Advice for next board

[AlohaSurfing01]

Hi all,

I want to ask for your advice on what should be the dimensions of my next board.
I surf in Black Sea. Here the waves rarely are big around 2-2.5 meters maximum.

My surfing experience is from August to December 2022 and August - to the moment 2023.
I surf on a 7' 60L Soft top.
But I start to realize my surf has too much volume for some of the waves I try to surf.
I can paddle easily with this surf catch the waves and go side ways on the face of the wave.

So in order to progress I want to get a new board.
The question is what how big should the jump in length be...
I am thinking for a 6' 4 surfboard...
But first let me share my measurements:
I am 169cm ( 5 feet 6 17⁄32 inches )
I weight 67 kg ( 147 pounds )
I am a very active person. Train almost every day (when I don't surf i do strength training).
I am thinking for something like a groveller considering the conditions where I surf. Something around 40L maybe...
I will have a local shaper shape a board for me but I am wondering what surfboard shape he should shape.

Do you think the jump from 7' to 6'4 is good enough.
And how many liters do you think is good?
I am afraid of not getting enough volume in the board but at the same time I want to be able to duck dive.

I will appreciate it if you give me some directions in the decision.
Cheers!

[jaffa1949]

Hi and welcome a Black Sea surfer, my world ocean mind is doing a few spirals, thinking Turkey , Bulgaria, Romania and sadly at the moment Ukraine.

And having a local shaper wow, If you are in Bulgaria or Romania, you have the longest fetch to build bigger waves with winds from the east,
Distinct possibilities.
Now about boards a 60ltr soft top at 7ft is pretty much a paddle barge, easy wave catcher but as you are finding out hard to engage in the wave meaningfully.
Anything 7ft and a hard board will have a lot less flotation you are going to find wave catching harder, go to 6‘4‘‘ you are going to loose a lot of wave catching ability but as you say you are fit add paddling as an exercise for those flat days.

A local shaper they could your answer, develop a working relationship with them see if they have various boards to try, and try them.
See what suits!

A question that comes to mind is, what is the power of the waves like? The weaker the waves the longer the board is a rule of thumb, especially if power is lacking!

Please share where your local beach is and what the :::::::::? surfing scene is like there. Would love to hear good news from the Black Se
Jaffa in Austria

[oldmansurfer]

I think the drop you are suggesting will be very challenging. I am not sure how well you can handle the loss in stability and paddle power. We are all different but I would imagine for most people they will either give up or get another board after feeling too challenged. That's not to say you will be. Some surfers seem to be in the endless search for the board that is going to make them a good surfer. Many surfers celebrate the addition of another board to their quiver. However I think around 7 foot would be a good drop for now but one more board is one more for you to chose from and it might be good for you. You can always go back to the original board again for a while if it's too difficult.

[AlohaSurfing01]

So you suggest 7 foot epoxy surfboard.
Is there a possibility of having nose dives if the board is too big. If I try to surf it in 2m waves?
One of the reasons I want a shorter board is that.
I know I may sound like a kook considering a nose dive done if you are positioned wrongly, but still I have to ask.
And will a 7 foot epoxy board allow me to do bottom turns?

I hope I get an answer to these questions.
And thanks for the answer!

[jaffa1949]

All boards are able to bottom turn its the first important surfing skill to learn, all speed and power throughout any ride is based on what comes from a good bottom turn.
Next length of the board has nothing to do with nose diving , post the videos of the guys surfing the Black Sea waves and a few of our good surfers will comment.
I noticed that the better surfers had a good bottom turn working and several were on longer boards, good riders can turn malibus and even longer.
Looking like a kook , doesn‘t matter every surfer went through that stage, I‘ve been surfing since 1958 still have nose dives and kook days.

Here is a picture of an average day where and when I learned in the 1960s by Ron Perrot, no nose dives no leashes all boards were about 9‘6‘‘
You just learned the skills,

[oldmansurfer]

Sometimes pearling happens when you are trying to catch the wave. You’re unable to paddle well enough which can be from a variety of reasons and the wave pushes the tail up and the nose down. Other times it happens at the bottom of the wave which will be an occasional occurrence for the time you surf. There are different solutions for those instances of pearling but they don’t include getting a new board unless it’s getting a longer board to make it easier to paddle

[waikikikichan]

I surf on a 7' 60L Soft top.

Your soft top has the volume of an 8' hard board. So it's not that you're stepping down from a TRUE 7 footer.

I can paddle easily with this surf catch the waves and go side ways on the face of the wave.

And will a 7 foot epoxy board allow me to do bottom turns?

So how are you across the face if you did not first bottom turn ? If you can already bottom turn on your 7" soft board, then you should be able to on a 7' hard board.

Is there a possibility of having nose dives if the board is too big. If I try to surf it in 2m waves?
One of the reasons I want a shorter board is that.
I know I may sound like a kook considering a nose dive done if you are positioned wrongly, but still I have to ask.

