets of spray chose a bigger fin with a wider base. Or if you want to balance yourself somewhere between those two styles choose a medium size fin and fin base.

The best part is playing around with different shaped and different size fins to see how it affects the board in the water. Have fun with it and figure out what works best for you and your surf style. Keep progressing and having fun!

The post How to Choose the Right Fins for River Surfing appeared first on Riverbreak.

My brother’s truck decided to stop working and I was looking for any excuse to get a van of some kind. So I gave him the keys to my Lexus. I began the hunt for my perfect river surfing mobile. All my friends have sprinter vans. So that’s where I started.

It is going to take me to all the best waves I can think of.

I looked at full size sprinter style vans and cargo vans. But they all felt empty. They just didn’t seem to fit my lifestyle. I needed something I would be able to balance between my home life and river surfing. Finally I found a mini van that was perfect for what I needed.

DIY river surfing camper

A Car that Fits your Lifestyle

This may not be the van everyone had in mind for me. But it is mine and it is perfect for my life. It gets better gas mileage than a sprinter or cargo. Has just about as much room as a cargo (4 ft X 8 ft). Oh yeah, and the seats fold into the floor! So I can take the bed platform out and easily accommodate passengers. Best part of it is that it is going to take me to all the best waves I can think of!

When I converted the van I made sure everything could easily be taken out and put back in! It’s like a transformer van that is super stealth. I mean who sees a mini van and thinks someone is camping out in it?! Take a look at the video to see my transformer conversion!

The post How to Turn your Vehicle into the Ultimate River Surfing Mobile appeared first on Riverbreak.

Design, Volume and Shape

When choosing a surfboard for the river the most important thing to think about is design. Would you rather surf a board shaped for the ocean or a board specifically shaped for a river? Don’t get me wrong an ocean board could do the trick just fine. I surfed on them for years. But nothing will beat a board shaped specifically for the river.

Volume is the next thing you want to think about. Volume of a board is really important because it is a board floatation. Most river waves are pretty mushy and a higher volume board will surf better and ride more waves than a lower volume board. A lighter construction and overall weight can help add to the volume of a board.

Nothing beats a board shaped specifically for the river.

Shape of the board is equally important. A lot of river waves will require a shorter board with proper nose and tail rocker to fit into the wave and surf well. From my personal experience a nose rocker should be anywhere from 3”-3.5” and a tail rocker from 1”-1.5”. You are also going to want to look for a little wider tail. A board with a wider tail is going to allow for more push while on the wave. Which means on a smaller and softer wave, your board will stay on the wave better.

One Board Quiver?

Would you rather surf a board shaped for the ocean?

A lot of people are looking for the answer for the one board quiver. There are really not many boards out there that will meet all these specifications and surf pretty much any wave you will encounter. The Badfish Sk8 is one of the few boards that I have found to be a perfect answer to the one quiver board. I ride the 5’ which is a whopping 48.5 liters. It has perfect tail and nose rocker. I know that it will surf the powerful high performance waves (like River Run Park, Boise and Bend), it will surf the mushier waves that require the higher volume (like Glenwood Surfer Left and other local small waves) and it will definitely surf big waves (Glenwood Surfer Right, Pipeline and Lunch Counter)

So I go back to the question everyone river surfer should ask themselves … Would you rather surf a board shaped for the ocean? Or, something shaped specifically for the river? Something that will perform well no matter what wave you end up at? It’s a no brainer!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more useful videos and tipps on river surfing!

The post How to Choose a River Surfboard appeared first on Riverbreak.

So, Greenlight Surf Supply is in the surfboard shaping business, what exactly are you guys doing?

Greenlight was founded in 2005 with the vision of comprehensively teaching and continuing to support surfers who want to shape their own surfboards at home. Through our unmatched talents of engineering, manufacturing, education, and communication in the surfboard world, we provide top quality materials, tools, methods and support to make surfboard building easy, fun, and affordable.

Being a DIY-focused company, we also design and build all of our machinery and processes to manufacture the products. DIY is in our DNA and we want to share the pride of the surfboard building process and the absolute stoke you feel when riding a board you designed and built for yourself and style.

