Surfing Waves

im stuck between 2 boards a 5,11 fish and a 6 foot shortboard.

i am 5.10 and weigh ten stone, i usualy surf 3-4 foot beach breaks. sometimes overhead if the swell hits.

the last board i used was a 7.4 mal (which has recently crushed by a car lol) and i want to go smaller.

thanks Ryan

You want to drop 14"???

Thats waaaaaaaaaay too big a drop from a mini-mal. And the fact that you're asking the question is a pretty good indication that you're not ready for a 6' shortboard (and that you dont really understand what overhead means).

Get something like a 6'6-6'8 fat boy shortboard.

Will the Surfing Waves regulars please note that at no point was little bangey head man used during this post.

How long did you surf the minimal?

I went from a 7´0 hybrid to a 6´3´´ flyer 2. But i already had been surfing for 6 months + 10 years of previous bodyboarding experience (so i already knew how to read waves, i was fit enough to paddle and catch waves) and i surf at least 4 days a week.
Downsizing for me was a breackthrough cause i catch more waves on the 6´3 at the beachbreak i go to than on the 7´0 board because i can "hunt" down waves easier, i can make it out of steeper/later dropoffs, i paddle into waves faster, etc...

But a 6´0 is really pushing it. Even if it was a very wide and thick shortboard a 5´10´´ fellow would really apreciate going a couple of inches longer.

A 5´11 fish on the other hand is a totally diferent beast.... i wouldnt advice anyone to get a fish for a beachbreak specially one with big waves.... the people who ride big beachbreack waves on a fish dont need to listen to my advice anyways.

Squirerly, hollow or steep waves dont like fish boards that much, flat rockered is a no no for a newby on steep drops, and if you are trying to learn how to ride a thruster you wont achive that cause a fish needs to be ridden much more diferent than a thruster.

A fish is a true learning board when its used in mellower breaks... long mushy point breaks because of their extra speed and glide. Also there are some guys who like funboarding their fishes lenght up to 7´0´´, but that´s another story.
Generally a fish is better at small waves or biger mushy not too steep/hollow waves.

Be true to yourself on your skill level and on the amount of frustration you are willing to handle, and also on the frequency of your surfing days.

The best bet is doing what DBBB said. A big guy shortboard they have larger sweet spots so you´ll be able to handle it better. If you buy used you can always sell it and downsize if you need/want to. Be aware that it will not paddle nearly as easy as your mini mal did.

Dont buy an oversized small wave board like a flyer, piranha, etc... The sweetspots on those boards would be way off for someone your height/weight. You need to wait until you can properly handle those boards at the dimentions intended for your size/weight. I am telling you this from my experience.

If you want something smaller and you are willing to suffer, surf at least 3 times a week and pay your dues i would recomend a cheap used board around the 6´4 X 19 X 2 3/8 - 6-2 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/4 range.

Now dont listen to much to what im saying i know a lot of guys who learned on ultra small potato chip thin boards straight away. Yet there are many used boards on ebay from people who surfed them just a few times but got frustrated and bought a bigger one or worse dropped out surfing.

even though ur 5'10'', you only weigh 140 pounds, thats nothing. you can totally go for the 6'0'', just make sure its wider, and thicker, id reccomend, maybe 19 inches wide, and 2 3/8 thick.

you MAY have some trouble in the beginning, but if you stick with it, youll get it, and be ultimately very pleased with your new stick. def. stay at around 6'0''-6'2''. you dont want to have to buy another shorter board in 6 months, just because you bought a 6'6'' now.

you might want to go for a little more length on the shortboard. maybe.

The 5'11" fish will be way easier to paddle than the 6'0 shortboard. I take it that you liked your mini mal in 3 - 4 ft beachbrake? Suprised you did, usually they don't really work on beach break all that great, but if you got your mal wired then the fish will the easier step down, less performance than a shortboard but more glide and easier to catch waves

I do agree with the above, for a transition board I would go bigger. However, for your weight and height the sizes you are considering are spot on if you where more experienced, but if you don't mind a big learning curve than go for it.

yeah..i'm about your size. for a shortboard i'd be looking at 6'2"-6'6", depending on shape, thickness, width, etc. first shortboard i had was a really thin, very hard rockered 6'4", then i moved to a 6'2". the 6'2" is much easier to ride than the 6'4" was, so it really depends on other variables too.

the fish should be okay, but there are times where i take it out and wish i had my shortboard or a longboard. it's just good to kind of mix it up. i wouldn't want it as my everyday board