Need help buying 2nd board

[Tudeo]

I have a chance to pick up a Firewire addvance 6'8 really cheap. Its in good condition and over 50 litres volume so I know it will float me. Any thoughts on this board?

I use an Addvance 606 LFT for better/bigger waves. I'm 6' 165lbs lower end intermediate surfer. In smaller or fatter waves the Add also works fine, but then I prefer my Firewire Dominator 606. The Dom creates lots of speed in weaker waves but gets hard to control in more powerfull stuff. That's where the Add comes in, easy wave catcher and stable & smooth ride. Put ur backfoot back over the fins for turns/carves and u've got plenty performance. Step forward and there's plenty speed. When the wave flattens u can even walk forward for a cheater 5.

I can duck dive the 48l of the Add with my 165lbs when the white water is not too big.

[TJ1984]

Thanks everyone for the advice Im gonna go for the Addvance its too good of a deal to pass up. Any suggestions for fins? Its FCS2 boxes. Im about 80-85kg should I get larges?
Thanks!

[dtc]

You are on the edge re fin size (between M and L) - as am I, at pretty much the same weight as you. However, it also very much depends on the board, because fins and rails and tail all work together; so for some boards larger fins are required than for others.

Without having surfed the Addvance, I reckon go for medium or m/l - because a fin that is too small will result in tail spinout and may lack some drive, but a fin that is too big just tracks (ie goes straight). At your level, tail spin out probably is unlikely and while too little drive could be an issue, its less of a pain than tracking. Tracking is really annoying, because you go to turn and the board just goes straight and you try harder and it still goes straight...then the wave closes out and you are still going straight and then its straight off

Anyway, if you want to make sure, buy some cheap fins (the cheap ones don't look as good but are 80%+ as good in performance), get the right size and then buy something expensive (because we all do). Or if you are lucky, your local surf shop might have a fin tree where you can borrow fins for a day or for $10 or something to try out. Probably ask the surf shop first.

[Big H]

I'm in the same situation (84kg).....I have a grab bag of fins, got several to see what worked best on a given board....for the most part DTC's suggestion will be perfect; mediums and M/L work great, don't track and don't hinder paddling....however, that is also being said for someone who is learning and up until recently hadn't really engaged the fins very hard at all....I am improving and the better I get the more I feel more in control with large fins in better surf on my wider tailed board....I use mediums in weaker surf or on the board I have with channels or on boards where the tail is narrow. Differences are minor, I'm still not good enough to really put fins through their paces, but since I have the grab bag there are some that do seem to feel and work better than others in different conditions on different boards.

Guess that was a long way of saying that I'm not sure which will be best for you, med, M/L or large, that they all could or could not be the answer depending on factors involved and you will have to sort that on your own and get your own bag of fins.......

[TJ1984]

Just an update. I couldnt get the addvance ... It sold to someone else before I had the chance... I was pretty bummed cause it was a nice board. So Im still surfing my mini long. Having fun on it. My brother in law is giving me his used channel islands board. He said its too corky for him and because it has lots of volume it might be similar to the addvance and a decent transition board for me but I am really skeptical because its a 6'4. Sounds way too short...its a pod mod, 22 inches wide and 3 inches thick about 45 litres I think. Its actually a little wider and thicker than my mini long. I still think its too short for me but I get to surf it for a while and see how it goes before pulling the trigger. It looks in pretty decent condition. I did some research on it and I think its geared more towards intermediate-advanced surfers so it should be interesting to say the least. Anyone have experience with these? If it doesnt work out I am just gonna keep my eyes open for something a little longer and keep surfing my log. He told me its super easy to paddle but hes a lot smaller and experienced than me and also 6'4 is a lot less area to nail my pop ups. Should get a chance to surf it for the first time next week I hope.

[Big H]

Try it then go back to the mini long if you are still worried about nailing pop ups and other basics. Let us know how it works for you.