This river surfboard building kit will get you on the wave in no time

What led you to found Greenlight Surf Supply? Tell us a bit about your story …

I couldn’t find what I wanted to ride on the racks at the surf shops so I started building my own boards in my garage. Materials were limited then so I glued up some insulation panels and glassed it with boat resin. Then I started developing EPS (expanded polystyrene) blanks and tools to make shaping foam easier. 13 years later and still having fun developing new products to make surfboards better.

Why should someone get a board building kit in the first place instead of ordering a standard surfboard?

Other than the cost of a building kit is less than ½ of buying a board off the racks, the #1 reason our customers make their own surfboards is the feeling of pride and accomplishment provided by shaping my own boards. There’s nothing like the feeling of riding something you created.

Your dream shape is in your own hands now

What exactly is included in your surfboard kits? What else (tools, materials) is required to get started?

We offer an array of surfboard, SUP, wake, and riversurf kits. There are “Starter Kits” that include all the materials, tools, instruction, and friendly Greenlight support as well as basic material kits if you have the tools and knowledge already. We also make custom surfboard blanks per customer’s specifications and can package them in to a custom kit.

Shaping a surfboard is almost considered an art of its own. How much know-how and experience is required to shape a board? Can anyone do this? What kind of skills are needed?

To have an idea of what you want to do on a wave, shape the board based on that idea, and then experiencing that feeling you crave when surfing the board … no words can describe it. It’s the highest level of surfing. It’s EPIC! ~ Dave Grimes

No one expects you to do it all on your own. That’s why Greenlight Surf Supply continues to build and support an extensive educational online library of video and step-by-step instruction to comprehensively teach surfers of any age or ability how to design and build their own surfboards. Our education-based approach takes the mystery out of shaping and surfboards by providing an unprecedented level of instructional resources available to you online 24/7. The Greenlight brand is widely recognized in the surfboard building community as the most innovative, professional, and trustworthy source for materials, instruction, and service on the web.

How much time does it take to shape a board based on your building kits?

You can shape a board in less than 4 hours and the fiberglassing process takes 4 days overall with the resin curing times. So you can build a new board in a week if you work on it about an hour a day.

How much flexibility do your kits provide? Some people may want to go creative, doing crazy tail shapes, asym shapes, different rockers, channels, bottom contours etc.

One of the benefits of our Engineered EPS blanks is that they allow any shape up to 24” wide to be carved out of the foam. Rocker adjustments, channels, and concaves are easily shaped in and we can also cut close tolerance custom blanks to any shape a customer wants. The blanks can be painted with acrylic paints before glassing or resin tints and pigments can be added while fiberglassing to give your board color and style. We include custom ink jet logo paper to print your own logos and special paint pens to draw detailed graphics on your board too. Infinite possibilities in design!

Infinite possibilities in terms of shapes and board art

Surfboard shaping can easily turn into a challenge … what could go wrong?

Building my own board with this kit was fantastic! So much fun and the board turned out pretty good for my first one. I liked how light the EPS foam is and it shaped nicely. Thanks to Greenlight for all your help and the great supplies! ~ Mark K.

Bottom line – everything is fixable while building a board. The best board builders know how to hide the mistakes! Things will go wrong on your first board but understand those issues will come out later in the process and not affect the ride. The biggest mistake we’ve seen is a bad outline cut which makes the board look like it’s your first one. We have a library of outline templates to choose and download online and if you cut the outside your template line and sand down to the line with our special RailRunner tool, your board starts out right and sets you up for success.

Do you offer a kit that is specifically tailored for river surfing? If so, what is included in this kit and which board types are covered?

Yes, we offer a river surfboard building kit with different size blank options to build and board style you want up to 6’0”. Resin, fiberglass, fin boxes, and custom logo paper are included in the kit. And while supplies last, we are including a new Innegra woven fiberglass cloth that greatly increases the ding resistance of a river surfboard.

Many river surfers prefer durable and resistant boards that can take a beating in a rocky river. How resistant are your boards and what options do river surfers have to make the boards more resistant (e.g. reinforce rails with kevlar, carbon etc.)?

