next board

[zorba]

spent 4 hours in the water today and caught a few green waves for the first time (yeehaw!) and am pretty stoked (cant believe i'm still awake at 2am, must be adrenaline), but lately I have been wondering if my board is holding me back, as a few monster waves (well, 3ft..) passed under me.

I am 196lbs (14stone on the button), 6 foot, 37 year old male, big boned (not a euphemism for fat, just got a big frame and solid bones, hardly ever broke one in all years of sports etc.).

current board is a south point 8'6" "longboard" made out of epoxy

I first surfed years ago, but have been out say 10 times over last few months as determined to nail this lark (and maybe out 10-15 days over the previous 10 years, for what its worth).

I have snowboarded several times so can carve and turn, adopt low stance etc. till the cows come home. Just wish I could catch the waves on the green more often so I can start to transfer all this to the wave face.

Popping up was an issue but I identified killer combination of heavy torso and weak arms, and rectified situations by, respectively, losing weight (2stone lost in last 3mths) and doing pressups, up to 30, which is now no use for strength as too many reps, so started asking my five year old son to sit on my shoulders = I can do 10 of these which is the perfect number for strength building).

I'm reading a book about learning to surf by Scott Banerot with guest bits by Wingnut. Scott says - "do yourself a favour and get a Robert August "What I Ride" 9'6" - it will catch anything". They are pricey though, so i thought maybe i'd get my local shaper to do one to the same dimensions for nearly half the price.

I just want to catch more waves in the green (unbroken). Guy in surfshop today (who I later spotted in Waveriders an hour ago as ex Irish champion) sez I'd be better with a longer board. Like the idea of being able to surf in 1foot, 2foot swells ! hard to argue with his pedigree but I didn't want to use his time asking lots of newbie questions as is my wont, so thought I'd take the discussion into here

any contribs from the group, many thanks, z

[tree4]

Have recently bought a 9'1" long board to add to my 7'2" magic carpet. Great for the smaller days. So yeah I would say buy a long board to add to your quiver. Keep the other board if you can afford to.

Sometimes missing a wave is more to do with getting your paddle speed to match the wave rather than not enough float from your board. After all, you see the shredders on their 5'x" thrusters and they seem to catch waves.

Gald your loving the stoke. It always makes me smile when I hear someone hooting on their way in on a ride.

[Hang11]

Don't be scared to ask questions when you're surfing, most people will help you out and give you some tips, unless they're complete 4rseholes and as long as you aren't dropping in on them or behaving like a total idiot.

I honestly don't think being able to snowboard is much help with surfing, the whole balance/weight/turning thing is very different. I often find after a season of snowboarding and not surfing, that when I get back in the water, that my cutbacks are really good, due to transferring weight around on a snowboard, and using that technique to turn, but my top turns suck for the very same reasons.

Best thing you can do is get a great big floaty longboard, wouldn't worry about it being too flash, as you don't want to be stressing about damaging it etc, and just get out there and practice as much as possible.

Surfing, especially as you get older, is a really hard thing to learn. You don't need to be super fit, catching waves is a lot more about technique/timing/reading the wave, than about having a lot of grunt in your arms. The only real way you can get it sussed is to get out there as much as possible, on the right equipment.

[zorba]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement folks!

I was wondering if there is a chart anywhere on the net (or anywhere else) that would give ideal longboard sizes by surfer's weight

e.g.
160-180 lbs = 9' - 9'6"
180-200 lbs = 9'6" - 10'
etc. etc.

(for anybody reading this and not following the thread the figures above are just made up as an example!)

Is there such a thing?

Also, been tending more towards the Robert August "What I Ride" epoxy number, as its lighter and more durable than the equivalent custom model. If I can stomach shelling out £700 ish as opposed to half that. But it should hold its value well (the epoxy option).

Checked yesterday and there's no availability in my local shop and the best they can do for the 9'6" is December. However they can get me a 9' WIR in a few days.

Dilemmas dilemmas.

Go for the 9' and get charging now.
Wait for another 4 or 5 weeks and hold out for the 9'6"
hunt like a dog for a 9'6" elsewhere

what differences should I expect between the 9' and 9'6" versions of WIR ?
I'm trying to work out if its worth waiting / hunting, or should I just compromise and go for the 9'.
I'm concerned the 9' won't be that different from my current board...

any thoughts ?

cheers!