Looking for a easy paddling board

[trifish]

Right now i surf a 6'3 shortboard with a swallow tail and a 8 foot funboard. The paddling difference between the 2 is night and day. I have a fun time on my shortboard and been out on it about 20 times or so now and the paddling just doesnt seem to be getting any easier, so my surf sessions usually dont last more then a couple of hours. IM in search of a better shorter board to use that i can still maneuver good on but that can still paddle close to par with my funboard. I wanted to see if anybody had any recommendations. Ive been eyeing alot of the retro fish models (stewart,7s,walden) because it seems like the extra width and thickness will help the paddling. Im 5'9 185lbs. You guys have any thoughts on a board I should take a look at that might help me out? Thanks

[drowningbitbybit]

Fishes (retro or modern) are really easy to paddle when its smooth.

But if there's a bit of windchop, then they become a right pain. The fat nose catches the wind very easily, and doesnt go over the choppy water. So you end up pushing a lot of water.

So it depends on the conditions where you surf - if its small and clean, then a fish might be the way to go. If its windchop, then it probably isnt.

Some of the 'fat boy slightly fishy' boards that have all their volume in the back half of the board (and still retain a pointy shortboard nose) can get round that, in a compromise kinda way, and be easy to paddle.

[Pornstar]

Why not try a hibryd board?
I have a 7 hibryd board the fuller fun boardlike nose helps with stability and bouyancy.
I have seen shorter hibryd boards.
I also had a modern fish shortboard it was epoxy 6'6'' and frankly it sucked for me/

I guess it all depends on the kind of waves you ride. The flyer is a shortboard that a lot of guys here in this foru rave about because of its fuller template and that it flies on choppy conditions.
That are just my .02 cents go and ask the local surfers or the local surfshops for their advice for the waves you ride.
I did that and they helped me a lot.

[themathteacher]

I second the fish idea, I totally dug mine. I'm 5'8" 200lbs and owned a 6'2" fish and it was super easy to paddle. I have since moved on to only shortboards for performance, but I dug how esay it was to paddle my fish.

As to hybrids, if you want a board that is REALLY easy to paddle get a bigger hybrid fish or a funboard, but if you are surfing a shortie you will be giving up a lot of performance.

[trifish]

thanks for the options. Yeh right now im on more of a modern fish i guess you would say. Its pretty much a shortboard with a swallow tail so i dont really call it a fish, but paddling out its far from smooth. We do get alot of high winds over here so the conditions are usually pretty poor. I would say most of the stuff i surf in is 3-5ft chop. We get alot of white water that you have to fight through to get out to the line up. Its just at the moment I find my self doing alot more paddling then surfing and im hoping to cut that down some. When i take my funboard out i can spend half the day out before getting drained, but i usually dont last to long on the shorty. Alot of times i will just bail off the wave early so i dont have to paddle to much to get back out since i struggle with it. Do you have any examples of hybrid boards you are talking about? For me, my riding style is not aggressive, I just like to catch a face and do some turns and nice rides. I dont have to have the highest performance board out there, I just need something more then my funboard offers.

[themathteacher]

There are a couple of options for hybrids.

1) Big shortboard, 6'8" to 7ft, but thicker and less rocker to float and paddle like a funboard but perform like a shortboad. For example, the channel Island MBB are made this way. I had Sharpeye cop as a 6'8" x 20" x 2 3/4" but as a thumb tail, I only use it on big mushy breaks like at high tide or at a soft breaking reef, or when I feel lazy or sore to paddle easier.
2) A big retro fish, 6'6" to 6'8" but I prefer them as a quad since they hold up a little better, like the kane garden SK Quad Fish. My shaper copied a 6'10" epoxy for me and I dig it, use it instead of a longboard, that much paddle!
3) A bigger modern fish: like the rusty piranha that comes in 6'8" for fun paddling but still good performance. My shaper copied me a Xanadu Pig as a 6'3" quad that I use as my all purpose board, good for small or big (not huge) days, for when I'm not sure what to expect, good all around.

Remember, none of these are performance shortboards or fishes, but all they more fun that a funboard and paddle almost the same. For the ultimate paddle I would go with the fish. As a disclaimer, only use shortboards for good surf, so remember I am recommending great paddlers, not necessarily great performance, all the rest of my boards are 6'3 to 6'6" shorties.

[trifish]

awesome info. would you say thickness is more important for paddling then length. Kinda torn between a 6"2' - 6"4' thick retro fish, or looking at a longer thinner fish 6''10ish hybrid like a superfish. The mbb also looks tempting. If only I could get them all, ha.

[trifish]

Heres 2 boards my local surf shop has that look pretty interesting also.

6''8' x 21'' x 2 3/4 quad 7s superfish http://www.surfindustries.com/surfboard ... LEpoxy.php


6''10' x 20 1/4 x 2 7/8 surf tech channel islands M13 http://www.surfride.com/product_info.ph ... ad82c3431a








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[themathteacher]

Don't buy a 7s board, made in malaysia and only has one layer of 6oz on the bottom, much easier to break one of those. The Surftechs have more float and are way better for begginer to intermediate surfing and last a lot longer. Also, the MBB will have a higher trade in value if you decide to offload her

As to what is better, thick boards are super stable, flatter boards have more glide, lenght is relative to your ability. I have a 6'3" flatter rocker modern fish shaped after the Xandadu pig, it paddles better than my 6'5" but doesn't perform as good. So, long thick flatter boards will be stable and easy to paddle at the cost of performance, take any one dimmension and you start gaining more performance.

[trifish]

thanks for the heads up. What do you know about the channel islands M13? Any experience on it guys? Looks like it can handle a wider range of waves then the mbb but at sacrificing some performance. I like the idea of a good all around board that paddles well that i can take out 90% of the time. What size do people ride the low rocker shortboard/hybrids at? A 6''10 sounds like a good size, but maybe to big.