The way our Engineered EPS foam blanks are made they can take a hit from a rock or another board and absorb some of the energy and bounce back rather than crumbling like conventional polyurethane foam blanks. The Epoxy resins we supply also have some elasticity to flex before breaking and letting water in. We also offer a new fiberglass cloth with Innegra fibers as well as a variety of fiberglass cloths and carbon fiber reinforcement to make the board as strong as you’d like.

Futures or FCS boxes, it’s up to you

What fin set ups are possible and do you support both FCS and Futures?

We carry both FCS and Futures brand finboxes and you can put as many fin boxes in a board as you want. Our River surfboard kits come with 3 fin boxes of your choice for a tri fin set.

In which sizes are your blanks/kits available?

Our stock blanks range from 4’11” Skimboard blanks to 12’ SUPS. We quickly manufacture each blank per order order for maximum customization in length, thickness, rocker, foil, and stringer setup. We can make any blank you want if it’s not in our catalog.

Are there any guides, (video) tutorials or manuals that come with the kit? How do you deal with people who need more specific advice or have questions?

Beginner shaping kits come with a video download shot in my garage over 10 years ago. No flashy editing or hi resolution, but tons of great information and tricks are shown for first time shapers in a home environment similar to what they’ll be shaping in. We are very proud of our online Surfboard Building Guide which is a comprehensive step-by-step tutorial for board building. In addition we have a Surfboard Design guide on the website that tackles all the physics and hydrodynamics of a surfboard so you can learn how a board works and design it to suit your style of surfing and the waves you ride.

Our online HELP CENTER currently has over 400 answers to customer questions over the years and is a tremendous resource for any board builder to gain more knowledge of the process. Lastly, as always, we’re eager to help anyone through email and get back with answers amazingly fast.

Board based on a Greenlight Building Kit

Where do you ship your kits?

We ship kits and blanks throughout the USA and Canada. We cannot ship resins overseas due to airline regulations but we ship fiberglass, fins, tools, etc. to international customers daily.

Use discount code RIVERBREAK for 10% off a river surfboard kit!

Contact

Website: greenlightsurfsupply.com
Email: info@greenlightsurfsupply.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Greenlight-Surf-Supply-187175107971108
Instagram: instagram.com/greenlightsurfsupply

The post Build Your Own River Surfboard – Greenlight Board Building Kit appeared first on Riverbreak.

Duct Tape

It can be a session saver, but by no means should it be considered a season saver. Duct tape is not waterproof and will let water into your board over time. That water will cause your foam and fiberglass to mould and rot and will destroy your board. Use a waterproof tape to get you through a session or local two, but have a ding repaired as soon as possible if you want to get the most out of your board. But be careful which type of tape you use. Those that are for industrial applications do a good job of keeping water out but have very strong adhesives, which may tear off some of the good fiberglass when you attempt to remove the tape or it may leave a residue that is a nightmare to get off.

Dings at the tail and on the rails, previously covered in duct tape

Waterlogged foam around the fin boxes

Fin Boxes

Older boards tend to have FCS X2 fin plugs, which are two individual plugs per fin (one per fin tab). Many newer boards have FCS Fusion or FCSII boxes (or Futures, of course). These boxes are stronger and much less likely than fin plugs to pop out if you hit a fin on a rock or something else that is hard. However, they do tend to crack around the edges, which can let water in, which can lead to foam rot when water gets in.

If the foam around the fin boxes has rotted, there are a couple of options for repair. One is to rip out the fin boxes and replace with new ones, but both Fusion and FCSII boxes were meant to be installed before the board is glassed, so this is not ideal (though not impossible). A new method that I just tried was to remove all of the rotten foam, replace with filler, and to fill in, paint, and glass over the existing Fusion boxes without removing them. I then drilled them out and installed FCS X2 plugs directly into the old Fusion plugs. This works well because FCS X2 plugs are meant to be installed after a board is glassed. I’m quite happy with the results – they are as solid as the original Fusion boxes and were easier and cheaper to install.

New fin boxes installed and dings repaired

Board ready to shred again

Final Note

My goal is to continue to share this sort of information with our community when I see specific problems arise. I don’t expect to get rich doing repairs, and I’m certainly not able to quit my day job, so I would rather try to educate others so that they can keep their equipment finely tuned and significantly increase the lifespan of their boards.

