Surfing Waves

Hi all,

I've been surfing for about 2 years now. Started on a custom 6'0" board shaped by a shaper Dan Cobly over in Hermosa. Unfortunately I brilliantly was able to get the board to start delaminating in month 11.... I think I need a new board anyways (:

A few questions to you veteran surfers out there:

1. Im pearling on some of the steeper, mushier waves and sometimes my board will tuck into the water when I am paddling for a wave. Im thinking about putting a bit more front rocker on the board, how do I articulate this? Is it degrees or what is the measurement?


2. I want to be able to plane over the water more be able to go a bit faster and thus catch more waves, will adding a couple inches in length help with this?

3. I was also told maybe to have the front rails brought in a bit more and have the board come to a "sharper" point, does this help with turning a bit?

4. Also, its almost 3" at its widest point. I am thinking about reducing a bit in order to have less of a clunky feel. Seems like there is a lot of foam to try to turn or pump, etc. Is this a good idea?

5. Im riding standard FCS fins right now. If I were to stick with this board what characteristics in fins am I looking for if I am looking for a bit more speed?

6. Whats the average price for a custom shortboard?

7. All parameters constant, what does having different tails do? Fish, swallow, pin, etc


Awesome community -- thanks for the help in advanced guys.

I put up a fairly lengthy post as a reply but I remembered you previous post and so deleted my reply and put this up to answer you.

I think the "custom" board you bought was not at all helpful to you, a custom board is usually made for someone who knows what they need to improve their surfing. A custom board doesn't come off the shelf!

It didn't suit your needs at the time IMO and others who advised you, it didn't.

The width was great, probably a length of about 6'6" to 7' and the thickness would be good, think a thruster fin set up and have wider nose, the flaws in turning was not due to too much nose or thickness , but the fish qualities failing you.

As for pearling , a lot of that would have come from the the board you got that was "harder to paddle but easier to catch waves" some you would have pushed too hard to get overt the take off edge.
BTW steep and mushy waves are not the same thing and require different techniques of takeoff.
The extra length will give you more paddle power and a longer entry time into the wave.
I'd go to any other shaper than the one that sold you your last board, be honest about your abilities and why your last board didn't work, there may be good boards on the rack that suit, don't go anything fancy get a good basic board you'll realize how much a poor board choice held you back!
Ask more if needs be! Get your back!

Honestly, I'd be calling my shaper if my board delaminated just from being used 11 months.

How much do you weigh?

I don't have a lot of faith in Torrancesurfer's shaper, I read through the posts and the board itself was in my opinion totally unworkable for torrance, I agree with you that delamination after 11 months is crappy.
175lbs from the previous posts......I really think the poor guy got dudded and it has slowed up his progress!

Hi ya Torance
Not real sure how your surfing is going, and haven't read previous posts. But if your struggling a bit to paddle onto manageable waves or consistently wiping out because you're forced to tackle steep take offs I reckon its time to swallow pride and get a considerably bigger board. More like 7'6. Like I say don't know what your progression has been like but I started with a 9'1, got reasonably comfortable after about 8 months of going hard. Also broke the 9'1. Moved to 7'6, got comfortable and am now borrowing a couple of different 6'4 boards off a mate. Have pretty much decided next board will be 6'6 with a decent amount of width and foam to keep paddling ease up a bit, and give a little more stability. I am having more take off and balance problems with the step down from 7'6 to 6'4 than I had with the move from 9'1 to 7'6.

As for the delaminating I hear your pain. My board (a 7'6) is less than a year old and due to being left in the car after a morning surf on a warmish day has same problem. Bought a cheap $40 board bag from a pawn shop last week but after the horse had bolted

Hi guys thanks for the input! Couple of things to address

I actually really liked my board these two years I have improved a lot. Sorry I probably didn't express this very well Im actually starting to work on cutbacks and am starting to get pumping, so im in beginner-intermediate I would say now. Also the delamination was all my fault, there were two dings on the board I didn't fix right away and I also left the board in my car a few times more than I think I should have. Cobleys a great shaper (I think) and shapes for Becker.

I actually don't pearl that often but figure I just want some more rocker in the front now that my paddling is a little bit better. I assume this will help with the 1/10 waves in which I do pearl or have the board sink into the water before I even catch the wave. Anyways Just trying to figure out what to tell my to make sure I get a legit board.

I guess my biggest question is, how much of a difference will 1 or 2 inches make in terms of making my board plane through the water easier?

Let's go back a couple of steps , good to know that the delaminating was not a manufacturing fault and you have faith in the shaper. Ask yourself this did the shaper sell the board or just a shop assistant.
Well go back and talk turkey with the shaper. I went and had a browse through the Becker shop and it is a reputable brand, I'd be looking at a 6'8" or a 6'10" Hybrid model with a rounded pin shape. I think all your turns and everything would go that much better.........the meat ( volume) is right for your weight and size!
The paddling will be so much easier and give you earlier entry to the wave which cuts out a lot of pearling, you may still pearl a couple of times while you get used to the length (usually digging the nose in to the length of your old board).
Having the board sink before you get the wave is a symptom of not enough board, so even a couple of inches will be a noticeable improvement, the 8 to 10 inches I'm thinking of will do so much more you can come down later after you nail the basics

it does make a difference and you will know the difference. Check out some other surf shops too for similar shapes to what I'm suggesting.
Get the delamination fixed if you haven't already, back and come back to board ride it then go see if you can try some different boards make comparisons.
In the end it is how it rides for you not anyone else's opinions, if theold one ain't doing it change
Put up a picture of the old board on the forum and we might see wh y it doesn't quite do it for you.
I still believe that the board wasn't suitable for your level of riding and if you have been surfing regularly I think you would be much more improved had it been more suitable.

If you scan through the Firewire forums you will see a lot of people say how much difference a few inches makes to them; I dont know whether some of it is their heads but certainly 8-10 inches will be noticeable.

Appreciate the replies!

This is my board, see attached. I think it was probably a little bit more advanced than I needed but after this 2 year uphill battle, I am at a point where I can pump on my front side, do solid bottom turns and working a bit on cutbacks. So definitely not advanced but Id say a bit beyond a beginner shortboarder.

My conclusion is that Im going to keep the volume but add ~4-6 inches and perhaps keep the same volume of the board. As Jaffa advised Ill probably keep the nose and overall board width. For $325-$350 I think its worth it to just go for a custom board and perhaps play around with the fin.

Let me know what you guys think of my board, hoping I can fix the delamination!!!

You are really going to notice the difference, the extra inches will make it a perfect board to take to Indonesia for their waves, I wouldn't try to equalise the volume to the board you have now as that would mean going thinner,and yes it would paddle better but be still more difficult than needs be, use the natural volume that comes with the upsizing. Think rounded pin You will not regret it and fixing your old board is a good option so you can use it and see what we have been talking about.

As for fins, get a five fin set up so you can go quad or thruster or even fiveish! A whole new experience.
BTW on seeing the board it isn't a bad board but simply something that didn't support you! I is something you can come back to but somehow I think you 'll go on to other boards.

Hey . . . YOU can prevent pearling by
1) quickly shunting yourself back a couple of inches when the 'feel' begins.
2) getting into the critical part of the wave for take off where arching your back mega, and moving your head will balance you out and stop that nose dive!

Rickyroughneck wrote:

Slices dices chops peels and separates, comes in 37 different colours available only online at http://www.advertrollrazors.com.
Comes with a zit jumping teflon blade so you don't get a rough neck whilst shaving, but points for pointing out the fin thing