this whole shortboard thing ....

[pmcaero]

So since summer's been pretty crummy on the East Coast, I didn't get much of a chance to take out my 6'8" shortboard. It's been Bic or Beater for months, and although the beater is shorter than a shortboard, it doesn't work the same way.
My paddling muscles must be atrophied. So for this week with Gaston, I decided to rely on an old 7'4" shortboard shaped board I keep at my parents, pretty wrecked and not water tight. I'm keeping it in my car all week. I put ding tape and some gorilla tape on some of the old repairs, and hoping it holds for 3 sessions this week without getting too heavy. Turns out it was a pretty wise decision to use that yesterday, as the waves were inconsistent and nearly closed out, and the wind was strong off/sideshore. Neither the Bic nor my other shortboard would have helped me much.
But this ole' board, even with the crowds competing for the few decent waves, I was able to snatch a few of my own. And boy, it turns so much better than the Bic. But it's still easy enough to catch waves early. Over the past year I've gotten quite better, so in the past I've never ridden this board the way it should be ridden.

I figure I'll try to master the 6'8" shortboard for now, but in a few years I'll have a shaper make me a clone of this 7'4" board. I'm pretty sure it was made by a local shaper for New England waves. It's pretty wide at its widest point, almost uncomfortable to straddle, but that extra width helps a lot.
So, riding the shortboard remains a goal, a challenge for myself. But once I'm done with that, and want my life to be easier, I'm getting something like this.

[drowningbitbybit]

an old 7'4" shortboard shaped board

My very first custom board was a 7'4 funboard (I called it a shortboard at the time, because that was its shape) and it was absolutely superb. For a newbie, it paddled like a mini-mal but turned like a shortboard and I loved it, and it was the best way to progress. I've never found a board before or since that "fit" where I was at so well (granted, these days I'm fussier). Also, it was simply the most fun.

I sold the board when I moved to Australia and still regret it!

[pmcaero]

an old 7'4" shortboard shaped board

I sold the board when I moved to Australia and still regret it!

i'm going to write down the specs of the one I have just in case
With that and pictures I hope I can get it made for me in the future.