Surfing Waves

Ok, so im 6'2 and 150 or so pounds, i wont be surfing anything over about 6' maximum, and i want something that isnt super super difficult to catch waves with and something that is pretty responsive. Ill be surfing at cocoa and during the summer i will probably be surfing a pretty mushy spot on cape cod. im currently on a 7'6 bic that isnt too bad but i was just looking into shortboards cause they just seem like wayyy more fun. i might ride a friend of mines board sooner or later, and over christmas ill be out surfing alot so ill be talking to local shapers but i want to sound like i atleast know what im talking about when i do go. Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks

~Bear

hotdog. wrote:so ill be talking to local shapers but i want to sound like i atleast know what im talking about when i do go.

First rule when talking to a shaper - Honesty.
No point in pretending you're better than you are and getting the wrong board.

But trying out boards is the place to start.

At your height, and surfing mushy waves, you're not going to want a skinny high performance board. You'll be looking at a big shortboard, a funboard or maybe something like a superfish.

well im not only surfing mushy waves. i live in florida, so i will be going to cocoa and ill only be surfing this spot for like 2 months. i just basically want something that will be OK in the mush

drowningbitbybit wrote:First rule when talking to a shaper - Honesty.
No point in pretending you're better than you are and getting the wrong board.

Spot on. a shaper will be able to make you a board how you specifiy so dont go in there trying to talk the talk etc. if you know what you are talking about then thats ok but theres no point going in there asking for things youre not sure about. if you are honest however then the shaper can make a board with the right dimentions and volume distribution which will work a lot better.

for you coming down from a minimal id say youd need a board with some extra volume hidden in it somehow. either by just making the dimentions bigger or by keeping the thickness in it untill closer to the rails or towards the nose etc. you could even look at a hybrid or funboard or big fish like drowning said.

BTW - There is nothing wrong with a rack board. I do believe in supporting your local shaper, but i usually like to pick a pre made board so I know the shape is what I was looks for. Just cause the dims are the same does not mean the boards are the same.

Shortboards are only fun if you have the experience to ride it. Otherwise it just frustrates people.

if you get a shortboard, and are riding mush, think about a quad fin setup

im just looking for something that is responsive, doesnt make me look like a goob (yes i know this sounds childish) and something relatively easy to catch waves on. im definatly going to talk to a shaper just to see what ideas he has to offer, but i appreciate the advice you guys are giving me.


ALSO do you guys think i should try renting a short board while im out on the coast?

hotdog. wrote:im just looking for something that is responsive, doesnt make me look like a goob (yes i know this sounds childish) and something relatively easy to catch waves on. im definatly going to talk to a shaper just to see what ideas he has to offer, but i appreciate the advice you guys are giving me.


ALSO do you guys think i should try renting a short board while im out on the coast?

rent/borrow what you can then take that experience and chat to a shaper.

BE HONEST when talking to a shaper like others have said otherwise you will end up with something just not suited to you. I generally like telling my shaper i want something suited to my specific needs but also something that has room to grow

yes renting is a very good idea or borrowing just try what you can then you will have a good idea what works for you.

what about the al merrick flyer? does that paddle easily? and is it easy to get up on?

You are going from a 7'6" bic to a 6' shortboard? Unless you are talking a 6' fish you are going to struggle.

Transitions are usually not that huge, I started on an 8ft funboard, then a 7ft big boy shortboard, then a 6'8 shortie, and so on and so forth. I didn't care about looking like a cook, I cared about learning to surf.

Eventually you'll be at 6'0, but I suggest you buy a cheap used boad to for the transition. At 6'2 150lbs I would say about 6'2 to 6'3, 19 1/4 x 2 3/8 or thicker, surf it for about a year then sell it and buy your small 6'0 board, you'll be a heck of a lot less frustrated. Plus a 6'3" looks short, you won't look like a cook if that is what you are worried about.

Lastly, the flyer is ok, but if buying new support your local shaper.

themathteacher wrote:At 6'2 150lbs I would say about 6'2 to 6'3, 19 1/4 x 2 3/8

What? You're suggesting a guy coming down from a pop-out mini-mal starts riding a shortboard the same as his own height?

well considering he is only 150 pounds i would def. agree with a 6'2'' or 6'3'' board. even though he himself is 6'2'', he is very light for his height. Just make sure its wide and thick, and def. consider a quad option instead of a thruster. since your surfing mushier waves i reccomend a 6'2'' ro 6'3'', but if you were surfing waves that were steeper, you could easliy go down to a 6'0''

when i first started out i was on a 7'4'' semi-gun and had no problems, then two months later, got a 6'4'' shortie even though i wanted something smaller just because everyone else was telling me not to go too short since i had only been surfing for 2 months. and i was probably aroudn 150 pounds at that age. But guess what, they were wrong, as soon as i took out my new board i knew i could totally go smaller and i wanted too as well but since you cant return surfboards it was too late. so just be careful when taking recommendations because i find people always try to push bigger boards alot of the time unneccesarly.

oh and by the way mathteacher. its KOOK, not Cook. haha

*Tries to imagine a guy in the surf lineup with a chef's hat on...*

My advice "its worth what you paid for it" is to get a six four and work your way around from there. If you do not know how to surf a really low volume board your going to have problems. 6'4" 18 3/4 2 1/4 or something similar would be my suggestion.

Just cuz kelly can ride a 5'5" don't mean us mortals can do it well like he can.

Whatever shortboard you get it will be a different world compared to the longer board. You'll have real problems at first, but then boom - your off and it's sooo easy and fun on a shorty - you won't look back, except to check for drop ins'

I went from a 7'3 mini mal to a 5'9 superfish. There was really no struggle for me, just took a couple of sessions to get really used to it.

superfish wrote:I went from a 7'3 mini mal to a 5'9 superfish. There was really no struggle for me, just took a couple of sessions to get really used to it.

I did mention above that a 6' fish was very doable, just did not recommend a 6' shortie. Totally agree, at 200lbs I surfed a 6' retro fish with no problem

I just bought my first shortboard after having prior longboarding experience.
I bought a used 6'4" which I hope won't be too short because it's quite the change, but I myself am only 5'5", 125 so I'm thinking it won't be that big of a problem.