Getting into Shortboarding

[hotdog.]

Hey guys,

I've been surfing a 7'10 Bic mini-mal for some time. I'm confident on it, but I'm looking to transition to something a little more responsive and shorter.

With that said, I'm 6'4 and 210 Lbs, so I'm concerned about flotation. I have been looking at retro fish designs, but I'm not sure what sort of board or size would be a good fit for me.

I have a skate/snowboard/wakeboard background, and I would consider myself on the beginners side of intermediate surfer, but I am very athletic and have picked it up quite quickly.

Any thoughts on a size or style of board for a bigger guy like me? Focus is on performance while maintaining ability to catch waves.

I will be surfing in Florida for the next two months, then I will be living in Costa Rica for 6 weeks after that. So something for the smaller days that can handle a hollow day or two.

Thanks, cheers!

-Hotdog.

[oldmansurfer]

All of the other board skills you don't help with waves. An important part of surfing is learning to read the waves, where to paddle out, where to lineup, which wave to catch. That aside I am 6'2" and 210 pounds and the beginners side of intermediate and I surf a 7'6" x 24" x 3.5" funboard made for me. It is very responsive. How old are you?

[jaffa1949]

Wow, You have put on 60lbs since you first posted in 2008, you should have a pretty good handle on what you need. HOWEVER at that weight I would still recommend staying with a longer board or if you must go shorter then more in width and thickness.
I'll say this yet again turning is an ability of the surfer not the board at your weight, a back foot jam on any board should produce an epic turn.

If you are struggling turning the BIC, myadvice get off the BIC , IMHO great pens ordinary boards, look at an NSP or epoxy range board in a similar size or as I said above. I would not counsel going below 7'6" even with increase volume elsewhere. EPS and epoxy will give you more float but if you have really progressed from your first posts it may feel a little corky

[dtc]

Are you going to be surfing, or able to surf if you want, for the whole 6 weeks in Costa Rica? If yes, you could consider getting a high volume 7' to 7'2 board and just working hard. Something like the McCoy nugget, FireWire Addvance or one of the 7S models; even a CI pod. Or just an NSP fun board.

Will the waves in Florida be strong or fairly weak? If weak, stay longer

[hotdog.]

Yes, I've grown a bit. I was about 13 when I was first posting on this forum, I'm 20 now. I rode a 6'4 Kechele UFO for a bit, and while I really enjoyed the ride once I was up, I found mysef stalling on a lot of waves, and just not making as many as I would have liked.

Oddly enough, I find that the 6'4 is a much better more enjoyable time than the Bic, simply because the design is so boring.

I'm open to longer lengths, but would like to get away from a true long board. I'm looking for something that is a versatile beginner board, that I could progress and not be limited by. Does that make sense? Let me know if I can clarify anything.

[oldmansurfer]

ah well at 20 you can probably go shorter than me. It will be harder to catch waves but you are young and can spend time learning then it's a matter of figuring out the place to be to catch a wave with a shorter board. You need to be closer to where the wave is breaking and you need to commit to catching the wave. Shorter boards aren't so good when you go slow also, you need some power to move you along so they tend to stall at higher speeds than longer boards.