New Board Help! PLEASE

[mattmx181]

Hello Guys,

I just joined this forum for the purpose of getting some good sound advice on a purchase of a shorter board to progress on. I have a 9'6" performance longboard and am new to the sport of surfing. I am catching on very quickly as I am an avid wakesurfer, wakeboarder, and snowboarder so my confidence and athletic ability on a board allows me to catch on pretty quickly. I Surf in Santa Cruz, CA and I am 5'8" and fluctuate between plus or minus 175-190 LBS throughout the year. I've been checking out some firewire boards, the baked potato and the chumlee, to be specific as I feel It will allow me to grow skills wise into the board and help speed up my progression. Does anyone have any sound advice or recommendations on these boards or other boards you may feel are better. Also the correct size that will allow me to surf this thing for years to come as my skill level increases without getting bored of it. Thank You in advance and sorry for the newbie lack of knowledge. Just trying to find a nice board that I can grow into so I get my moneys worth without outgrowing it too quickly.

[dtc]

Just trying to find a nice board that I can grow into so I get my moneys worth without outgrowing it too quickly.

you cant 'grow into' a board or improve your skill levels unless you can surf the board you can buy. If you buy a baked potato and the chumlee then I doubt you will be surfing it very much. As in, catching waves, standing up and that kind of stuff. I'm not really sure why you think you will 'outgrow' any board. There are some very very good surfers around that surf 9'6 boards and they dont feel that they have outgrown them.

If you want to figure out where you sit on the skill spectrum, see if you can hire a 6ft board and give it a go. If you cant catch 8/10 waves (and stand up and surf along the face), then hire a 7ft board. Repeat until you can succeed 80% of the time. If you cant succeed 80% of the time on a board, then you certainly cant claim to have 'outgrown' it

[waikikikichan]

some good sound advice on a purchase of a shorter board to progress on.

This is honest advice: You PROGRESS first on your longboard to a point where you can do a backside cutback BEFORE you move down to a 8'ish board, then 7'ish board, then to a 6'6", then below.

I am catching on very quickly as I am an avid wakesurfer, wakeboarder, and snowboarder so my confidence and athletic ability on a board allows me to catch on pretty quickly.

You make think those sports are a plus, but actually they are a negative for surfing. Especially dealing with the opposite pressure for turning and speeding up.
Question: How good are you at wakesurfing and wakeboarding without the BOAT ?
How good are you at Snowboarding without the angle of mountain ? How easy is snowboarding if there wasn't LIFTS ?
The reason for those questions is not to be a joke but to make you aware of the reality that surfing is 90% paddling and only 10% riding. If you get a too small board, it will be harder to paddle, catch the wave and stay with the wave.