[themathteacher]

M13 is a bigger version of their regular board, the MBB is specifically a big guy's surfboard, so I think the M13 would be better in the long run bu the MBB will be easier to use right away. You decide, either go with easy now but not a ripper or harder now to rip it up, I think you already have an idea anyway...

[themathteacher]

Also, you could always go custom: I had the Xanady Pig copied, it did not come as a 6'3" quad and I did not want to drive to Orange County to get one, so I had a local shaper make me one. If there is a board you like you could always have a local shaper make it for you, specific to your needs, most know their competition and how to make a copy

[Sillysausage]

Also, you could always go custom: I had the Xanady Pig copied, it did not come as a 6'3" quad and I did not want to drive to Orange County to get one, so I had a local shaper make me one. If there is a board you like you could always have a local shaper make it for you, specific to your needs, most know their competition and how to make a copy

second that. if you're going to spend that much on a board i'd say it's better to go custom. probably cheaper too depending where you go.

[jon.biarritz]

awesome info. would you say thickness is more important for paddling then length. Kinda torn between a 6"2' - 6"4' thick retro fish, or looking at a longer thinner fish 6''10ish hybrid like a superfish. The mbb also looks tempting. If only I could get them all, ha.

Rent 'em and try different dimensions.

As to your first question length vs thickness, it also depends on how good you feel paddling on your 6'3 with your feet over the water, arching your body and finding (& staying) on the sweet spot position.

Less wide = less stable to lay & ride on, more difficult takeoff esp in smaller waves, more precise timing/positioning needed for takeoff, but more control in bigger waves & easier to duck dive

Less thick = less float, harder to paddle, lighter, easier to duck dive, more difficult takeoff

Nose shape, tail shape, overall/forward/&rear rocker make a big difference too.

What you like today will probably change quickly as you progress, that's been my small experience while trying and renting lots of sticks, then buying a 6'8, then a 6'4, then a 6'3, in a year or two I may be on a 6'1 if I keep on surfing almost every day.

[jon.biarritz]

Hey just reread your first post, if it's just about paddling then hit the pool doing laps & sprints on off days, move more forward on your board so the nose is just barely above water, maybe arch your upper body more, work on arm stroke technique, find the sweet spot with board level in the water, minimum surface in the water, your feet out of the water... whenever I feel like I'm not moving fast enough in the water, I scoot forward a bit & arch upper body & legs more and make sure my legs are tight together over the middle of the board and my weight all on my lower abdomen. I'm still working on this, it's an ongoing improvement process.

[oldwashaway]

Isn't it strange what seems to paddle well?
I have 5 boards:
(I'm 155 lbs but add to that my wetsuit and I'm a bunch more.)

My 9' longboard paddles almost as expected rather well, but since its rails are not very full its flotation is not what you'd expect for a board of that length. It accelerates slowly due to it's weight I assume, but eventually seems to paddle well.

I have 2 mid 7' funboards, one a little longer, narrower and flatter than the other. The longer funboard seems to paddle at least as well as my longboard. The shorter and slightly wider funboard with more rocker and more egg shaped does not paddle so well, but it catches waves really easily and it is super easy to surf with.

I have 2 shorter boards, one longer than the other but otherwise of the identical design. They are:
6' 6" x 21.5 x 2.65 inch
6' 2" x 20.75 x 2.5 inch
Both with low rocker, pointed but rather full nose.
Swallow tail quads
Full, floaty rails
These 2 rather floaty shortboards give me unexpected paddling experiences.
The 6' 2" seems to paddle much more easily, and a little faster than the 6' 6".
Why? You'd think that the greater flotation of the 6' 6" would give better paddling, but I seem to experience the opposite. Since neither of these boards really float me on top of the water as a longboard does and instead I "swim" with these shorter boards basically submerged, the shorter but narrower of the two seems to give less drag and paddles much, much better than the 6' 6".
Go figure.

[oldgrom]

Go have a shaper make you a MBB and a M13 for about the same cost.

[sebastiansurfer]

i agree with oldgrom.cheaper is the key.same performance
and the mathteacher
where are you in floridaa?

[TReMoR]

Right now i surf a 6'3 shortboard with a swallow tail and a 8 foot funboard. The paddling difference between the 2 is night and day. I have a fun time on my shortboard and been out on it about 20 times or so now and the paddling just doesnt seem to be getting any easier, so my surf sessions usually dont last more then a couple of hours. IM in search of a better shorter board to use that i can still maneuver good on but that can still paddle close to par with my funboard. I wanted to see if anybody had any recommendations. Ive been eyeing alot of the retro fish models (stewart,7s,walden) because it seems like the extra width and thickness will help the paddling. Im 5'9 185lbs. You guys have any thoughts on a board I should take a look at that might help me out? Thanks

a couple of hours? geez.. do you plan on surfing 10 hours?

[themathteacher]

As to shortboards

I'm 5'8" 195lbs 42yrs old, my shortboard is 6'5" x 19.5" x 2.5 pintail-thumbtail semigun, my all purpose board is 6'3"x20"x2.5" half moon quad with thicker rails, my shaper copied the "xanadu pig" to my specs (google it), both hand shaped epoxy.

I have a 6'6" x 19.75 x 2.5 fiberglass that rides idential to my 6'5 epoxy and I have a 6'8" x 20 x 2.65 for when I'm lazy and feel like a wave hog board.

I had a 6'3 x 19" x 2 3/8" shortboard but could not use it under waist high, felt I was sinking it, or overhead since I could not paddle into waves easily, so got rid of it since I like mine to be more all-purpose and less hastle.

Hope that helps