Longboard freestyle – the basic forward railride

In this article, we will learn to ‘pull’ the basic, forward railride. We sailboarders are lucky. The wind Gods - or the Gods of wind, if you will - have given us windsurfing, and for longboards, they’ve given us the possibility to railride.

Here is the move:

 

This may look like a difficult move to learn at first. However, you are near guaranteed to ride the rail eventually if you follow my instructions and persevere. After all, most sailors could do it in the old days. Learning to rail will require lots of practice and tons of perseverance. The latter is good, as it happens to be one of your major qualities! Just to be safe, assume at least a month of fair work to do it well, perhaps up to a year if you’re only part-time on this.

Short board sailors: you may have known of or seen this move before. Even though it’s not your day-to-day sailing, try it, take it as a new challenge! Unless you live in Hawaii in guaranteed waves and wind, then you must go through lulls sometimes, where you can’t dig your short boards.

Railriding is a great challenge for you’z in 13-and-below knot winds. Just find an old wrecker, practice close to shore, experience the fun of the good old days !

Your skills at shortboard freestyle will come handy for this move, and make it easier for you to learn.

Historically, we’re told that this move was first seen in competition in 1976. I know, for having been a part of that period, that the railride was the backbone of freestyle in the 80s. Now, with a resurgence of railride-able boards – modern longboards, Starboard models and so on, this move is becoming possible again. However, for those who kept doing it through the years, it had never lost its appeal. The exhilaration from riding the rail is still right up there 25 years after pulling my first rail!

Before we get started, there are few pre-requisites to learning the railride. We list those below.

Longboard proficiency

Contrary to popular belief, longboarding is not the easy side of windsurfing. This freestyle stuff is not going to be trivial or easy. It’s not going to be difficult, but not easy either. Therefore to learn to railride, you need a fair amount of proficiency in rig control on long or mid-size boards. It needs not be 10 years of experience windsurfing, i.e. you could be the end of an intense first season, say. The second season is more likely to be the right time for you to learn though.

Let’s say you want to try things on a windsurfer, but aren’t sure about this move yet, then have a look at Longboard freestyle introduction. It’s a more basic, safer way to getting started at freestyling.

Learning conditions and equipment

This move is best learned at first in 9-knot winds, up to perhaps 11 knots. Don’t try in lesser winds.

A clean breeze is a must, none of that off-shore, flaky wind. Even pros have problems railriding in flaky winds. Make sure the rig is tight. The rail must not be slippery or too thin. If too slippery, use surf wax, wear footwear. You can always play Mr. Barefoot Macho once you master the move.

Many modern boards work well for the railride: Konas, many Starboard models, some larger Mistral. Or old wreckers – they can be had for cheap, good for sub-12 knot sailing. Don’t wanna buy? Borrow one from a friend – you’re bound to know people who have this old equipment lying in the backyard somewhere. The point is: don’t let the lack of equipment be used as a deterrent for not trying things.

Strategy & tips

o the LBWS web site has a general article on railriding, it is recommended that you go read it at Longboard freestyle – railriding in general. This article gives useful general tips, as well as safety and equipment considerations.

o upfront, here’s the winning tip: when you start falling both to windward and leeward in the same session, then this means you’re on the verge of getting it. You’re mighty close!

o decide early of the direction you want to specialise (learn) in. At first when you learn, try a few times following the instructions below on both port and starboard courses. Worry not: nature will quickly let you know which side is right for you. That will be your main railride tack for the next 50 years.

Safety tip: Do not use foot straps to flip the board. You could twist your ankle. Just don’t. My way is safer.

o a sure recipe for failure: try 50 times in a row, frustrate and give up. Every 5 tries or so, take a break and review the list of steps and troubleshooting advice hereunder. Try again when ready. Review the steps. It may take 10-15 outings before you get it, but you should get the general “feel” of the trick after a few outings only.

The instructions in the rest of this article may seem overwhelming at first. Just take them one at a time, in order. What the hell: print this and use it as a checklist on the beach. After several tries, take a break. The article is long for this first railride, the coming articles on other railrides should be shorter and easier to explain.

