Surfskate from Scratch: Setting up a Waterborne Surfskate

Part 3 of 3 in the Surfskate Series

1. How to Pump
2. Waterborne Surf Adapter Review
3. Recommended Surf Skate Setups (You Are Here)

You can buy a surfskate complete from a variety of companies. Waterborne has their own completes. Carver’s another large name in the business, with a variety of different trucks and setups. Swelltech, SmoothStar, Yow, they all make surfskate setups and completes. But what if you want to bring your own setup? Maybe you want to bring your own deck into play, or wheels and bearings. What would that look like?

I tried a few of my decks and setups with a Waterborne surf adapter and rail adapter. One really felt perfect, but I was able to enjoy myself on most of them. I found the formula is some rocker and concave and more than 25″ of wheelbase for really large pumps, and under that for smaller, less powerful pumping, but nimble setups. Regardless, I recommend wider setups, at least 8.5″ at the front. Both longer and shorter setups have their own merits, so I’ll suggest a few of each type.

Recommended Setup

Longer Decks

I really liked the Waterborne adapter on a long deck. I like that big, full motion feel. For that, get a deck that’s strong, flexible, and has a radial or ‘W’ concave to grip your feet. You want a little bit of rocker to lock in. You don’t need something ridiculously long, but the 44″ Bamboo Pinner has been perfect for me. I’m quite tall (5’10”), so I like a wide stance, especially for surfskating.

A wheelbase between 26″ and 35″ will be ideal for this. You can go longer, but I think there’s a point of diminishing returns when you have a deck that’s too big to turn or get out the door.

Finally, anything you use will have to be top-mount. You could use a drop through deck and top mount your trucks, but it won’t be as strong, and could break at the fork. You’ll also want to avoid anything with a micro-drop. If the bottom of your board isn’t flat, you won’t be able to mount both adapters easily. You may also get wheelbite.

• Loaded Bhangra, a bamboo deck with kicktails and a 33″ wheelbase. Mostly used in dance, it would still make a decent surfskate.
• Moonshine Proof, a pintail with Moonshine’s sealed waterproof layer. It’s flexible, but has a small amount of camber. Otherwise, it has a radial concave and 31.25″ wheelbase.
• Landyachtz Totem, another pintail like the Bamboo Pinner, but 3 inches shorter.
• Sector 9 Moonlight Maverick, a pintail with maple and bamboo layered for a flexible deck and a 30.5″ wheelbase.
• A Hamboard! Hamboards are made to basically be surfboards with skate trucks. Their “short” setups are almost 4 feet long. My pick would be their Huntington Hop, a 45″ longboard

Shorter Decks

Going to a skatepark? Want something to slash in ditches and bowls? A short wheelbase will be incredibly nimble and a lot of fun at lower speeds. While you won’t be able to generate as much power with smaller pumps, you can certainly have some fun on one of these. Wheelbase options around 14″ (your standard street deck) would work but you’ll likely prefer something around 18″ or more. I really do recommend a larger deck with a 20″+ wheelbase, as does Waterborne. Their own decks range in size, with the smallest having a 20″ wheelbase.

But if you really want a shorter deck, and you don’t want to try a truck-based surfskate like Carver’s C5 or CX.4, then here are some potential options that might work. I didn’t like my Waterborne as much on a short wheelbase, just because it’s tough to pump up to speed, but it was still fun to slash around on a small platform.