If you go shorter, you'll pearl even more since you have to take off further inside where the wave is more steep and more fast. Your paddling power needs to be more and your reaction times has to be even more quick.

Do you think the jump from 7' to 6'4 is good enough.
And how many liters do you think is good?
I am afraid of not getting enough volume in the board but at the same time I want to be able to duck dive.

Forget about Volume. Forget about Duck diving..... For now........ Learn the basics on a Long(er) board first.

YOU are not ready for a 6'4".

[AlohaSurfing01]

In answer to waikikichan:
"So how are you across the face if you did not first bottom turn ? If you can already bottom turn on your 7" soft board, then you should be able to on a 7' hard board"
On smaller waves I manage to go like diagonally on the face. But I am not doing this sharp bottom turn like in the videos. On bigger waves also sometimes I manage to do it but sometimes I fall backwards or my nose dives or the rail in the front (around the nose) also had dived sometimes maybe i was staying too much in the front.

Thanks for all the replies!

As Jaffa suggested I am attaching some youtube videos of people surfing in my country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VzOg-T-syE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bJ4dnVVEF4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM2MWrP78Uk

How long do you think is this guy's surf?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1weUd7DyLio I think something defintely bigger than 6'4... Maybe like 6'6-6'8?

Do you think these waves are surfable with a mid length surfboard of 6'6 to 7'. I actually start thinking that maybe a bigger board of 6'6 - 7' will also allow me to practice on smaller waves around so that means more practice. Where as with a 6'4 board I really must be good to surf small waves (0.7-0.8m) which obviosly I am not... For the moment.

[jaffa1949]

All the waves you have shown are rideable on a 7*+ board, a short board while you are getting organised will nose dive you as the wave will lift the tail when you don‘t have paddle power enough to get down the face, Rail catching your pop up needs work if you are falling off the back when the board speeds up.
One way all the guys here can help if you get someone to video you surf, this also away for use to help identify a good board post pictures of the boards you are thinking about. We don’t know what you have available in Bulgaria but our aim would be to get you on suitable board that aid you through the stages of learning for quite a while 7‘+.

[AlohaSurfing01]

Jaffa, that is good that you tell me that our waves are surfable even on big boards, this means that if I get a bigger board I will be able to surf both big and smaller waves!

Actually today I managed to do 2-3 bottom turns that were more sharp on the soft top, so I would say I am starting to get a feel for it.

Regarding the paddling power I am pretty sure that on the lower volume I would say I will be able to get the feeling of it fairly quickly...

One thing that concerns me is what will be the difference in maneuverability of a let's say 7' 60L soft top and 7' 45L epoxy board...

Is the epoxy board going to be really that hard to get used to?

I start to think for something around 6'8 or 6'9 at around 40-45L.
Currently the surfing season has just started. For August I have surfed around 15-20 times (most of the times of waves of (0.8 - 1.1m) and 3-4 times of ~1.5m. I surf almost every time there are conditions...
Considering my frequent surfing do you think going for a bigger gap (6'8) is a good idea?

[waikikikichan]

Actually today I managed to do 2-3 bottom turns that were more sharp on the soft top, so I would say I am starting to get a feel for it.

Regarding the paddling power I am pretty sure that on the lower volume I would say I will be able to get the feeling of it fairly quickly...

If you're just "getting the feel" for bottom turning now, you are not ready for a 6'8". You need to have a good consistent bottom turn not only frontside but backside before you go any shorter.
If your paddling power is on the "lower volume", you are not ready for a 6'8". Shorter boards need to take off further inside, the wave will be steeper and faster. You need to have a STRONG paddle to go shorter.

One thing that concerns me is what will be the difference in maneuverability of a let's say 7' 60L soft top and 7' 45L epoxy board...

This is a 7'0" Catch Surf Log soft board.

[HaoleKook]

One thing that I’ve learned is that it’s way too easy to mis-match what you think you want, versus what you really need. I’ve read so many times that people often get boards that are too small, and thought I knew enough and was honest enough with myself to not make that mistake. Sure enough, my second board is the board for the surfer I will become, but not the surfer I was when I bought it.

You should get a board based on your ability and what you want to do with it. Don’t make length the driving factor, the proper length will fall out from the above. If you’re going to a decent local shaper, tell him/her your ability, size, breaks you surf and your goals. Be completely honest, and err on the side of caution. They should then have a good idea of the size you need. You’ll regret too small of a board way more than too big of a board.

I don’t have the experience of the other guys in this thread, but I think if I were on a 7’0 soft top, I’d be looking at 7’2 to 7’6 hard top. The extra length will help a lot with paddling and wave catching, and be offset by the improved performance of the board.If you look for videos on ‘mid length surfboard’ you’ll see plenty that do well in the waves you’re taking about.

I started on a 9’0 soft top (I’m 50lbs more than you), and went to a 9’0 hard top. I was stubborn; had I gone with a 9’6+ I would have had more fun, improved faster and been inspired to surf more.