When to shorten your board?

[Millsy82]

At what point do you turn around and start going shorter with your board.

The reason I ask is I am using a foam board at the moment and am looking into getting a hard board in the new year, what I was thinking is either getting another mini mal the same size as what I've got now in the early months of the year or wait for the summer and keep using my foam board until then and then buy a fish or something like that.

What skill set do you need to be at before you can shorten your board?

[oldmansurfer]

The usual suggestion is to get a hard board the same size as your foam board. There is so much that goes into picking a board. The best way to try to figure it out is to try out the board you are thinking of getting if possible.

[oldmansurfer]

I guess ultimately it depends on your goals but then also on how much time you spend surfing what kind of waves and your weight and height and age and skill level and then also what works for you. Back when I learned to surf I started on a shortboard but in those days a shortboard for a beginner was about 6 inches longer than your height so I started on a 6'10" board maybe the extra 2 inches because I was just starting. I think overall going shorter more than a foot makes it a big change and something that will take some time to get used to. As long as you are aware of that and determined to get over that hump, it's possible to make big jumps but I think lots of surfers get frustrated and give up. Generally speaking a new board isn't going to give you skills. You have to learn to use the board. So if you aren't able to do some maneuver getting a new board won't solve that problem. It might make it easier but you still have to learn, the board won't teach you anything.

[Millsy82]

It's not to get over a problem but I have been lead to believe that turning is easier and I could leave a shorter board in my works van so could get out a little bit more.

At the moment the thing that is letting me down is confidence and fitness but hopefully by may that would of come on loads.

[oldmansurfer]

If you lack fitness then going shorter is going to be really difficult. Bigger boards are easier to catch waves with. I think fitness will help with your confidence. Lots of people here are of the more the merrier philosophy about boards. You can get a board and hang on to it for later when you are more fit

[waikikikichan]

but I have been lead to believe that turning is easier .

Probably true in physics and walking with your board under your arm. But they are easier to turn in their element. Like a F1 car on the track versus in the shopping mall parked by lot. A bigger board is better if you're going straight in the whitewater. Better to stick with a big balloon tire beach cruiser instead of a Lance Armstrong road racer with 19mm tires for now.

[waikikikichan]

At the moment the thing that is letting me down is confidence and fitness.

Where you "can" catch the wave changes on a short(er) board. On your foamy, you can catch BEFORE the wave breaks. With a short(er) board you usually have to catch it AS it breaks. Timing and Positioning become even more critical. So if you don't have the confidence to take the drop on a steep face, it even be more scarier.
Surfing is mainly paddling. Like 90% of the time. So you better have good fitness. Soft boards are thick and easy to paddle. Don't make the mistake in going down to early. Learn all the basic skills first and master riding your current board before going down.

[jaffa1949]

Put simply If you haven't got the fitness or the skills going short from a foamy is just silly , at least get a board ( real one) of the same length

[Big H]

But fellas.....he want to RIP....step 1 is getting the shortest board possible that you can get away with right?

[Millsy82]

Sorry the question wasn't so much am I ready to shorten my board but as a general rule when do you say that it's now that you can start using a shorter board, I know I am not currently ready to go for a shorter board yet but didn't want to buy a board in jan/Feb and then find that I could buy another in the early part of summer (I wouldn't mind to be honest but my girlfriend would)

I know I have some problems to overcome at the moment mostly is my confidence and fitness which I have been working on. As on my other thread a lot of my confidence is trying to get out the back and not being able to turtle roll particularly well so if I do eventually get out the back I'm shattered and my arms are like jelly, to get round this I have spent the last 3 sessions just messing around in the breaking waves working on my paddling technique to see if I can make any improvement on that, I have moved myself forward about 1 1/2 inches and hold my head higher and this has made a huge difference and I can feel myself making progress in between waves, I have also been working on my turtle rolls to build my confidence up on them and I have noticed that I am getting back on the board quicker already after only 3 sessions and feel that I am making really good progress to getting out the back. Then I can start working on catching waves again and hopefully get back to where I was at the end of the summer and then progress further.

[waikikikichan]

I know I am not currently ready to go for a shorter board yet but didn't want to buy a board in jan/Feb and then find that I could buy another in the early part of summer (I wouldn't mind to be honest but my girlfriend would)

1) And what's so wrong with that ? That's a good thing. It shows you're progressing and ready to take another step.
2) Is your girlfriend paying for the board ? If it's your own money, shouldn't it be up to you how you spend it ?

[Big H]

Maybe think about shopping around for a new girlfriend rather than a board.....


BTW, so long as you can afford it (secondhand boards is the way to go at your stage) I'm all for trying out boards.....time to get off the foamie and something with real fins anyhow. Buy secondhand you can resell for near the same amount, sometimes even make a little change on the side.

[pmcaero]

Just get a big fat board with a lot of rocker and a sharp nose, from the distance it will look like a shortboard, it will still catch waves early, and it won't pearl on steep drops. But because of the extra width it might be uncomfortable to sit on in the lineup

[oldmansurfer]

The usual mistake people seem to make is to get a shortboard so they can get out through the surf. So they get one and still can't get out through the surf and once they do they can't catch much waves. If you get fit enough and learn enough with a bigger board then the smaller board will have some advantages but foam boards are floaty and flexible and I think it sounds like it is time to get a hard board

[Tudeo]

when do you say that it's now that you can start using a shorter board

If you're a beginner you better first build up paddle fitness and positioning and timing experience, a shorter (lower volume)board is just much more difficult to catch waves. Like Big H mentioned going 2nd hand (cheap) is the way because it will take you a long time to learn exactly what boards you like.