[jaffa1949]

Nothing like the experience first hand, have fun!
The experiment may well give you another option or at least an insight

[TJ1984]

Ok so I recieved the board. I took it out twice but in bad conditions...overhead, punchy waves with strong onshore winds...very choppy. I know you are supposed to wait for good conditions the first time you take out a new board so it doesnt leave a bad taste in your mouth but I just couldnt wait...anyways I found the board extremely easy to paddle..very stable and fairly quick...a little slower than my mini long. The biggest problem for me was timing the waves..Im used to getting in much earlier with my longboard. I was only able to pop up on about 25% of the waves I paddled for but Im guessing that will change as I get my timing down. But once I stood up wow....totally different feel. Super fast off the start and super loose. I could travel down the line for about 5 secounds before I wiped out and it was like ice skating. Im sure it is my balance and skills are not developed enough yet. Also when Im on my longboard I can just cruise even if Im not in the pocket of the wave but with this board I realize I have to generate my own speed by turning and staying in the pocket or else I just stop dead. Bad news is I wiped out pretty bad and pulled an intercostal muscle...ouch... can barely move...I should have waited for better conditions but I have this itch to surf everday even if the conditions are not ideal for my ability...(I always try to keep out of the way of other surfers in these conditions). As for duck diving again I just dont have the experience yet but I was succesful on a couple attemps so I need to practice. Basically 80% of the times I tried to duckdive I flipped backwards like a rag doll so when Im back in the water even on flat days I will be practicing. Do you think if I stick with it I will develop my balance and turns on this board? Also I am aware that the fins on this board probably dont have anything to do with the way it rode and it comes down to my own skills or lack there of but right now it has FCS H3 Nexus mediums...would switching to a large fin with less flex improve the loose skatey feel and make the board a little more managable? For example the FRP channel island larges? Anyways long story short...huge transition...went from being completely comfortable on a longboard to struggling on a shorter board.

[Tudeo]

went from being completely comfortable on a longboard to struggling on a shorter board.

Sometimes that's needed to keep the Stoke going

[drowningbitbybit]

right now it has FCS H3 Nexus mediums...would switching to a large fin with less flex improve the loose skatey feel and make the board a little more managable?

Nope. Or at least not enough to make a difference at the stage you're at.
With a 45 L 6'4 board that's 22" wide, it'll always be skatey because that's what it is built to do.

Find a fat wave with a bit of mush and try it then.

[dtc]

I was only able to pop up on about 25% of the waves I paddled for but Im guessing that will change as I get my timing down. But once I stood up wow....totally different feel. Super fast off the start and super loose. I could travel down the line for about 5 secounds before I wiped out and it was like ice skating. .....would switching to a large fin with less flex improve the loose skatey feel and make the board a little more managable? .

Certainly positioning is a big factor in catching waves, the major one I guess, but so is paddle speed and that might be something you are lacking a little bit coming from a bigger board.

As a tip, once you pop up, try and stay low (if you aren't already) - like keep a finger of your back hand touching the board. This will make things more stable and let you get some stability. It sounds like you are popping up, never in control and then falling off - so you need to get that stability. On a bigger board, you can often just stand up and the board is stable

In terms of fins, bigger fins will improve the skatey feel but wont make the board slower. It might make it a bit more stable - hard to tell. If you are unstable as a rider, bigger fins don't really change that much. But you are going to experiment anyway, having thought about it, so you may as well buy them and try

All the above said, keep trying - if you are still flailing about after 10 goes, then the board isn't right for you at this stage. But it may take 7-10 tries to get things working just enough to justify keeping trying.

[TJ1984]

Thanks for all the feedback. Hopefully Ill be back in the water soon. I will try getting lower once I pop up.

[TJ1984]

Good news I was able to get out a couple more times. Still quite painful on the ribs but well worth it. The first day was not good conditions and although a few waves were catchable there was no power behind them and I dont have the skill set yet to generate enough speed maybe. The second day the conditions were quite good, waist to sholder clean waves and it was awesome. Its the first time Ive taken this board out in good conditions. DTC thanks for your tip, getting super low helped alot. I also swapped out the fins to CI Larges and I actually felt a difference, more stable or so it seemed maybe its because I was getting lower. Anyways long story short I got some good waves and was able to pump a bit for speed, when I started slowing down hit some turns and ride the wave down the line. I have a long way to go but I have hope now I will be able to progress on this board. The most important thing is it was a fun board to ride! And its great because easy to travel with and Im starting to get my duck dives down on medium size waves...still get cycle washed sometimes on bigger waves though. Thanks for all the tips and support. I was also wondering if anyone had some more tips for generating speed in the not so nice smaller messy waves? Is there anything I can do besides pumping the board?
Thanks

[Big H]

Try DTC's tip but touch the water on the side of the board that you want to go when you pop up....maybe if you get into the wave earlier in the right direction you'll have a little more speed from the get go....

