Surfing Waves

So I've been surfing this shortboard (6'9'', 19'', 2.5'') for like 6 months now. Didn't really know much about surfing when I first bought it after a month learning on longboards. So now I can actually catch a decent amount of waves (mostly around 3-5 ft), and turn both ways on them, I was wondering if this board is too big since I have trouble maneuvering it. I'm about 5'5'' and 125 pounds btw and I surf about 4 days a week, around 2 hours each session.

i think you could drop down to a 6'0 or so might be a tricky transition but your height and weight wont factor in.

What exactly do you mean by "wont factor in"?

He means you are light and short, which is a huge plus for surfing, so you could probably go lower than 6'0.

I think your board is too big if you think it is, big boards are great for begginers, but you can tell when you need a smaller board if you start noticing that you are giving up performance. Remember, if you are now catching a decent amount of waves you will catch less on a smaller shortboard until you get better.

Do you have a friend's board you can try without having to buy one? If not, is there a local shop that will rent you one so you can give it a go?

Lastly, you could do a slow transition, which will cost you more money in boards but will keep you in a higher wave count. For example, next buy a 6'5x 19 x 2.5, then a 6'2x 19 x 2.5, then a 6'2x 19 x 2.35. You will transition slower but keep your wave count higher. Or, dive right into a 6'0 short board and put up with the usual learning curve when buying a smaller board. Either way sounds like you'll have fun

Thanks for the explanation math teacher. I was just wondering instead of buying a regular 6'2'' or 6'0'' shortboard, would it be a good idea to try a fish or one of those 6'0'' boards that are really wide and thick? I don't actually have that many surfer friends and out of those I have the smallest board, so I think I might go rent a shortboard or fish to try it out.

Btw, for those of you have have 6'5'', 6'2'' and 6'0'' shortboards, when do you go back and use the bigger boards once you are used to the 6'0''? Or would you use the big boards at all?

i have a 6'4 x 19 x 2 3/8 shortboard - thats my bigger wave board - a 6'2 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/4 shortboard - thats my preformcance board when its clean up to 8ft or so and punchy. A 6'0 x 19 x 2 1/4 (epoxy, quad fin) for mush and smaller waves.

I have other boards for other conditions but those are the main ones.

0wnerer wrote:I was just wondering instead of buying a regular 6'2'' or 6'0'' shortboard, would it be a good idea to try a fish or one of those 6'0'' boards that are really wide and thick?

A fish and a shortboard are completely different types of boards and are surfed very differently. Neither are 'bad', it just depends on what waves you surf and what you want out of it.
A fish is good for smaller, fatter waves but arent any good for steep or fast waves.
So it depends also on where you surf etc etc. And if you want a fish, you'd probably go to well below 6'.

As everyone says, best to try out a couple of types of board if you can.

0wnerer wrote:Btw, for those of you have have 6'5'', 6'2'' and 6'0'' shortboards, when do you go back and use the bigger boards once you are used to the 6'0''? Or would you use the big boards at all?

Its mostly dependent on waves size and power. And also the characteristics of the board.
If you were to draw a graph of wave size Vs board size, it would be a U shape.
When the waves are small, you need the extra volume to get the speed... when the waves get bigger you can drop a few inches because the wave has enough power to push you along... but when the waves get really big, you need to be able to take off really early to avoid being splattered so you want some more length and volume.

I usually go... small waves 6'6 fishy shortboard, medium waves 6'3 quad, large waves 6'6 shortboard.

At your height/weight, it'll be less of an issue as even weak small waves will push you along nicely.

i like surfing hollow waves on the fish now, took a while to get used to it. just paddle in on a pretty good angle if you're taking it late or get into the wave early and be up before it steepens too much. i just love the feeling of losing control of the back end and then the fins stick and you regain it again, much more than on a shortboard. but yea totally agree that you can't surf a fish like a shortboard or vice versa

Sillysausage wrote:i like surfing hollow waves on the fish now, took a while to get used to it. just paddle in on a pretty good angle if you're taking it late or get into the wave early and be up before it steepens too much. i just love the feeling of losing control of the back end and then the fins stick and you regain it again, much more than on a shortboard. but yea totally agree that you can't surf a fish like a shortboard or vice versa

Great point, you can surf any board under any conditions if you are good at it. For example, on hollow waves I prefer my 6'5" semigun, it tucks into the curl easier. However, I've been out on my fish in overhead barreling waves and still had a great time, had to sweep into the wall rather than cut into it, so it is definitely a different learning curve.

And to answer the question about the fish, I love mine, people that buy them love them, for their intendeded purpose. I like mine as a quad set up, thick and wide, but hard rails and very little rocker, with a single concave to slight v in back, kind of tapered tail, narrower than usually so it can gun up. I strickly use it for mushy big waves like at a rolling structured shelf, like at san onofre, or on small days. If it's barreling, or steep or fast I prefer by shorties, but it's a prefernce thing.