I'm an intermediate surfer and I've got a lot of old boards, I must sell them someday, that helped me choosing the boards I really like. Now I (6', 165lbs, 53yo) mainly use a 6'2" and a 8'2" both with a decent amount of rocker. I must be very satisfied with these 2 boards because I haven't looked at new boards for months, which is rare for me

I surf a lot of different waves in Bali, and the wave I choose determines which board to bring. Sometimes I bring them both and decide when I actually see the wave. Basically for steeper and more powerful waves I choose the shortboard and for anything less powerful I bring the 'longboard', technically this 8'2" is called a funboard.

Also my fitness for the day plays a role in which board to choose, the longboard paddles so much easier. Sometimes I bring the 8'2" for a steep and powerful wave that better suits the shortboard, when I know I must fight the currents, especially on our east coast. Again it's the easier paddling that tips the scale.

If there is no current then I can still bring the shortboard even when i'm not so fit, cos I can just sit outside and rest. If your timing and positioning is good enough then you can catch waves without paddling like crazy.

[Alex44]

I think it's a bad idea to shorten too fast. Regarding the skills required to go on a hard board, I would say that you need to at least: follow the wave, make ugly but functional bottom turn and mini cut back and control your board (don't ditch it) in the conditions you are surfing. Once you know how to do that and are able to paddle on the waves you like without missing it you can consider going shorter.

To go from a foamy to a shortboard is a huge step. I would recommend you to have at least 1 or 2 boards in between.
In between shortboards and foamboards you have a whole range of minimalibu that are fun in pretty much everything. Then a bit shorter you have the eggs/wombat kind of shapes that are just a dream to paddle and to surf and that will allow you to improve a lot in a short time.

If it can help, here is how I did it: I started on a minimalibu 7'6'' after around 3 years of bodyboarding. I kept that board around a year, I was only using it in small/weak conditions and mellow reefbreaks and was taking my bodyboard for the shorebreaks/heavier surf. Then I moved to an egg looking close to a wombat 6'8'' * 22. A pure joy ! I loved it so much that I almost completely stopped using my bodyboard except in shorebreak, small/weak/more punchy/ as long as you can bring it to the peak you can surf any intermediate waves... After one year and a half, I moved to a shortboard more "classic" 5'10 * 18.3/4 and I was having a lot of fun as well.
But at the beginning, small waves in shortboards were pretty boring, I only had fun when it was minimum chest high, while a knee high on my egg was a pure stoke !

As said above, forget the duckdive for a moment, if your condition is not good enough, a shortboard will slow you down. There are so many fun boards to try in the 6-7 feet range with high volume that it would be a shame to miss it!

[oldmansurfer]

I can put an 8 foot board inside my Nissan Extera with more than a couple inches to spare. This is just on top of the seat between the head rests and if I put the passenger side seat back and stick the board into the foot well then it has even more room to spare. If you have a van then you should be able to get a similar sized board in it....well you can try it. If bringing a board with you will help to get you out in the water more then I would get a minimal or long board that fits barely into your van. Surfing more often will help to get you into shape and progress your surfing faster. I used to surf long ago and quit and started again after not surfing for 11 or so years. When I restarted I only surfed 30 minutes a week..... that is 26 hours a year. When I originally learned to surf I might surf that much in 2 weeks. It's a very slow learning curve for me now even though I doubled the amount of time I surf a week.

[Millsy82]

In my van I can get my 8ft board in it from corner to corner but it is a nightmare for me to work out of, over Christmas I am going to pull everything out and see if I can put a false floor in and possibly cut a hole through the bulkhead so I can fit a board in and still work out of my van.

When I say a shorter board I was thinking more a large fish not a short performance board as these still have a lot of volume in them and I wasn't thinking of buying one until may/ June when the surf drops down a bit and hopefully my skill level has come up a lot.

The board I'm riding now is a redback revolution malibu which I was told was more of an inbetween board from foam to hard board and not like the swellies and other foam boards. So hopefully my transaction to a hardboard will be a little easier.

I know it is my money and as for getting another girlfriend that won't happen as she is fine with me going off surfing all the time and she would probably let me buy new boards whenever I want but mortgages and bills need to be paid before toys.

I have been looking at 2nd hand boards for a while and I wanted one exact same size as mine as I can still work around it in the van but most boards are either 7ft 6 or less or 8ft 6 and bigger which is why I'm still on my foam board. Occasionally a 7ft 10 board comes up but not near me.

I am not looking to buy a shorter board to help me get out the back, I am determined to get out the back on my board at the moment and I am getting closer.

[icetime]

Just get a big fat board with a lot of rocker and a sharp nose, from the distance it will look like a shortboard, it will still catch waves early, and it won't pearl on steep drops. But because of the extra width it might be uncomfortable to sit on in the lineup

That describes my hybrid fish perfectly
Paddles like a longboard, looks like a shortboard, doesn't duckdive because it has the volume of a longboard, gotta stick to rolling

[oldmansurfer]

You might go for a fish but all fishes are not created equal. Don't know how to advise you there but when I was relearning to surf I surfed a 9'6" longboard and when I realized I was starting to be hampered by the weight of the board that stuck out of the water when I turned I started looking for another board. I tried my neighbors board which was a fish and he was a big guy like me. That board was 7 foot and it was just as easy to catch waves with as my 9'6" board but it seemed like I got tossed off the board a lot when I was in whitewater so I found out the shaper was local so I met him and talked to him about it and he made me an 8 foot fungun. Initially I found it so unstable I thought it was a mistake but after 4 weeks of surfing one 30 minute session a week I got used to it and fell in love with it. Now I can't imagine a better all around board. I can ride fairly large surf as in double overhead and a little bigger or small surf as in knee high with it.