New Surfer board questions

[tess1987]

I have been surfing for about or month or so and just renting a board. I am a fairly big guy like 5"11 but 225 lbs im not fat but im not skinny but they always give me a long board cause of my size...is it possible to ride a smaller board?

[africa extrem surf camps]

Hi Tess1987,
Seems that you like surfing and you want to improve, so you are looking for a way to start improving. A smaller board seems like a good idea. I'd say that it can be.
Normaly, a surfer always surf what waves ask for, and the better ones can surf what ever board in what ever conditions. In your case, i'd say yes you can go smaller, but are you fast enough and able to generate enough paddeling speed to take off on time for the waves? If yes, so do it. Just get a board that is a little smaller than a longboard, try a minimal like an 8' or even a Fat and chuncky 7"10, the most important is floatationg at this stage. The shorter board will allowed you to start turning a little bit and trying on getting your first green waves if you are not already on them with the longboard.
The fact that they give you a longboard all the time, it can be also from the fact that instructors get a little lazy and just want to make the job of getting you standing up on your board faster.
Try different boards to get aware of the difference between each one, but always stay in the range of Minimals and longboards, or an evolution shape if surf is a little bigger.
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[esonscar]

7'2" for persistence, keep surfing it and you will stand on it - trust me.
Or
go for a 6'8" for a mega challenge – good luck here until you drop 5 stone though !

[Eddie_E]

I went through the same almost 2 years ago. I was just over 200lbs plus a heavy wetsuit.
My opinion now is that width, volume and wave size are more important than length within a foot or so of length. This is my non-expert opinion after my second year. I surf only low energy beach breaks thigh to shoulder high except for the odd hurricane swell.

My first board was an 8'4" Bic Magnum that was a 23 1/2" wide chunk of hard plastic with huge volume for it's size. I learned to catch waves quickly and it was stable and stiff as a barn door during my pop-up. I was able to make a mild bottom carved turn sooner than I expected, ever though I hadn't been on a skateboard in 10+ years. My biggest complaint with this board wasn't how it surfed, but rather how it bobbed like a cork waiting in a choppy line up. Maybe this was the stiff plastic. After perling 3 or 4 times a day on late take-offs ( out of 50 waves a day), I decided to get a real epoxy long board so the length would prevent all pearling and a little more stable.

My second board was a Bic 9'4" Nat young" at a little over 22 wide with a moderate V in the tail.
I spent the whole first hour on the board pearling every wave. Just like clock work, the nose would dig in and I would be upside down with my nose full of water. This board was much less stable edge to edge in a low energy wave. I now believe the V under the center fin is a big wave thing that turns ugly at slow speeds. I learned to ride it reasonably well. I never loved it.

My third board is an off brand (PSI) 9'6" at 23 1/2 wide with a super thick volume. Huge volume through the rails, nose and tail. As expected, it's stable and paddles well once it's huge mass is up to speed. This board takes huge inputs to turn despite it's performance 2+1 fin setup. Changing the wide center fin for an 8" cut away helped a little. I now believe the thick 60/40 rails being sharp until way forward of center is a major shaping error that a real shaper would have never done. I'll keep it around for friends who never surfed to ride straight to the beach. For my surfing it's time to move on.

I'm now looking for my next board and these are my thoughts.
I'm split between a performance longboard at least 23" wide and a faster funboard/egg around 7'10"~8' at least 23" wide with a flat bottom. My first choice right now is the 7S Superfish XL at 8'0" long. For long boards I find the Walden Magic at around 9'6" to be interesting. The description of the bottom V shaped channels gives me scary flashbacks of the Bic "Nat Young" V shape being so unstable. In the back of my mind, At my favorite beach I still notice that the highest number of perfect waves are caught by guys even older than me riding epoxy Webber Stylist long boards at over 24" wide, single fin and completely lacking any modern features.performance features. I have never seen any of the Webber Stylist being sold used in my area either , despite being around in big numbers.

[Verxea]

Hi all...

I'm looking to buy my first board and would appreciate some help.

I am 5"8 and weigh 126 lbs. I've been surfing for a week, 3-6 hours everday. By the end of the week I could stand up every time in the white wash, was pumping and carving a little bit (in the Dominic republic, small to medium waves mostly). I also moved back behind the break and tried to catch some bigger waves (not as successfully, but managed to catch a couple). My instructor said that I did very well for being a beginner

I'm going to start surfing more regularly. I've got a two week trip planned to LA in August (where I intend to buy my board) and a 6 week trip planned to the DR again in February (where I'll be surfing 3-6 hours everyday). So I'd like to get a board that I can progress on. I'm in decent shape and am pretty strong for a girl.

Unfortunately, I live in Toronto and can't seem to find any shapers to talk to. But I plan on finding one when I get to Cali.

What height, width and thickness should I get? I will be traveling with it so one issue is that many airlines only allow boards 6"8 and under.

I found a used Channel Islands Al Merrick Flyer in very good shape for sale. 6"4, 19 1/2" ,2 1/2" would this be suitable for me? Keeping in mind I'd like to progress on it.

Thanks everyone!

[esonscar]

Hi Verexa, I have family in T so I'll give you my honest opinion.........


Go Bigger than a “ Channel Islands Al Merrick Flyer in very good shape for sale. 6"4, 19 1/2" ,2 1/2" would this be suitable for me? Keeping in mind I'd like to progress on it. “

IMHO you need a board 6’ 6” x 20” x 2 3/4 - you can do much on this size – depending on the fin set-up you do not mention !