Surfing Waves

going to Indonesia for 4 months or so and as the title sugests im unsure which board to take???

THE CHOICES:

i surf the 6"6 (Rusty Pirahana fish) pretty much every time i go so am used to and love surfing it.

i bought the 6"4 (Surftech: John Carper shaped for peter mel much more aggresive board) but have only surfed it a few times as i dont live that near the sea so at most we go surfing once a week manage to get decent surf maybe once a month.

THE ARGUMENT:

i have been surfing for about 1.5 years but because we only go every now and again most of the time in not very good conditions im still not all that good i feel confident surfing and am not worried about throwing myself into waves etc and can turn along the wave either way etc etc..... but...

i find the 6'4 alot harder to surf , got some time on it when we went on a short trip to france last year, havent really had a very succesfull time on it to be honest but in better conditions i think i could definately get to grips with it and would find it easier to learn more tricks.

i know ill be fine surfing the 6'6 even in xxxxx surf but im worried either its not the right sort of board to take (in some1 elses post people advised a fish wasnt the best of choices) or that it may hold me back learning tricks?

cant you bring both? suppose it depends on where indo your heading to?

im heading in september and bringing a 6'6 swallow tail and a 6'2 square tail. say that should cover anything.

if passing padang check out the trawler thats could now be a possible part of the line-up

I was under the impression that you should ride a fish about 3 to 4 inches shorter than your shortboard?

Sounds like you should take neither...

The fish wont be suitable for a powerful Indo wave, and you cant surf the more suitable 6'4.

I'd splash out and get a bigger shortboard with plenty of volume. But with a real shortboard shape and rocker.

i learnt to surf on a 7'2 squash and after getting to grips with that wanted to buy a smaller board so bought the 6'4 but with the waves im surfing generally only being 2ft ish i find it hard to progress on the smaller board ended up buying the 6'6 fish as an intermediate step (hence the reason it longer than my short board!).

i have surfed the 6'4 but only a few times , in france where the surf got up to about 6-7ft i was papping it but the board was good in more powerful surf! if i was a better surfer i know i could use this board in most conditions but i need a bigger wave to improve on and be able to use it, being able to go surfing every day is gonna be the making of me im sure!

why is the fish however not a suitable board (sorry if this seems dense)??

its just im going with 2 people who havent surfed much before and they are set on saying in kuta for a while and learning there and i dont wanna be there with a slick little board which i cant use on a small wave,
will a small kuta beach break wave still hold alot more power than a british one of similar size (again sorry if this a dumb comment!)??

nath85smokin wrote: if i was a better surfer i know i could use this board

Well, yeah, and if I was Kelly Slater I could do proper airs rather than the half-arsed unsuccesful efforts I do at the moment

Right, Ive not been to Indo, but I have made the transition from a UK wave to a more powerful wave. A wave here (in Oz) thats 3ft high, has sooooo much more power than a UK wave of similar size (ask a wave physicist to explain why and how). Indo will be similar.

So the wave will be faster and steeper. Fish dont like this. They dont have enough rocker to make the steep drop, and they're very skatey which isnt ideal on a powerful wave.

And if you're gonna be on a much more powerful wave, you wanna be on a board you're confident on - not one you think you will improve on, but one you KNOW you can make that drop on.

Whoa.... just read your other thread. You're going for three months?
Jeez... you need to be thinking about bringing a quiver, not just the one board. You're in indo, expect broken boards.

Yep agree you deffo don't want a fish in Indo. You'll want a squash or narrower tail really. S'pose if you look about you could find some rubbish waves to start off on and get into things a bit, but no way would 1 board do it for 3 months in Indo!
If I was going I'd take 3 boards. 1) short/medium length squash for rubbish waves, 2) 3 inches longer with round tail and 3) 3 inches longer still with pin tail. And they'd need to be low volume rails and narrower than normal.

Wish I was going to Indo for 3 months !

can i possibly trade places with your fish? but i agree with everyone else.either you need a new board or practicepracticepractice with the 6'4.then bring another for when it snaps

cheers for the advice guys gonna head out on the 6"4 tonight as there looks like there could be some ok surf see how i get on and as long as im ok with it think im gonna take the squash to indo!
i know what your saying about taking a quiver but i think im just taking the one board BUT i wanna get anouther made out there (as im sure my surfing will improve and ill know more what sort of a board ill want) possibly a few i guess depending how i get on at breaking boards!!
4 weeks till im out of there c-mon!

Become at one with the ' aggressive 6'4" ‘ - catch waves with it and pump the hell otta it for forward motion and speed. Ride the crap out of it, work it , shout at it and beat it. Then, when the perfection of Indo comes, you'll surf smooth and elegant like a pro, – have a nice one.

cheers guys indo is a week away now!!! and ive taken the 6'4 on the last few surf trips to the lovely porthcawl and have been getting on with it better than my fish i think my confidence and ability has improved and i prefer it now by far cant wait to get on some decent waves asap cheers for the advice people i needed the kick in the right direction!