Surfing Waves

Evening everyone.

I am 6ft 8in and 200-210lbs. I have been surfing 5+ times a week for the last few months and typically ride a 6' 8" SC pumpkin seed or a 6' 10" Webber. I love the boards, I can catch waves easily but sometimes I wish they were a bit more manuverable. Their volume is 36-37... I am going to get a new board in the next few weeks and have been thinking some more volume would help me generate a bit more momentum in flat spots.

Would moving down to a 6'4" with 40ish volume be too short? Do you think what is taken away in length would negate the additional volume? Maybe there is another giant out there who has already dealt with this issue?

Any advice is much appreciated!

You are really tall and a bit heavier than me (93kg). I’m 6’1” and have found my sweet spot to be between 6’4” and 6’10” for shortboards and have boards I like in that size in volume ranges from 40-48L. You are not small and I think you should trust your hunch and get a board that is at minimum not shorter than you are in the volume range of the low to mid 40s.

I bought a board from a guy almost your size....he was 6’6” and 220lbs I think it was. The board was a 7’4” and he rode it in Hawaii, here and Mentawi from triple OH to waist high he claimed. I have it for a step up but yeh, could be ridden in a variety of conditions.

That board is around 44L....wheelhouse for you.

Thanks for the reply fellas! Will definitely shoot for the mid 40s. Always thought I could use a little more float...

Owen Wright is probably the heaviest pro surfer at 190lb and he surfs a 31L. So you should be fine ....

But, seriously, a solid egg or modern fish type board around 6’6 or just maybe 6’4 would definitely be feasible. I would personally avoid getting a ‘high performance shortboard’ that was scaled up in size; it’s probably not really what you want. Stick to the more rounded lower rocker - like your current board really or the 6’6 FireWire Addvance

There are also boards like the hypto krypto that pack in a lot of volume. I don’t surf one but my mates that do all reckon you can go 2-4inche shorter that you are used to. But they are all midgets so no idea if it would translate

Thanks for all the help! After much deliberation, I ended up with a Channel Island New Flyer. 6' 4", 41 liters. Have taken it out about ten times and could not be happier. Tons of float and very easy to turn.

Thanks again for the suggestions!