Learn to Surf | How To Surf

How To Do A Floater

11. Floaters

how to do a floater

How to do a floater - Floaters not only look amazing and super critical when they are performed at high speed but they can also be done without needing much speed at all, they are actually the easiest maneuver to do when you have very little speed, so how do we do them? We will start off with how to do a floater with no speed and move onto the high speed critical floaters, but generally it’s exactly the same formula whether you are trickling along or going mach 10!
So why do we do floaters?? They are done on a number of different levels, the main obvious one is that they look pretty sick, what your essentially doing is your toying with the wave, its energy is flowing and pitching out towards the beach and your defying it by using your speed to go along the lip in a different direction.

It’s a great maneuver also because it’s a very light footed one, Most on the face surf moves are about power whereas the floater is exactly what is says on the tin… its about floating. They are also a great method for getting around sections of wave that crumble in front of you and also a great way to finish a wave by doing one off the closeout section.

Lets start with how to do a Frontside Floater - As with most things in surfing you should set up for a floater by trying to generate as much speed as possible. The more speed you have the easier your board maneuvers and the more power you have over the wave. So go along the wave and get some pumps in for that much needed speed. What you want to look out for here is a lip that is starting to break or crumble in front of you. When your starting out you want to look for weak crumbly lips that don’t offer much of a threat. When you see one of these sections in front of you, you want to guide your board up towards the lip, don’t do a big bottom turn because if you do it will set you up for a Reo (see lesson 13.) and not a floater, so as your approaching the section the aim is to get on top of it and travel along the lip for as long as you possibly can. If you aim into it at a too steep an angle then you could find yourself flying off the back of the wave and wasting the section. Too shallow an angle and lip will hit your board and push you out the front of the wave or just take your board clean from under your feet, so timing and positioning is key for this. As your about to get on top of the lip make sure your knees are bent so that you can take any compressions as you get on the lip also make sure that your arms are spread but more pointed down than flapping up and around you! Once you get on the lip and feel yourself floating along be prepared and ready for the landing part. The wave is boss here and will tell you exactly how long you have got up there, a good time to exit is when you feel yourself running out of speed or when you feel the wave is about to cave in and shut down! When this time happens its time for the landing, the key here is to spot your landing and head for it, remember we have talked about where you look and where your shoulders point your board will follow, well this is very true for floaters. So spot your landing, lean your ass out down the wave, turn your shoulders and tweak your ankles to turn your board back down the wave towards the beach, also be prepared for the drop out the lip to the flats. Spread your arms out for balance and to keep you centered over your board, extend your legs out for the impact and as you land at the bottom of the wave bend your knees to absorb the shock.

How to do backside floaters

backside floater

How to do a floater backside is a little more difficult and daunting than on your frontside.
When your at the bottom of the wave with your back to it and your looking over your shoulder at the lip its easy to get doubt in your head like “how the hell am I going to get up there” but try not to let that enter in your head. If you have any doubt about whether you are going to be able to nail it your going to get flogged. Like with a lot of moves confidence is key and backside floaters are probably the biggest example of this. You have got to think you are going to land it before you even start your bottom turn. With backside floaters you need to do a harder bottom turn than you did for the ones on your frontside. You need to be able to drive up the face of the wave and plant your board up there on the lip. It is key to look and get your shoulders in the right position for this. Once you’re up there enjoy the time you have because it’s a great feeling! When its that time to come down spot your landing, tweak your ankles to turn your board and propel yourself to the bottom, remember to have your arms spread and knees bent ready for landing! Take all this in and you will learn how to do a floater in no time!