My strategy at teaching the railride

We’ll teach the railride using the daggerboard at first. If you don’t have one, then it’s no biggy, the instructions hereunder still apply. One warning though: there are several other kinds of railrides, and the instructions herein do not apply to the other type – board backwards, etc. Don’t even consider trying those yet, wait for the coming articles. Or better: ask me by commenting on this article.

Here’s a video that is useful in understanding said steps below. Have a look at it a few times. As per my instructions, I do use the daggerboard for the time being.

 

My body does not “collapse” on the board, as will probably happen to you the first few times, but the instructions stand. I suggest you review the video for each step. Here are pictures we will use as well:

Step-by-step instructions for the basic railride

Upfront: clean wind 8-10 knots. Wait for the right conditions, practice other freestyle moves if you have to wait.

Step 1: ready yourself by getting on course.

• board should be 75-90 degrees from the wind (near beam reach) if the wind is 7-8 knots, or 70-80 degrees if more than 9 knots
• for better control, my front hand is overhand and a bit nearer the mast than usual
• sail with a bit of weight on the boom, body is vertical (not leaning out) and facing the sail and leeward (as opposed to facing the mast)
• front foot is where the daggerboard is, 45 degrees
• rear foot is right behind, 90 degrees to the board – this is important

Sail like this for a few seconds, as you have to be comfortable with this stance. Abort the move if the feeling is not right. (An advice that sometimes apply to other aspects of life…)

Step 2: now you’re ready.

• put as much as you can, about _, of your weight, through the shoulders, onto the front hand. Basically, you’re “hanging” somewhat your body onto the boom, but do not sag, and no leaning out. The mast shoulder and biceps of the front arm work harder here.
• rear hand does nothing, but helps steering - minimal body weight there.
• look down and move the rear foot so that it is perpendicular to the board, behind the daggerboard, with the heel at or to leeward of the mid-line of the board. The idea is that the foot will soon push down the lee rail in a pedal-like motion.

All this, while you’re keeping course and speed. If the board changes direction, ABORT.

Troubleshooting: if the board changes course…
If the board turns upwind as you put your weight on the boom, then obviously you’re bringing it astern, or your feet are too far back.

FIX: try moving your hands back the boom a bit next time you try. And/or try moving your body abow or astern. You must not rake the rig back whilst pulling the railride.

Step 3: let’s do it! Half-a-second after step above (don’t wait too long):

• still looking down at your feet
• put even more weight on the boom through front hand
• at the same time, quickly (but without jerking) push down the leeward rail, with a pedal motion
• at the same time, take off weight off the front foot to allow the leeward rail to rotate the board around its centreline
• body may crouch a little, but should remain near normal, at boom height. Try not to collapse the body on the board.

Troubleshooting: board doesn’t flip

The board should flip easily and fast with the pedal motion. If it doesn’t, if it’s hard, if you feel that there is resistence, then it’s you: you’re being tentative. This is normal at first, you don’t want to get hurt, and it’s a scary move.

Just review the instructions, it’s gotta flip.
FIX: make sure rear foot is to lee enough, with full weight on the boom. Perhaps you do put full weight, but remove that weight at the last minute. Ensure too that you’re now using the front foot as counterbalance to prevent the board to tilt.

Step 4: this is perhaps _ of a second after step above, as the board should tilt fairly quickly. It’s tilted at say, 45 degrees now. This step allows the front foot to participate, rather than get in the way.

• the board is about 45 degrees: move front foot from top of the board to gently “hook” the windward rail that is lifting
• the foot is facing forward a bit
• pinch the rail so that you help it up, or at least so that the foot remains in contact with the rail – but this foot is only help slightly, it is the rear foot that really allows the board to flip easily
• foot’s gonna drop onto the daggerboard soon
• do not use the front foot to pull the rail, or help it tilt. That’s the rear foot’s job.
• keep weight on the boom throughout

Troubleshooting: body or rig collapse
If your body collapse as the board gets vertical, it’s because you remove too much weight from the boom, or too quick.

FIX: if the rig collapses with you, then it’s because you inadvertently put weight on the rear hand in the process. Possibly try bring mast forward a bit next try.

