Is it me or the board?

[BaNZ]

I know it's me, was just tricking you to read it I need help on deciding the next board. Been surfing on and off for around 3 years now on a 9' longboard and a 6'3 fish hybrid. I took the 6'3 out less than 5 times. Usually within 30 mins, I give up. Cos it's not fun and I can only catch 1 wave before I ran out of stamina.

I take the train to surf at NYC. I can't carry a 9' board nor do I want to buy a nice longboard and get it trashed at the crowded lineup. I'm thinking about getting a 7'6 funboard that would fit on the train. It is the smallest board that I can go and still enjoy catching waves. I also struggle with the 7'6 and I can't catch as many waves as I can with a LB.

What do you guys think? Should I get a 7'6 board or should I just bite the bullet and try to learn on my 6'3 fish hybrid. I only surf on weekends and I don't do any exercise in between. The problem I have with the 6'3 is that 1/2 my body is kinda submerged in the water. I don't feel like I'm paddling strong enough to break through the water. It just feels sluggish, like I'm swimming with my clothes on. You know they always say start with a LB and transition down to a smaller board. I would've thought after 3 years I would have the necessary skills. I think I"m lacking both in stamina and skills.

[oldmansurfer]

Hahaha well..... I think you should get fit and learn some skills but since that hasn't happened it's obvious the 7'6" is the answer

[BaNZ]

Unless I shell out a lot of money, I don't have cheap access to the swimming pool. I tried running on a hamster wheel twice a week but it really didn't help much with paddling. I'm wondering if the transition would be easier if I just keep pushing myself to go every weekend and surf on the 6'3. Then again I definitely don't want to spend my whole summer looking like a kook on a small board, not like I'm better on a LB. But at least the beginners look at me like I'm God when I'm on a LB.

[waikikikichan]

9'0" too big for the train.
6'3" fits on train but too hard to paddle.
7'6" fits on train easier to paddle than 6'3" but harder to paddle than the 9'0".
So I guess that figures out that dilemma with the board choice.

But focusing on the Indian ( not the arrow ):
Swimming in a pool isn't going to help your surfing. I know a Olympian swimmer who surfs that wasn't that good.
Running is not going to help your surfing.
Pushing yourself to do something that isn't right, ( riding a too small board ) isn't going to make you better at surfing.

You've been "surfing" for 3 years and still don't have the stamina or technique, well are you better than at the first 3 weeks mark ? So you are improving right ? I always say the first thru 3rd year is just staying out of peoples way and learning the ropes. It's the 3rd to 6th year when thing really start to click ( wave knowledge, timing, paddling power, board control ) and the more big improvements really start showing. So now is that critical time.

How about a 7'0" sponge board like a Odysea 7'0" Log or Softech 7'0". They catch waves easy, wont hurt others and you can charge big closeouts and have more wave time.

[waikikikichan]

Watch the video to the end, where they make fun of Hayden shortboarders. Also the shortboarder at 1:57 is also the guy at the end doing the stretches. Sure you are NOT a Kook like that. He gets owned by the guys on spongeboards.

[saltydog]

That looks so much fun. Their beater board with twin fins is pretty fun and I've wondered about their odysea boards.

If you ever need to go el cheapo, you can always get a wavestorm and a perfect storm pink single fin. I swear you will continue to look like God. And they ride fine. I took it out recently after not touching it for almost 2 years and I can do pretty much everything I can do on my longboard (which isn't that much I guess.) The only thing is I have to stomp harder to fight against all that buoyancy.

[pmcaero]

wavestorm's coming up with some new floaty soft shortboard models, probably better for subway travel. Maybe Costco will sell them cheap.

[BaNZ]

You've been "surfing" for 3 years and still don't have the stamina or technique, well are you better than at the first 3 weeks mark ? So you are improving right ? I always say the first thru 3rd year is just staying out of peoples way and learning the ropes. It's the 3rd to 6th year when thing really start to click ( wave knowledge, timing, paddling power, board control ) and the more big improvements really start showing. So now is that critical time.

How about a 7'0" sponge board like a Odysea 7'0" Log or Softech 7'0". They catch waves easy, wont hurt others and you can charge big closeouts and have more wave time.

I think I'm improving slowly but I don't make an effort to become an advanced surfer. I'm just stoke to catch a wave and ride it for as along as I can. I'm glad that you said the first 3 years is just learning the ropes! I thought maybe I'm slacking too much and not making any progress.

I've looked at your suggestion. The first thing that came to my mind was that there's no way I can catch a wave in a 7'0. I've tried riding a 7'2 Torq and I really struggled to catch anything. I'm trying to catch a wave like I'm riding my longboard and that doesn't work well but 7'6 is manageable. I then look at the specs of the sponge board. The volume is the same as my longboard! Pretty shocking. Would you say Odysea/softech ride like a wavestorm? As the wavestorm just felt very odd when I tried them, it doesn't feel as fun as my Torq LB.

