Surfing Waves

I tried out a 6'3'' long 18 inch wide 2 5/8 shortboard I borrowed from a friend a few weeks back. I really still just a beginner and just recently began to have some success catching some waves on a 7'4'' funboard. Regarding the shortboard, I found that everytime I went to make the poppup, the board would sink and wave would pass under me. It seemed that the waves weren't very steep this day, only 2 &1/2 to 3 feet high. It seemed that most surfers had longboards, minimals and some fish...I really didn't notice if there were other shortboarders in the water or not to be honest. So what I was wondering was is what I've described more of a problem with inexperience and my abilities or regardless of the experience level of the person...this particular shortboard just wouldn't work in these conditions?

Depends on how big you are.

idk how the waves were that day you surfed. but paddle longer, until you feel the wave push you along. or it can be just the waves and what section of the waves you are at. i had that problem when i first started to shortboard.

buy a minimal and save yourself a whole load of trouble

you catch more waves and pick up the basics way easier

I'm 5'9'' and weight 140lbs.

At some point I plan on either getting a minimal/funboard or possibly a very stable fish. I plan to ride small/medium size surf (under 5ft) for a while.

I only borrowed the shortboard because it was the only board that would fit in my car that day. Usually I surf with my friend who has a decent quiver and borrow his 7'4'' funboard and he has a truck for transporting. I was on my own that day and I don't have a roof rack yet.

With your weight and the board size I would say it is highly feasible to surf on a 3 ft wave, you need to paddle earlier and harder thou.

I had the same problem yesterday. I normally ride a 6'8" funshape, and then when I used my friend's 6'0", the nose goes under and I just pearl.

I'm 5'7" and 155 lbs

Bub wrote: or possibly a very stable fish.

FISH ARE NOT STABLE!!!!!

i had the same problem as you. the spot that i learned to surf at was full of smallish waves. i used a semi-gun (similar to a shortboard, except it's longer). when i did "get up" on a wave, the board would sink right under me.

two months later, after surfing daily on a longboard at a new spot with larger rollers, i decided to bring out the semi-gun to try again. i actually got up there and rode across the face. it was awesome

if you only saw longboarders at your spot, chances are you won't be able to catch much on the shorty. if you have transportation issues, perhaps you should invest in a miniMal or egg or fish.

happy surfing!

Fochin wrote:i had the same problem as you. the spot that i learned to surf at was full of smallish waves. i used a semi-gun (similar to a shortboard, except it's longer). when i did "get up" on a wave, the board would sink right under me.

two months later, after surfing daily on a longboard at a new spot with larger rollers, i decided to bring out the semi-gun to try again. i actually got up there and rode across the face. it was awesome

if you only saw longboarders at your spot, chances are you won't be able to catch much on the shorty. if you have transportation issues, perhaps you should invest in a miniMal or egg or fish.

happy surfing!

I'm just sticking with the 7'4'' fun board from here on out...maybe try out my bros Walden longboard someday. I don't surf frequently enough to make trying the shortboard worth my while. I'd probably waste my time more than likely.

drowningbitbybit wrote:

Bub wrote: or possibly a very stable fish.

FISH ARE NOT STABLE!!!!!

Really?
Stability is mostly about width, which is what a fish has a lot of. You can have a very long board but if it's very narrow it's going to tend to roll from side to side.
My fish is very stable.
It's 6'0 x 201/2" wide with a lot of width throughout the board. I find I can easily make late take offs in spilling waves and come out of the thick white water and drive through onto the clean face.

Thats a turbulent take off and I find on this board I can almost always get to my feet and through it, which I can't say for my regular shorty (it's 181/4" wide). On my shorty sometimes the whitewater knocks me off balance on take offs like those.
On my fish I find the increase in width makes it feel almost like standing on the ground.

So what I was wondering was is what I've described more of a problem that this particular shortboard just wouldn't work in these conditions?

Yes this is quite possibly the problem, but also maybe you're just not ready for a shortboard yet, its impossible to tell which unless we see it tho.

Aloha wrote:

drowningbitbybit wrote:

Bub wrote: or possibly a very stable fish.

FISH ARE NOT STABLE!!!!!

Really?
Stability is mostly about width, which is what a fish has a lot of. You can have a very long board but if it's very narrow it's going to tend to roll from side to side.
My fish is very stable.
It's 6'0 x 201/2" wide with a lot of width throughout the board. I find I can easily make late take offs in spilling waves and come out of the thick white water and drive through onto the clean face.

Thats a turbulent take off and I find on this board I can almost always get to my feet and through it, which I can't say for my regular shorty (it's 181/4" wide). On my shorty sometimes the whitewater knocks me off balance on take offs like those.
On my fish I find the increase in width makes it feel almost like standing on the ground.

I'm kind of with you on this, but there are that many variations that everyones opinion could differ.

I had a custom made that i think is a piece of p!s$$ to ride but my kids can't, stick them on the thruster and they fly.

The term fish now encompasses too many styles of board. Its a discussion not really worth entering into.