Step 5: the board is almost or about vertical now, perhaps already leaning onto the mast. I am teaching here to use the daggerboard. I do so for me reckon it’s easier to learn that way, than go right away to a clean, no-daggerboard look-at-me-ma railride.

At this point, as a beginner, you can’t hang your body anymore, something has got to give. We may collapse the body onto the daggerboard foot, but in a controlled manner – no jerking.

• you still have lots of weight on the boom front hand
• front foot “falls” gently on the now horizontal daggerboard
• through all this, keep pinching gently the board with the dropping front foot – this gives you a feel for board position. But no pulling or forcing of the rail up.
• if you dropped the foot in a controlled manner, and if you “pinched” and the foot was facing forward, then it will fall quite comfortably in the very corner where the daggerboard meets the board.
• stiffen your front leg so that you can start putting some weight on it soon – this is often forgotten and will likely cause a collapse if not done
• through all this, keep luffing and sheeting as necessary to help maintain balance (but not too much)

Step 6: since the board is now vertical, the rear leg has nowhere to go and it falls through. If your front foot catches the daggerboard and that you put weight on the front foot, then you’ll be standing on the daggerboard. In this case, lift yourself up through the arms and allow this upward motion to put the rear foot on the rail. See picture on starboard: with weight on the front leg, the rear foot is lifting to get on the rail.

Troubleshooting: shin hurts
This is almost normal at first, but it shouldn’t hurt too much though.

FIX: don’t pinch the board too hard as you pull it. Also: front foot to point towards the mast, not perpendicular. This ensures the muscly part of the calf rubs against the board.

Or wear a wetsuit or leggings made of an old suit. Use footwear.

Troubleshooting: crotch hurts

If you fall with crotch on the rail, then this is because your body started facing the front or the mast, rather than face the leeward side or the rig. FIX: if you face the rig, then the “fat” part of the leg will fall onto the rail, mid-thigh.

That won’t hurt, and (for men at least) you’ll still be able to point Percy at the porcelain.

YOU’RE RIDING THE RAIL !!

If you collapsed too much on the daggerboard with the front foot, that’s OK, it’s still a railride and you’re in the club.

If you were really facing the sail, then the rear thigh collapses onto the rail, that’s OK too and you’re still in the same club. Collapsing like that won’t hurt unless your gonads are really weirdly shaped. YOU’RE NOW RIDING THE RAIL !!

In either case, congrats !!!! That was almost too easy…

After your first rail – what to do with it ?

Once it’s up: play with it while it’s up. Try to hold on to it, it’s fun! After you fall (inevitably), try again a few more times. It might take several tries before you get it again. You’ll get it more and more often, until it’s a “safe” move for you to perform. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter: the crowd on the beach is already impressed at this stage. If they’re not with the move, they should be with your perseverance and you just having fun.

Once you master all the steps, learn to use the daggerboard less (instructions below).

Eventually, try getting both feet on the rail, after all this is the final goal, even if you’re using the daggerboard still to pull it. Here’s the recipe: after you pull it, ride it for a while, grab your wind, and get some speed. When ready (but before the board gets too far upwind), put weight on the mast hand and the rear foot, as you pull yourself up onto the rail. Step onto the rail. Voilà! Great feeling, huh? The board will lean naturally harder against the mast, but no biggy mate, she’ll be right!

Steering on the rail

In time, you will find that riding the forward railride, whether foot on the daggerboard or both feet on the rail, is surprisingly stable. However you’ll also find that the board slowly turns upwind. And the stronger the wind, the faster the board will point up. Little you can do about this, as the whole board acts like one giant keel, but that’s OK. It’s slow enough a motion that you have plenty of time to enjoy the ride! Plus eventually we’ll learn to just tack the board on the rail – no less.

Clean-pulling the railride (not using the daggerboard)

I was deliberate in instructing you to use the daggerboard. Now, that could be because I myself was particularly lame at learning that trick long time ago, but nevertheless. To me it’s not that important to you clean pull, but it’s fun to try: it makes it more impressive.

