Surfing Waves

I know this question has so many variables but I wanted to get some feedback from people who have been doing a lot longer than me. I am a beginner/intermediate who has recently got back into surfing after 10 years of absence due to moving away from waves. I used to surf on a 8'6" hybrid. Im back now on the coast and bought a 9' pearson/arrow formula 1 because i thought it would be fun and better on small days. It is 22.5 wide and 3" thick in the middle with thruster fin set up --6" middle fin. The guy at the shop told me this was the board for me. I am 6'1 and 200lbs. Anyway, I have to paddle a lot harder than I thought i would to catch waves and in general seems to not be as buoyant as I was hoping. I do get up on it and its fun and very responsive. Is this just me shaking off the rust or I am wondering if I should have gotten a bigger board? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

as a 200lber myself and I ride a 9ft board, that is about right for you now just the extra weight you gained in the 10 years and lack of paddle fitness.
If lots of surfing pulls off the weight, the board will improve no end!

I'm 6'3 and 185lbs and my longboard is about the same as yours (slightly narrower and thinner - so proportional to weight probably quite similar) and it seems to float me pretty well. So (as usual!) I agree with jaffa, the board should be fine. I'm assuming there are no faults with your board.

Remember that paddling is an 'unnatural' activity - you dont get paddle fit or use your paddle muscles doing day to day activity (other than swimming or certain weight lifting). So its not unexpected that after years of not surfing your paddle muscles are both weaker than you think and tire quite quickly.

But - that said - I noticed this review http://custom.surfboardshack.com/90-pea ... formula-1/ which suggested paddling is a bit hard with this board. It doesnt seem to have excessive rocker or anything, so I'm not sure why its a problem. The surftech site http://surf.surftech.com/featured-board ... formula-1/ says the volume of the board is 66L, which is slightly under but pretty close to the volume of most 9ft boards (around 70-72L is fairly standard); and in any event 66L should be fine to float you.

I would keep going until your fitness has built up a bit and if you are still frustrated, then maybe look at a different board. Alternatively, if you are able to borrow a different board maybe see if it makes a big difference and then make the call. But really your current board should be fine - most likely a 'user problem'.

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. I agree, I just need to surf more--Its not the board. Just wanted to get some feedback as it wasn't a cheap purchase... Thanks again.

Reviving an old thread, but how's the board doing for you now? I'm 6'0" / 190lbs and looking at the same board, trying to decide between 9'0" / 9'4" / 9'6"

Still riding the 9ft board but it has quite a domed deck, so at least 3" thick . so pretty much everything written above applies.