Shortboard advice

[shredthegnar8819]

ok so i have been surfing for about a year now on a 7'2 and im pretty good with it. My friend has a board he wants to sell me for my local break. It's a rusty dwart 6' x 21.12 x 2.81. my question is do you guys think i would be able to surf it? im 6 foot 150 and surf in the summer like 1-2 times a week. I was thinking i might be able to because of the thickness but then i have my doubts cause its a 6'0. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks

[drowningbitbybit]

Too short.
There's maybe enough volume there, but it would be too big a jump from a 7'2. There's a special added extra bonus difficulty in surfing a board that's the same height as you, even if it does have enough volume, because your positioning becomes ultra-important to a fraction of an inch.

The width and thickness are in the right ballpark, but go for something around 6'6.

Also, if you're only surfing summer waves (where? But I'm assuming somewhere with weak summer waves), volume will always be your best friend and you'll need more than that to keep you moving at this stage.

[shredthegnar8819]

Thanks bro. I surf in New Jersey we rarely get any good summer surf until like late August

[waikikikichan]

My friend has a board he wants to sell me for my local break. It's a rusty dwart 6' x 21.12 x 2.81.

If he is your friend and thinks you are able to ride it, he should be willing to let you try it BEFORE you buy it. ( un-like some private seller on Craigslist ).

If he is a really good friend, he will swim out to rescue you when you figure out you can't paddle a board that small.

[shredthegnar8819]

I just spoke to a local group of surfers who have 20+ years of experience. They said that it wont be that difficult. They actually said the rusty dwart had to much volume.The dwart im looking at from my bud was 39.3 They recommended somewhere between 28-34 litters of foam so now im all confused and dont know where i should get the board

[Big H]

You just got personal advice from two of my he most experienced people on this site. They told you the board was too small for you at your stage of development. If you don't want to hear that then you're on your own; you will waste your money on a board that will be more frustrating than fun.

[Lusi]

i recently changed from a 7'3'' minimal to a shortboard: 6'4 x 20 1/8 x 2 7/8 im also 6ft tall it was a easy change i thought i was going to spend some bad times but the board is stable have nice volume and i can catch waves more easily than with the minimal. im really happy with it. But a 6ft board for the first time you may need some time to get used to it. will not be a very traumatic transition if you can surf. but if you a beginner and surf very rarelly maybe a funboard or minimal, arround 6'6->7'0

[oldmansurfer]

I learned to surf on a 6'10" x 18" x 2 1/4" single glassed in fin board. It wasn't so difficult but I was a top end kneeboarder and bodyboard prior to that. Only since I have come to this forum did I realize what a problem it was to learn on a shorter board for many people. I think difficult increases with 1) age, the older you are the slower you will learn 2) inverse of the amount of time you spend surfing so the more time you spend surfing the easier it is to learn 3) inversely with athletic ability and fitness so the more athletic and more fit you are the quicker you learn 4) big differences between height and weight compared to board size so too big or too small of a board slows down learning without going into exactly what that is but it will vary a bit. In addition having previous surfing or wave riding skills will help in the form of being familiar with waves and the ocean and currents and lineups. We probably hear mostly from surfers who have trouble going shorter mostly so it is great to hear from someone who doesn't have a problem like Lusi

[waikikikichan]

I just spoke to a local group of surfers who have 20+ years of experience.

Well they know the break you surf at and know you better than we do. I guess you'll never know until you buy and try it. If it don't work out, keep it for later when your skills improve. ( but make sure you paddle out for the first time with a buddy )

[shredthegnar8819]

Thanks so much for your input guys it helped alot. And i always paddle out with a bud or two just to be safe and have more fun!

