shortboard advice needed

[captain_curly]

Hey, the thing is i surf a 6'2 20 2.50 modern thruster typed fish at the moment which I get on great with. I just seem to never be able to make the drop in when it gets pumping around head height at croyde (i think this is because of the flat rocker). Anyway I need a shortboard, i would say i am an intermediate i can perform bottom and top turns quite confidently now, i am 160lb (11.5 stone i think) and 6ft tall. I really want to get this JS combat 6'3 18 3/4 2 3/8. I am willing to stick at it and try hard if i can’t surf it well at first. Or am i just kidding my self? is it really i smaller guy board? Any feedback also on JS boards would be awesome? Thanks Adam.

[Patrick__69]

Fairly small but its sounds like you have the attitude to not get frustrated and stick to it. It will be hard to paddle to so start training that as well. Get a bucket and drill a ton of holes in it until is looks like swiss cheese and then attack it to your lesh and start paddling. It will make your arms bigger alot faster. Also if you really wanna get in shape get a book called Fit to Surf it has a lot to do with fitness to make you better.

[Brian]

hey I have a Billabong board shaped by JS (making it a JS board). the dimensions are 6'3 18 3/4 2 5/16 so the board you are looking at is virtuslly the same dimensions as mine (slightly thicker). I am also about the exact same weight and height as you. I love my board, it is great, responsive, and works well in virtually any surf I have encountered...would definately reccommend it.

[captain_curly]

Cheers for the advice guys! Think i might have to invest quite soon now. What sort of ability are you Brian? guess your probabley awesome living in oz. do you ride smaller boards? if so how to you get on with them?Thanks.

[GowerCharger]

if your 6ft and find your 6'2 too short in bigger surf then you might want to go a bit bigger than 6'3 in a new board. If your fish goes well in smaller surf and all you want is something for the better days then why not go for something with a bit more length (6" or so) which will keep you going on the good days and see you through the days when it gets really big, then youve got your fish for the under 3ft days.

[SINGLEFIN74]

i'd say the reason you can't make the drop at head high croyde is nowt to do with the rocker
practice mate

[captain_curly]

surely its way harder on a fish??

[SINGLEFIN74]

there is no reason at all why the board you say won't make the drop , won't make the drop.
what exactly is happening when you try and take off????
play it through in your mind.
try and take off pointing toward the direction you want to go,
are you late getting up to your feet?????
if so , then less volume in your board won't help matters.
be honest with yourself and your abilities
i thought i had to get smaller and smaller boards after a year of learning but i ended up doing way more paddling than surfing which sucked.
tom curren was surfing triple overhead easy on a fish , so the board is definately capable.

[SINGLEFIN74]

oh .. and i had a 6.6 19 2.5 js
it was a really nice board

[captain_curly]

Firstly thanks for post man!!!

Well at first i thought i just couldnt hack it on bigger waves and i needed to practise, but when i was talking to a guy in my local surf shop he told me in bigger waves on the beach i surf most of the time 'Croyde' i would need a shortboard rather than a fish. The fact that my 6'2 goes like a dream in small surf made me think i could get a 6'3, (however my fish is a turflite which are ment to be more buoyant ).

When i paddle for a waves i angle my board slightly in the direction i am going to go (like you said), then when i feel i am at the peak i hop to my feet (back foot over fins and front foot maybe 2/3 of the way up my board) i try to turn before i get to the bottem but the nose sticks in the bottem of the wave and most of the time i bail or lose control.

I know i should really get a 6'4 or probabley bigger, but last time i took a risk on a smaller board and it worked and i havnt looked back since. Also i guess my duck dive will be more efficient.

At the moment i just going by my own personal experiance (which is limted) because different people keep telling me diffrent things!!

I would be glad to hear what more people think though. lol.

[drowningbitbybit]

Low tide croyde on a fish can get... er... "exciting"

The steep take off means the flat rocker doesnt fit into the curve at the bottom of the wave leading to some spectacular wipe outs

A lot more weight on the back foot helps though. (If only I listened to myself, I'd wipe out a lot less....)

'Course, it can be done. You can surf almost anything almost anywhere if you're good enough.... but certainly riding a fish rather than a thruster makes it harder for mere mortals

[GowerCharger]

there is no reason at all why the board you say won't make the drop , won't make the drop.
what exactly is happening when you try and take off????
play it through in your mind.
try and take off pointing toward the direction you want to go,
are you late getting up to your feet?????
if so , then less volume in your board won't help matters.
be honest with yourself and your abilities
i thought i had to get smaller and smaller boards after a year of learning but i ended up doing way more paddling than surfing which sucked.
tom curren was surfing triple overhead easy on a fish , so the board is definately capable.

more likely hes not making the drop because he cant paddle up enough speed on the fish so a longer thruster type board would make a difference.
And just because tom curren can do something doesnt mean its possible for an average british surfer

[SINGLEFIN74]

well gower
the board he's looking at has a lot lot less volume
and volume aids paddling as we all know
suck it and see

[GowerCharger]

exactly why i recommended he look for something with more length and volume.