Clean 360’s and Beyond…

By:Jacob Selander

In the past few years playboats have evolved to be able to perform more and more tricks on green waves. Carving, flat spins, grinds and of course clean spins- 360s, 540s, 720s, all the way up to the elusive clean 1440 and beyond that on some waves…
The clean 360 is a spin (front surf to front surf or back to back) done on a green wave or shoulder of a hole with only 1 stroke per revolution. Before I get into details about how to do a clean, here’s a couple things to think about:
1. Proper edging. A big part of successfully mastering this trick is keeping your boat flat on the wave, which means staying loose at the hips and being comfortable tilting the boat slightly upstream.
2. Placement. Most waves have spots where you can and can’t spin (with the exception of the Skookumchuck and Trestle wave- those waves are so good you can generally go crazy anywhere), so get to know the wave. Carve around on the face, do some flatspins, find the sweet and not-so-sweet spots on the wave.
I’m going to describe a clean starting from a front surf, but all the same principles apply to cleans initiated off the stern. Once you’ve figured out the wave, carve your way to the top, just like you’re setting up to spin to a back surf. Start the spin the same way with a little momentum down the wave face, but this time push the stern around a little harder and lean forward a little more as you initiate, making sure the stern releases and the boat is planing. As soon as the boat reaches a back surf, resist the urge to place your paddle in the water (!) and turn your entire torso to look back upstream. While you’re doing this with your upper body, lift ever so slightly with your downstream knee and use a little flick of your hips to “force” the boat around to a front surf. I use the word force lightly, the clean spin is more of a technique / finesse move than a power move. If you’re on a steep wave, chances are that you’ll have to lean back a little as you finish the clean to keep the bow from pearling.
Alright, now you’ve gone out and practiced your clean 360 a bunch and it’s left you drooling for more. Not all waves will let you clean past 360, but when you find the ones that do- man, it’s rewarding. If you’re finishing the clean 360 and feel your boat still planing, look back downstream and use that same flick of your hips to keep the boat flat on the wave and move the bow around another 180 degrees. Bam! There’s a 540! Look back upstream and with a little more hip action, there’s a 720! The key to keeping the rotation going is keeping the boat planing (staying loose at the hips, boat flat on the wave) and staying ahead of the boat with your upper body. This way it will act as a spring and want to crank the boat around to keep up.
Now get out there, find a big, glassy wave and take some Dramamine ‘cause you’re gonna be dizzy!