• Loaded Omakase, a versatile cruiser-like deck with an adjustable, 20.75-22″ wheelbase, a bit of rocker, and wheel flares for a bit more lean. It’s wide too, made for 180mm trucks. so there’s stability in its shorter 33.5″ size.
• Landyachtz Surfskate Decks. Landyachtz just released a line of surfskates themselves. But, you can also grab just the deck to get a bit of rocker, a cruiser shape, and an adjustable wheelbase. The smallest is a tiny 13.2″ wheelbase up to a more cruiser-sized 15.3″, and their larger deck, which I think is the better option for this adapter, has a 15″ or 17.1″ wheelbase. I actually grabbed one of these after falling in love with surf skating, so I’ll review it and the Waterborne in place of Landyachtz’ trucks down the road.
  • Also a potentially good option: the Landyachtz Dugout. This is like the lovechild of a cruiser and a pintail. It has a 17.25″ wheelbase, but some may find it too narrow. A slightly wider and likely better option is the Landyachtz Schooner, with a 17.5″ wheelbase and 8.6″ width.
• Any Carver Deck. Carver makes their own surfskates as well, and their C7 surfskate truck is very similar to the Waterborne, but it uses a spring instead of a bushing. These are fantastic as completes or components as well.
• Zenit Vapor. A lightweight deck with a 9″ width and 17″ wheelbase makes it a decent size for a cruiser surfskate. Plus it has a cool vaporwave graphic. Waves. Surfing. That’s basically fate.
• Really, any wider cruiser. There are many cruisers on the market. I recommend something with a wheelbase a bit longer than 15″ for the Waterborne, only because it can turn so tightly on a small wheelbase that you might not like it. As far as width is concerned, you’ll probably prefer something wider, between 8.75″ and 10″. If you can find something that’s more narrow in the back or has a rare combination of a W concave and flexibility, that’ll work great for generating power with your back leg.

Waterborne Options

Waterborne has a few of their own setups as well. These are carbon fiber decks that are lightweight and flexible. They come with Landyachtz’ 63mm Rocket Hawgs wheels and unknown trucks. They don’t say. The decks are supposedly indestructible, which is a nice feature. They appear to have a significant amount of springiness as well.

As completes, they range from $399 to $499. That’s a bit much for a complete for me. The smallest option has a 20″ wheelbase. Next is a 22″ wheelbase. Finally there’s the longest they offer, with a 26″ wheelbase. As I found, you can go longer and still have something that’s surprisingly agile and a lot of fun.

Penny

Penny makes a surfskate setup with Waterborne adapters. Their “Highline” series are plastic skateboards made to capture a skating feel somewhere between an extremely short deck and a longer one. The decks combine camber with a ‘W’ concave to give you grip and strength. I’m not a fan of the camber on Penny decks, but the fact that this is a Penny setup with actual concave does make it appear to be a better than their usual decks. Still, it doesn’t come with griptape, and I’ve found myself extremely thankful for the grip on top of my deck as I was learning. You don’t need much, but when doing the “scrubbing” motion, the lateral swaying of your front foot, that grip comes in handy (footy?). It’s got a 14″ wheelbase on a 29″ deck. The Penny is definitely a valid option, and it was made around the Waterborne specifically.

Wheels

For wheels, you’re going to want grip. Allow the surf adapter to do all the work up front. It’ll create a low-friction environment for you to pump with. In the back, especially, you’re going to want grippy wheels you can push off of. A surfskate gathers momentum from pushing into the ground. The front wheels have to be able to claw their way along the asphalt, and your rear wheels have to provide a solid surface to push off from. Get a soft wheel, 80A or below, with a smooth surface. If you can get one with squared-off lips, it’s even better, as they’ll resist sliding. I found that with less grippy wheels, and even with grippy wheels, I could lose a lot of power from the back wheels if they slipped when I went to pump. Definitely go grippy here.

Putting it Together

For trucks, you’ll be using whatever you have. I recommend RKP trucks for longer setups and TKP trucks for cruisers. If you’re looking for something with a stable feel and pumping power, the RKP options were my favorite. Make sure they’re about the width of your board. When it comes to bearings, get good ones. You won’t want to lose any speed here. This might be a good time for something that feels broken in out of the package, like Bones Reds.

Surfskating is a lot of fun. You can read up here on how to pump, and here’s the review of the Waterborne surf adapter I referenced in these suggestions.