The video looked amazing but I'm sure those guys can surf anything so even if I get the same board. I'm not sure if I can catch a wave as well as I can do with a LB. My closest beach break closes out quickly and breaks shallow to the sand. Therefore the foamie needs to take a beating. I noticed you already said they can survive closeout. Also it needs to be able to last in the hot NYC summer. Where it will be left on the beach for 1-2 hours in the sun directly?

[BaNZ]

The only thing is I have to stomp harder to fight against all that buoyancy.

That's exactly it. I hate the buoyancy. It felt really odd like I'm above the water. That would definitely help with my paddling but I'm not sure if I'll get the same feeling as a hard board gliding through the water.

[waikikikichan]

Also it needs to be able to last in the hot NYC summer. Where it will be left on the beach for 1-2 hours in the sun directly?

Why is the board being left on the beach for 1-2 hours ? It should be being surfed. Heat will bubble up both the deck foam and the slick skin on the bottom.

[saltydog]

The only thing is I have to stomp harder to fight against all that buoyancy.

That's exactly it. I hate the buoyancy. It felt really odd like I'm above the water. That would definitely help with my paddling but I'm not sure if I'll get the same feeling as a hard board gliding through the water.

You said it! That's exactly why our wavestorm is a back-up's back-up board. No one really wants to ride it unless they are learning or just playing around. Actually we have 2, and single fin one is slightly more preferred of the two. Maybe shorter foams are a little better??? 5'8" sushi foamie still has that floating on top of the water feel so maybe not. At least with the price the foamies are beaters boards more or less. Catch surf stuff is pricier so a little more high performance? We do like their beater boards, but again we only use them to play around. You can drop it, sit on it on the sand, whatever. However, they can take in water. Our 4 years old wajvestorms spit out about 1/2 - 1 cup of water after each session.

How about epoxy popouts like nsp or torque in mid length, with fcs fins? They are not too expensive and seem pretty tough.

[BaNZ]

Also it needs to be able to last in the hot NYC summer. Where it will be left on the beach for 1-2 hours in the sun directly?

Why is the board being left on the beach for 1-2 hours ? It should be being surfed. Heat will bubble up both the deck foam and the slick skin on the bottom.

I go the beach with my colleagues and friends. So we do some beach activities (mainly sunbathing) after the surf. I read a lot of reviews on the Odysea board and it sounded perfect for me. I take it that if I dip it in water every 1/2 an hour and perhaps throw a boardbag over it. It will be fine?

However, they can take in water. Our 4 years old wajvestorms spit out about 1/2 - 1 cup of water after each session.

How about epoxy popouts like nsp or torque in mid length, with fcs fins? They are not too expensive and seem pretty tough.

I'm surprised that a wavestorm can last 4 years! A torq 7'6 will give me 52L whereas the board that wkkk suggested is 72L. It's so hard to decide, I'm leaning towards wkkk suggestion but then I've ridden on one of those board.

[RobSF]

A quick thank you to waikikikichan for the comment about the novice stage running 3 years. I'm in my third year now and quite impatient that I haven't shown more improvement. Partly because I'm turning 60 next year. It'll probably be a 4-yr novitiate for me at my age, but maybe my mid-60s will be the sweet spot just before I transition to shuffleboard.

Also interesting about the foamie fun- and shortboards. I haven't yet had enough fun on my fiberglass funboard to take it out much. A softtop may be an interesting experiment.

[Tudeo]

Partly because I'm turning 60 next year. It'll probably be a 4-yr novitiate for me at my age, but maybe my mid-60s will be the sweet spot just before I transition to shuffleboard.

One of the nice things of surfing is that when u get older and lose much of ur strenght and energy, u can compensate for that by skill, in reading and understanding the waves, positioning and timing. With a bit of luck (and a lot of fitness) your best days are still to come

[saltydog]

A quick thank you to waikikikichan for the comment about the novice stage running 3 years. I'm in my third year now and quite impatient that I haven't shown more improvement. Partly because I'm turning 60 next year. It'll probably be a 4-yr novitiate for me at my age, but maybe my mid-60s will be the sweet spot just before I transition to shuffleboard.

Also interesting about the foamie fun- and shortboards. I haven't yet had enough fun on my fiberglass funboard to take it out much. A softtop may be an interesting experiment.

I'm on the 4 year plan as well. Just hit the 2 year mark. Some days I feel like I sort of know what I'm doing but other days I'm floundering around.

[Millsy82]

I use a 6'9 one of these

http://fourthsurfboards.com/portfolio-i ... bean-2016/

I went from my 9'2 nsp down to this. It is still very floaty so although I don't catch as many waves as I did on my longboard I still catch loads and it just has a very looser feel when I'm on the wave.

The downsides are it is a lot harder to paddle around, it doesn't have the speed of a longboard and too floaty to duck dive so when it gets big I can take hell of a beating, i do tire a lot quicker, when I am in the wrong position it does give me a beating to tell me I did something wrong.