[RinkyDink]

I learned to surf on a 6'10" x 18" x 2 1/4" single glassed in fin board. It wasn't so difficult but I was a top end kneeboarder and bodyboard prior to that. Only since I have come to this forum did I realize what a problem it was to learn on a shorter board for many people. I think difficult increases with 1) age, the older you are the slower you will learn 2) inverse of the amount of time you spend surfing so the more time you spend surfing the easier it is to learn 3) inversely with athletic ability and fitness so the more athletic and more fit you are the quicker you learn 4) big differences between height and weight compared to board size so too big or too small of a board slows down learning without going into exactly what that is but it will vary a bit. In addition having previous surfing or wave riding skills will help in the form of being familiar with waves and the ocean and currents and lineups. We probably hear mostly from surfers who have trouble going shorter mostly so it is great to hear from someone who doesn't have a problem like Lusi

I completely agree with you. Some forum members make it seem like the transition to a shortboard can only be accomplished after 5 years of riding a longboard three times a week. I started on a shortboard back in my teens because my friend's brother gave it to me. That was the only board I had and I didn't have money to buy anything else. When I finally began surfing with it regularly, it took me about 9 months of getting pummeled to finally get a long ride on it. I learned to ride it, though, but it was probably the most inefficient way to learn how to surf that you could pick. The problem for me was that I had body surfed and boogie boarded for a long time and I always wanted to surf bigger waves. I never just took my surfboard into white water or small surf and worked on learning to ride it consistently. That's the main reason my learning curve was so ridiculously long. Instead I took my board into large surf most of the time. I believed it was easier to stand up and surf on bigger waves than smaller waves. My buddy who could surf told me that as well. Anyway, I'm riding consistently on my Wavestorm now, but I'd say I'm about 6 sessions away from pulling out my 7'2" board and working with it. I enjoy riding a longer board right now, but I fully intend to get on a short board as soon as I have the skills to carve and trim it. If short boarding doesn't work out, then I'll go back to foamie.

[Big H]

I see too many people in the lineups here on short boards that should be on something longer....they just can't surf....term themselves advanced beginners or low intermediates, the hey struggle here....I never surfed anywhere else so maybe it is harder here, I don't know....what I do know is that lineups are choked with short boarders who can't get out of the lip, struggle to catch waves, ride straight when they do, can't turn and generally bob around looking wistful....people can ride whatever they want to whatever standard they want BUT if you ask me (or pose a question to the forum) then I will say almost unequivocally (I remember supporting Lusi's ambition and glad it worked out but the circumstances were different) that a bigger board is needed because for the most part if you have to ask, it isn't going to be a good fit....can you grow into it? Sure....but who wants to receive a reccomend action like that esp if you're not prepared to buy additional boards that can be used right now....

I got a 6' board about 5 months after starting on a 9'3" and two months after a 7'6" mini Mal....I thought I was riding it and I suppose I was kinda....like wchan says, it wasn't riding but delayed falling...I could trim a longboard around and aim it down the line and stand on the board until it slowed down to the point it sank front and backside.....then I got stuck and couldn't figure how to progress until I went back to the longboard, discovered the tail and started to turn and It was THEN I started to surf...lessons learned on the long board translated quickly to smaller boards and skills like getting out back on overhead days with a longboard or surviving and thriving after being caught inside on those same days makes handling similar conditions with a shorter board relatively easy and more importantly I have confidence that I can handle it and do not feel in over my head.....

Local shaper Bruce Hansel who shaped on the North Shore for years before moving here more than 10 years ago told me when I was first learning to ride a longboard for a year, mini Mal for another year to 18 months then to see him for a Funboard around 6'10", wide and thick and use that for another year. As far as I can tell he's about right....I accelerated my development not by being a former skate or snowboarder but by going surfing 5-6 days a week for a year and a half and really applying myself in the water, pushing hard and doing "reps" rather than just floating around. But I'm not that far ahead of the curve; learning to surf takes time and effort....those who I have met who have been the most knowledgeable about surfing say the same thing for beginners who can no longer be called kids....foam is your friend and use a bigger board to learn how to surf, and learning how to surf takes years....not an attractive sentiment for people who are used to immediate gratification and God knows I tried to be the one for whom the rules did not apply, but since back pedaling and starting up with the long board and selling the 6' board so I would not be tempted, my gradual results have built on each other and I am slowly becoming a surfer.....id like to see every learner do the same rather than standing to the side of their boards and then jumping on with the oncoming wave or bobbing around the lineup, losing all paddle battles and never getting a wave (burned their chances by surging with waves and not taking them too many times).

That's why IF you ask, you ain't ready....when you are ready you should know....baby steps and not leaps.

[RinkyDink]

That's why IF you ask, you ain't ready....when you are ready you should know....baby steps and not leaps.

