Surfing Waves

Hi All,

I've been longboarding in New York (and travelling to surf destinations in the northeast US and South America) for the past four years and want to give shortboarding a go. My longboard is 9' x 22 1/2 x 2 3/4 hand shaped EPS with epoxy glassing, single fin. I also have a 7s Superfish epoxy popout (7'3 x 22 x 3) quad that I can surf quite well and with no transition problems- but I hate duckdiving the thing so I tend to shy away from it. I'm 40 yrs old, 6'0 and 163 lbs with good fitness level.
My question is, should I go for a fishy type shortboard- Von Sol Quad Shadow 6'2 x 21 1/8 x 2 3/8 or Lost Rocket quad 6'1 x 20 x 2 3/8 OR should I go for more of a standard shortboard (I don't really know what that is)? My local waves tend to be on the small and weak side (unless there's a hurricane swell) but I want a good travel board so I'd like something that works in a wide range of waves. Thanks brothers!

Good idea on starting on a fish type. However, at 163lbs U would buy at least 2 1/2 inches thick since it's a big jump

Do it. We are about the same age, samish weight and a I am little shorter. I also have a 9' board with similar dimensions to yours.

I bought myself a 5'10 fish, think it's 20" and 2.5", and although I struggled at first to understand the new dynamics of the new board and wave catching, it's been a lot of fun once I got the hang of it.

Ask people for tips on surfing smaller boards too. One of the best I got was to throw your backfoot hand, in my case, my right hand since I am normal footed, forward, this instantly changes your stance to a front foot stance with your weight on the front foot and changes the way the board performs immensely. You can then apply that to your longboard too and watch your acceleration down the line increase. Try it standing up at your desk. Bend your knees, with your hands to the sides of your body in your surf stance. Now throw you backfoot arm, normal foot, right arm, goofy foot, left arm, forward. Feel the shift in weight.

Go for a 6, 6'2 board at your height with some good width and volume. The little extra volume will help while waiting at backline too. I also opted for a quad fin setup which seems to add a little extra bite to the board in the wave.

Do it do it do it!

Thanks for the input! Regarding thickness, I plan on getting an eps/epoxy glassed (not pop-out!) as I'm pretty sold on the weight, durability, and eco-friendliness (and don't want to get into that debate) so can I go down a bit in size?- you guys mentioned doing at least 6'2 at 2 1/2 thick but I'm thinking 6'0 at 2 3/8th won't be that different of a float if it's eps (maybe even more float than a poly 6'2 at 2 1/2 ?)
Also, any experience with rocket designs vs. quad fish-type? (That might be the topic of a new strand...) I'm really torn between the Von Sol Shadow and a Lost rocket type of board and don't know how the designs differences would play out in my surfing. In NY trying out boards is not really an option.

As to the thickness, 2 3/8" is perfect for your weight, but was more worried about your ability, which is why I suggested 2 1/2 for the transition. It means a higher learning curve, but if you are up to it go for it.

As for the shape question...

Go with the board that has the volume up front - it makes it far easier to paddle and to catch waves, but doesn't affect the performance (at least not in the hands of a normal human being).

I had a 6'2 Simon Anderson Kipper, which is like the narrow-nosed fish that you describe, and it was ever so hard to get going onto waves. It really needed a crumbling section of the curl to get going. Once up and going, it absolutely flew, but the number of missed waves just made it a frustration, so I sold it.

More recently, I've got a 6'2 pod of similar dimensions (it's less fishy, but the comparison still holds true) but with the volume up front, and it paddles infinitely easier than my old one.

On that note - looks at some of the pod-type boards as well as the fish, as they tend to work on a larger variety of waves than proper fishes.

Thanks- that's the info I was looking for! The Von Sol is fishy up front but has a rounded pin tail with "elevated" wings so it's supposed to work from big to small (I hope that applies to the average-joe surfer and not just Sean Mattison!)
Now I have to decide whether to buy the board and wait for waves or spend the money on a weekend in Puerto Rico so I can actually get some surfing in!!!