Choosing the right board for a bali / sumatra trip

[oc mackdaddy]

Hi there, I am embarking on my first trip to bali soon and i'm not entirely confident that I have the right quiver.

I am 6'3" and weigh 86Kg and my general shortboard is an Al Merrick 6'5" Fred Rubble, which is an awesome board for small to medium waves but i'm not sure its going to cut it in more serious waves as I took it out recently on some 5 - 6 foot surf and was having trouble paddling onto a wave... Alternatively I have a local shape that is 6'6" and a fair bit fatter - this board offers a bit more stability but can be a little boaty, ie too floaty and a little stiff also...

I have the feeling that i should go for another board with a longer/thinner profile for down the line stability etc...

Last year I went to Fiji and hired a 7'0" to go out to cloudbreak and this seemed to do the job well...

I've read that you should be taking a bigger board than usual to bali i'm just not sure if I should be going for more volume, width or length.....I feel like more length, width in the middle and a fair taper in the back....

Anyone got any suggestions!!!!

[jaffa1949]

If you are based in Australia, I'd be talking to Mitchell Rae of Outer Island Surfboards or Jim Banks both know Indo inside out and will talk to you about what suits.
Depending on how you want to surf a slightly narrower profile with a bit more meat for paddle and a rounded pin might be the way to go.
Not quite the deep water power of cloudbreak but some need for speed and control in some of the longest barrels you'll see.
Need early entry and face control as you set up your line and went the barrel backs off the ability to whack.

Check out those guys websites
http://www.outerislandsurfboards.com/outerisland.html
http://www.jimbanksurf.com/

Their sites will give your shaper elsewhere the ideas of what you want.

Bali is overrun, The Bukit Peninsular with Ulus, Padang,Dreamland right down to Kuta reef and Kuta beach provide some great stuff to for you and the other hundred I'd take your Fred and the other board

[oc mackdaddy]

Hey there,
thanks for the advice I think its spot on...
I actually went into my local shop Zak Surf and we found a second hand 7'2" semi gun, micheal anthony, bells beach.
Its 20 wide and 2 3/4 thick, tapers off into a rounded square, very flat rocker profile and not too boaty...
The other options were a McTavish Bobsled! Or a Wayne Lynch 6'8... both which are too nice for a spare board!!! Maybe down the track...
I think this board should do the job and I will be pushing the Fred as far as possible... great thing is that I traded my old 6'6" so will only be $100 out of pocket.
I have looked at Mitchel Rae's site before and I may be interested down the track, I like the idea of flex, I don't like a board that is too stiff. I have a 9'1" McTavish F4 and its prob as thin as a Mal can get, i'm surprised how much the board bends as you hook a fairly steep and sharp bottom turn...we'll for a mal anyway...

Thanks heaps

[jaffa1949]

Well? How did your trip to Bali go??????