[oldmansurfer]

If the wave isn't going fast then if you generate speed where will you go? There are many things that affect your speed including your weight and the size of the board. Longer boards have a faster planing speed but small boards can be maneuvered to go faster. Every board has a spot where if you stand there it will go at it's top planing speed. If you are higher on the wave you go faster (steeper part of the wave). A good bottom turn and forward unweighting will get you moving faster. Essentially surfing a wave is all about adjusting your speed. If you want easy speed then get a longer board (but it won't turn as easy).

[TJ1984]

Big H thanks Ill try that. I need to move my upper body more when turning toO I think, Ive been trying to point where I want to go with my far arm and looking in the direction I want to go. Oldmansup, thanks I think I do need to find the sweet spot on this board and work on my wave posistioning. i guess the hardest part for me right now is knowing exactly when I should execute a turn or not. I understand the basics but right now the timing is a little bit of luck.....

[dtc]

i guess the hardest part for me right now is knowing exactly when I should execute a turn or not. I understand the basics but right now the timing is a little bit of luck.....

Great to hear things are advancing.

Turning etc etc is a matter of experience. Its like anything - how do you learn when to pass a ball in soccer or when to speed up to sneak into the traffic gap or whatever. You learn, build up knowledge, make some mistakes (hopefully not when driving!) and eventually its just a thing you know how to do.

One traditional way to learn is to go surfing and spend the entire session aiming to complete one thing eg a bottom turn or a top turn every wave, even if you don't think you will be able to make it. Just keep doing it, every wave. Learn from when it doesn't work - don't just try, try and then think. (btw, I wouldn't do this on a big wave day when you are already at your limits, but on a day with comfortable sized waves).

Pointing with the front arm is an excellent starting point for turns, but it creates a slow turn (trim turn vs a carve turn - watch this

- and if you haven't watched all of these surf simply videos, sit down and watch every single one - for me the most useful basic training on the web) because essentially you are just shifting your weight to a new balance and the board slowly comes around. For harder turns you need a bit of a wind up tand to use your arms, not just point (you almost need to make your chest point to where you want to go, rather than your arm) - check out waikikichan's site with a lot of useful tips http://alohaki.jugem.jp/

[Tudeo]

The question of when to turn is much about experience like dtc says, I just want to add this:

When u go down the line after takeoff, just enjoy the ride play with the wave, go up and down. This way u build experience to understand the wave's energy. Soon u will see/understand when the wave loses it's power, u see the wall in front of u disappear or get lower/fatter. Going forward will bring u in that powerless section of the wave where u cannot do anything anymore, the wave just dies under ur feet then.
The remedy: cutback. So when u see the wave weaken in front of u it is time to turn back to the foam ball where the wave's power is. When u can successfully cutback to the foam ball u must turn again, preferably just before u hit the foamball. A successful execution will put u in the pocket of the wave, the place with the most power from where u can initiate other moves.

When experience and skill grows this will be more and more an automatic/intuitive process, where all thinking of what to do stops and only doing remains. Then u go with the flow.

[TJ1984]

Thank you both for the tips. Yes! The cutback tip I will try that makes a lot of sense and I will study those videos. I went out to surf an outer reef break yesterday. The conditions were chest to overhead plus but very steep, hollow and fast. I got smashed around pretty good. I caught a couple waves but most of the time I got tossed forward while popping up. My timing was off and I wasnt used to those type of conditions (first time surfing that break). Its really frustrating having a great surf a few days ago and then getting put back in my place yesterday. Anyways I will keep at it!
Thanks again

[Tudeo]

Its really frustrating having a great surf a few days ago and then getting put back in my place yesterday.

Better get used to that pattern, sounds all too familiar to me