I hear you. I definitely think that beginners should start with a longboard and accept that, depending on their fitness level, they're going to be a kook for a while. If we lived in a perfect world, I'd tell beginners to get a longboard, an inbetweener, and a shortboard and try riding them all over time. My main objective with regard to surfing is to get tubed. That's what I want to do most. You can get barreled on a longboard, but not like you can on a shortboard. So I really have two main surfing goals: learn to turn a shortboard so I can get around other people and be able to pull into tubes. How long that will take will really depend on how often I can get to the beach and whether I can get the right waves to gain those skills.

[Big H]

I would just tell them to get a longboard.

[waikikikichan]

Some forum members make it seem like the transition to a shortboard can only be accomplished after 5 years of riding a longboard three times a week.

Actually I would say 3 years for riding about 5 times a week for a newbie.

[oldmansurfer]

I completely agree with you. Some forum members make it seem like the transition to a shortboard can only be accomplished after 5 years of riding a longboard three times a week..

If you are a member long enough you will hear over and over how people buy a short board so they can duck dive (or to surf like the pros do) and then can't catch any waves with it. It's really incredible how many people seem to do just that then post here asking why. I really had no clue it was such a big deal. I could catch an unbroken wave on the first day that I tried to surf, basically never tried to catch whitewater. It only took me two weeks to where I could go down the line reliably. But I used to knee board and once in a while I would stand on my paipo or knee board so it wasn't a big change for me. The biggest thing was not wearing fins. It sucked anyway because I went from getting incredible tube rides on huge waves paipo and kneeboarding to riding boring little waves and not getting even close to tubed but I could see the progress and knew it would be superior once I got better at it.

[benjl]

I must be an irregular occurrence of going from a 9'0 foamie to 6'2 fish in 6 months

But in seriousness, I've only recently started To really get in to pocket surfing and cut backs etc which is nearly 2 years later. I'm able to flick between boards now and walk up and down on my 7'2 or just whip my 5'6 Round on the tail.
If my waves were always good and clean I would be on my Minimal all the time, the more 'wave time' u can get the better and the only thing that will enhance that when you're starting is more volume and a bigger biard

[dtc]

My main objective with regard to surfing is to get tubed. .

Learn to start loving shore breaks and shallow water...

[Big H]

I completely agree with you. Some forum members make it seem like the transition to a shortboard can only be accomplished after 5 years of riding a longboard three times a week..

If you are a member long enough you will hear over and over how people buy a short board so they can duck dive (or to surf like the pros do) and then can't catch any waves with it. It's really incredible how many people seem to do just that then post here asking why. I really had no clue it was such a big deal. I could catch an unbroken wave on the first day that I tried to surf, basically never tried to catch whitewater. It only took me two weeks to where I could go down the line reliably. But I used to knee board and once in a while I would stand on my paipo or knee board so it wasn't a big change for me. The biggest thing was not wearing fins. It sucked anyway because I went from getting incredible tube rides on huge waves paipo and kneeboarding to riding boring little waves and not getting even close to tubed but I could see the progress and knew it would be superior once I got better at it.

Don't discount the value of ocean and surf knowledge....took me awhile to have the guts to go out back (I surf alone but all the same....) and I pearled at least a couple hundred times before I started to have sessions where I caught more waves than I pearled....all about small victories....everyone is different as well....I marvel at those who struggle to catch waves but surf well once they do, or those who surf well but can't figure out where to line up and are all over the place in their positioning...surfing is a total package and all the bits count....there are a lot of rock stars at my local that won't go out if it is over head high....they are really good but are scared of big waves or swimming too far to get out back...I surf a lot, but have only been at it for a year and 7 months now....I progress all the time, always learning new things and nuances that enhance my performance...the more I learn the more I realise there is SOOOOO much to learn, and that after a certain point talent and aptitude take over and it's either there or it isn't....

Five times a week for three years....that is more or less the timeline I got from Bruce Hansel, the time it would take before I should think about getting anything under 6'10" (surfing 5x per week here in Bali)....the more that I surf the more that seems about right.

[RinkyDink]

My main objective with regard to surfing is to get tubed. .

Learn to start loving shore breaks and shallow water...

I plan to.