The post Tales from the Repair Shop: Duct Tape Nightmare and Installing Fin Boxes appeared first on Riverbreak.

What Equipment You Need

As a starter, here is is the most essential gear advice on how to make the right choices when buying your first river surfing equipment.

River Surfboard

Your board is important, without it you cant surf. The size of your board will be impacted by a few things. First, you will want a board that has enough volume to float your body weight. Second, what waves will you be surfing it on? You want to make sure you get a board that will fit into the wave you are surfing. In most cases your are going to want to stay under 6′. If you are surfing a high performance river wave like the Boise, Denver or Bend wave you can get away with a low volume board even if you are a heavier rider.

Helmet

I always wear a helmet because you never know what could happen. Check out the River Surfing Helmets Buying Guide where you will find everything that you need to know to make the right choice.

PFD / Life Jacket

Personal Floatation Device. This will help you save energy on the swims in between surfs. It is also helpful in the event you need to be recued because it will keep you floating above the waterline and give rescuers something to hold onto.

Leash

Leashes are expectable under one condition: They need to be attached to a quick release of some kind. Otherwise leashes can be a death trap! Before you go out, make yourself familiar with leash safety.

Footwear and Neoprene

Depending on the water and weather temp, wetsuits are a great idea. Wearing a wetsuit will allow you to surf longer and prevent hypothermia. Depending on the river depth you may want to wear surf booties. They are thick enough to provide a little protection and thin enough that you can still feel the board beneath your feet.

Finding River Waves

Visit Your Local Surf Shop

Finding river waves is easier than you might think. You can go to your local kayak, SUP or inland surf shop to find out where local spots are.

Go Online

You can even youtube river surfing in your area to find out about new waves. Another way is to search online for any info related to rafting and playboating. Another great way to find suitable waves is Google Earth.

Use the River Wave Map

Use the worldwide river surfing map or browse through the most comprehensive list of river waves here on Riverbreak.

Catching a River Wave

Catching a river wave is the hardest part about river surfing. There are a few different ways you can catch a river wave. The techniques may vary depending on what wave you are trying to catch.

Dropping in

Dropping into a river wave is the closest feeling to paddling into an ocean wave. To do this you will need to enter the river some distance above the river wave. Hop into the water and paddle up river to position yourself with the pocket of the river wave. Once you start to drop onto the river wave continue to paddle up river until you feel the board catch the wave.

Jumping in from the side

To jump into a wave from the side you need to position yourself nest to the wave on rocks or in the water. Make sure you have a good solid foundation to jump from. You will be facing up river next to the wave. Glide out onto the wave on the board in a prone position. Once on the wave take a few paddle strokes to ensure you catch the wave.

Acid dropping

This is one of the most fun and difficult ways to catch a river wave. You will need to position yourself on a solid platform or rock next to the wave. Face up river holding your board in your hand with the deck facing your body. You want to glide onto the board with your feet as smooth as possible with forward momentum onto the wave. Once you hit the pocket of the wave apply pressure with your front foot or back foot to straighten out on the wave.

Risks and Safety Measures

Be aware that there are significant risks involved in river surfing, so make sure you are familiar with the risks and safety measures in river surfing. Always ask local surfers, check the river at low-flow and look for any potential dangers upriver and downriver before you go in. Also, check out our information on leash safety.

Surf more, surf better & stay safe with these river surfing tips!

Don’t take it too seriously and have fun! Catching a wave and becoming comfortable will take some time. Hit me up on my social media with any questions.

Instagram: @alexandermauer
facebook.com/alex.mauer1
facebook.com/alexmauersup

The post River Surfing Tutorial for Beginners appeared first on Riverbreak.

When I was a youth it was my easy access to the ocean waves that changed my life. But it was clear to me that travel and exploration was my surfing darma. At 15yrs old I started hitchhiking south to Blacks, Big Rock & South Mission Jetty, the tree best lefts in San Diego county. This same year I took my first trip to Todos Santo Island. When I was 19yrs old I moved to San Fransisco. Over the next ten years I jumped at every chance I could get to head north to Point Arena and beyond.