Here’s a short discussion on the clean pull. The weight on the boom is doubly important, for the body must not sag as you pull the rail. So we’re back to the video at the beginning of this article – rewatch it:

 

As you can see, the rear foot still flips the leeward rail just the same, however the front foot works more. The leg bends and rotates around (as well as the body a bit), the foot hooks the rail without pulling too much, and guides the board up. All of the weight – Heaven knows the weight in increasing every year - is on the boom. What more can I say, it’s simple as that, but requires practice.

More you can do on the rail

The basic railride gets way, way, way more exciting. What’s more: it gets easier and easier to add to it. Basically you just cleared the biggest hurdle in longboard freestyle.

Here are some of the possibilities below. Note that many of those more interesting moves will be covered in later articles, but hopefully you will get the gist for further possibilities with the railride.

Railing in strong winds: learn to pull the rail in different wind ranges, preferably stronger wind, not lesser winds. You’ll find the board flips even easier in higher winds, especially if you have a daggerboard.

Rock’n roll: better seen than described.

 

This spectacular move is surprisingly easy in stronger winds, at least 10-12 knots – the board is stable on the rail then. Exciting, violent, physical, the crowd will be impressed. You can also ‘jump’ on the board up and down rather than rock it.

Pulling the railride lying!: The plot thickens here. This requires a bit of proficiency on the basic railride, but it’s not that much more difficult. When lying, there’s so much force downward on the rig that it flips almost by itself – the legs only guide the board then. Before you even know it, you are comfortably lying on the rail! From there, you can get up too, by the way.

Clew-first railride: See picture on the starboard side.

This railride is close enough to a ‘normal’ railride, but still deserves an article and explanation of its own. Later.

Sail 360 on the rail: This is quite a bit more advanced – I’d rather cover this move in the clew-first railride article.

Rail sail spin 180 to Everole:

 

I haven’t defined the Everole yet, but you get the gist from the clip – the board ends up upside down and your feet are underneath. Riding the board upside down is a different feeling altogether, that I’d rather cover this in a future article.

Tacking the railride:

 

As you may have experienced by now, the forward railride tends to go upwind. I’ll make a later instructional article on the tacking of the railride. This is more advanced, but in the end, one can tack, duck tack, and even board-360 out of riding a railride!

By the way, tacking the rail requires a fair amount of wind. This particular video had low winds – which is much more difficult for balance.

Reversing direction to an “Everole”: here is a convenient way of getting out of an upwind railride.

 

Again, I will cover this in a later article. Also great fun to do, not that difficult, and useful should you want to give the citizens on shore a cheap thrill…

Crazier stuff on the rail

Now, let’s get a bit crazier. Doesn’t mean they’re smart moves – just a little crazy…

Riding the rail, rig upside down: Not sure I’ll cover this on this site, we’ll see. This move is stupid, yet fun.

I remember that day well: some poor bugger on the beach was trying to tell me from afar that I was holding my sail the wrong way… When I flipped the board too, he was trying to tell me that I was now holding the rig *and* the board the wrong way. One clued-on watcher… (Last summer, I borrowed a Starboard from a beginner to fool around on, basically poor-wind moves with the rig, mostly helicopters, etc. When I got off, the owner comforted me that I didn’t seem to be able to steady the sail, but to persevere and I could learn to windsurf eventually. I just love beginners !)

Beaching the board on the rail: Woooaa, not really difficult, and rather catchy too. Will concoct an article out of this, it’s a bit dangerous for you and the equipment, it requires some instructions for safety. Yep, that’s me: Mr. Safety… Actually really dangerous with those rocks around too.

Later articles will cover other, unrelated railrides: riding the leeward railride (!), the stern-first railride, riding from various positions such as back-to-back, back-to-back stern-first, clew-first stern-first railrides, various front-to-back railrides, and so on.

Until then, have fun, and play safe!
Meanwhile, I would be happy to field any questions, suggestions for articles and moves, and so on. I intend to get to other flat sailing moves, railrides and other stuff. If I get back to Sydney to my wave sailing, I’d like to write an article that covers freestyle common to both long boards and shorter boards alike.

You can comment on this article by posting to the Forum or add a comment below. I’ll answer best I can.

LBWS would like to hear how you’re doing with your longboard freestyle, swend in some stuff.