A simple technique in principle but be prepared for a few beatings when you get it wrong to start with and obviously make sure no one is around you until you are competent at it.
On a smaller board this comes purely down to timing and technique.
On a bigger board the technique becomes far more crucial. I can duckdive a 9’6″ longboard just enough and a 10 stone surfer can duckdive a progressive 9’1″ longboard so don’t think you can’t. Again, timing and technique are key but also a lot of strength and paddle power are added to the requirements, you won’t get the same depth as you would on a shortboard so you must approach the duckdive with more paddle speed and start paddling again as soon as you re emerge from the other side of the wave.
The key to duckdiving a bigger board is that the board goes in pretty much sideways, you will struggle to push a longboard into the water on its flat purely because of the surface area you are fighting with. Your foot can go on the deck or on the rail, your hands just in front of your chest and you using a “knifing” motion to push the board under, as you follow the board under you will level out the board as it reaches its maximum depth and increase the pressure on the tail of the board to push you through, much the same as on a shortboard.
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Ashley Braunton 