River surfing is going to take surfing all over the world. There are river waves everywhere, go find them.

So it is this spirit of exploration that I speak to you all now. My river surfing experience has always been about exploration as I have never lived anywhere with a wave just outside my front door. Because of this I had to search for and travel to river waves. I believe everyone should try this at least once. So I want to share with the world some info that may change someone’s life. I am going to share the best ways to get the best waves and then I am going to share what I believe to be the two holy grails of river waves.

How to Find Epic River Waves

1. Pick a Location

This could be close to your home or on the other side of the earth. It doesn’t even have to be a river, standing waves happen all over the world in a number of setting such as canals, tidal exchanges etc.

2. Research

The best way to start is to search online for any info related to rafting and playboating. When I first started I used a website called www.playak.com. Play boating was more popular then but even with the sports decline in popularity all the years of data is still online. Rafting is a very popular pastime and there are rafting outfitters all over the world and most of them have YouTube videos of their trips.

The second best way to find suitable waves is Google Earth, as you are one click away from every river on earth.

And there is the old fashioned way, get out and drive along the river. Heading upriver is always best as you can’t see river waves from the back. Also be social, get out and talk to people in the local areas, whether they look like they kayak or not. Local people who live by the river spend time on the river and they may be your golden ticket. Also take what play-boaters say with a grain of salt, what we want in a wave is not what they want in a wave.

3. Network

At the start in North America there was the organization I started called the WRSA. In reality it was a website I had built that made a simple statement. “River surfing is going to take surfing all over the world. There are river waves everywhere, go find them.” I put up photos and videos and info on the spots I had surfed and I put up a member sign-up page. By 2005 the WRSA had just over 100 members. The core of them being from the ARSA in Alberta. It was from this simple website I was able to connect with the outside world.

4. Call Me

I am not kidding. If you take the initiative to call me, I will take the time to tell you about any waves I have surfed. 1-(503)-754-4764. You can email me but I can’t guarantee a response but if it is your only option to communicate with me then make it clear you can’t call me and I will be sure to respond.

The Two Best River Waves on Earth

What I will share now is in hopes that someone will take this to the next level. I am now 45 yrs old and I am laser focused on my hair career, river surfing is a thing of the past … at the moment. Since I do not see me getting to either of these two waves in the near future, the next best thing I can do is share what I have discovered. One wave is well known in the kayak world, the other is a secret to everyone until now. I found the second one by chance while watching a nature special on Netflix and within seconds I was on my computer researching this wave.

The two best river waves on earth that have yet to be surfed. I based my whole passion in the early years on the desire to ride Rapid #11 on the Zambezi and Skookumchuck Narrows: Learn more about these wave in my video here. So it is ironic now the two waves that I see as the next level are pretty much mirror images of #11 and Skook …. just bigger and meaner. They are the bad ass big brothers.

Mistassibi Barrel Wave

All I am going to do is tell you is the name and provide this video link. I will say this. The comparison between #11 and this wave is undeniable but its like comparing Pipe to Teahupoo. This wave is HEAVY! Mistassibi Barrel Wave on Mistassibi River in Northern Quebec.

Corryvreckan Wave(s)

I am only going to share the name and this video. You will have to research exactly where the waves form in this huge tidal exchange. This wave to me is the ultimate standing wave in the world. Just like Skook it’s a massive tidal exchange and the compassion is undeniable but it’s like comparing Waimea Bay to Jaws. The shear size of the waves here is INSANE! Did I say waves? Yes. Because of the set up here the waves are standing but they rise up and then are pushed out into the main flow where they collapse on themselves. I have never seen anything like it except the waves that build and crash at the start of the whirlpools at Skook and that worries me.

I will give a little more info so nobody tries something stupid:

1. The whirlpool which is the major attraction is not near where the waves break.
2. They call the wave(s) “The Grey Dogs”.
3. Do not attempt to surf near the whirlpool.

Be a Pioneer

And there it is. The future of surfing is near and it’s nowhere near the ocean. Go search. Go be the first to ride a river wave. Be a pioneer.

Aloha
Elijah Mack

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