Surfing Waves

What's up folks

I've been surfing for 8months now quite consistently and naturally have progressed a good amount. While im inconsistent, my best rides show promise of some decent skill. Anyways, I ride a 9 foot single fin. While I like it for the small days and for casual rides, I want something I can really practice sharper turns-- and I thus I am feeling ready to buy a smaller board.

I've been told I should try out a 3 fin. I'm certainly not well versed in understanding different surfboard variations and I usually surf solo. Thus the request for some assistance..

I'd love a board that is could ride on most days (I currently surf a beach break that tends to be 2-4 ft med to low strength waves). I'd love a board that could offer a fun balance between speed and turning versus control and balance. A good board for helping me transition to a short board eventually

Any suggestions on what type of board I should be looking for would be prime.

Gracias amigos

The obvious answer is a mid sized, between 7ft and 7ft6. You could possibly go smaller (say 6ft10) but you might struggle and its not as good in smaller waves.

You main decision is whether you want a 'mini mal' or a hybrid/fish board. Dont worry about fins, they arent going to make as much of a difference as a shorter board (and, in any event, once you go shorter you will find most boards are 3 fin/thrusters anyway - certainly there are not many single fin shorter boards, although there are some). Once you have the board, fin size is relevant; but fin numbers not so much.

A mini mal is shaped like a longboard ie a rounded nose, straighter edges (rails). These make for an easier transition. They retain much of the stability of a longboard and much of the volume (so easier to catch waves) but are easier to turn than an LB. The downside is that they are harder to turn than a hybrid. Mini mals are pretty common; I would try to get one around 22 inches wide (give or take an inch); thickness will depend on your weight but say 2 5/8+. These are often called funboards - eg see the NSP Funboard (only because you can see it on the NSP website, not because its recommended)

A hyrbid/fish is more of a shortboard shape but longer and wider. These have narrower/pointy noses and more rounded curves (rails/sides). They are quite a bit less stable than a rounded nose/mal shape and have less volume so are a bit harder to paddle into waves. However, they are uusally faster and will turn much more easily (but remember you need to be able to control that speed and turning ability). So look at boards like the Firewire Addvance or the 7S Superfish (again, just as examples that are easily seen on the web, not saying get one of them particularly). Width and thickness will probably be around the same as for the minimal, although perhaps slightly less in general (eg 21.5 inches wide might be more normal). Hybrids can be a bit trickier to buy - you want a hybrid board not a shortboard for very fat/big people and they can look sort of similar. Nonetheless, there are usually some around in second hand board racks particularly around 7ft (not as common in longer sizes)

Personally I reckon which type of board depends on

- exactly how good you are on your LB - for example, do you make the pop up 90%+ of the time or are you a bit sketchy (minimal is more stable)
- how surf fit you are (a minimal will be easier to paddle and catch waves)
- do you want a smooth transition or one that will require a bit of work and possibly 15-20+ sessions where you are struggling a bit and falling over and feeling like a learner all over again
- how often do you surf - if frequently, then struggling for a bit is no real issue, if you only surf every fortnight then getting a board that will take a year to learn on takes a lot of fun out of it
- seeing as you say the waves are small and weak, do you understand how to generate speed from your board (a minimal will be easier)
- is there a cheap version of either board at your local surf store...

The hyrbrid is more of step than a minimal and correspondingly the minimal is an easier transition. The shorter you go, with either type, the bigger the transition - so a 7ft6 minimal will be easier than a 7ft minimal which will be easier than a 7ft2 hybrid etc.

So do you want a smaller step that is more comfortable or a larger step that may pay off more in the long run (in terms of moving to a shorter board)? Potentially, with a minimal your next board after that will be a 6ft10 or 6ft8 hybrid; if you now buy and master a 7ft hybrid then your next board might be a 6ft6 or 6ft8 shortboard or fish. But this is all years down the track, this next board will last you (in terms of skill development) at least 12-18 months, if not longer; you will learn a lot. Dont get too keen on making too big a jump; be honest about your current skill level and make the next jump appropriately or accept the fact you may struggle again, for a while.

Either way you will have to relearn some things - positioning for the wave in particular because you will have to catch the wave later than you are used to.

With the minimal you can keep using it (rather than your longboard) on anything other than very small (1ft) waves.

Personally, adding it all up, I reckon maybe a 7ft2 or 7ft4 minimal is the way to go; but I dont know how good you are (or your weight) or how often you surf etc. This is the 'safe' option; whether you want to take a bigger step is for you to decide.

Good luck - let us know if you have any questions

As DTC has said, the change can be pretty drastic.
My missus felt much like you and took the step down. We bought her a 6'8" NSP Surf Betty (which is the female-biased NSP Funboard) her first outing was terrible, she couldn't catch anything and got very upset and frustrated. then I showed her some threads on this forum so she could work out the theoretical differences and where she needed to focus and tried again. She managed to get up and absolutely loved the responsiveness. So you can step down to a board under 7ft, but it's a steeper curve and it'll take a bit of time to adjust. But the NSP Funboard shape is more forgiving than other shortboards as it is still pretty wide.

I just thought I would chip in to help with your decision, you can go shorter quicker but it takes a little longer to get used to it. But stick to this forum as the advice is all there and very very good.

Hey DTC / surf gurus

I have a related question to this thread but instead of going smaller, i'm weighing up going larger.
You seem to be pretty knowledgable on this so your feedback would be great!

Been surfing 3 months now and am now on a 6'2 fish as my everyday board. Getting the hang of riding it in control with a quad set up and now starting to work on turns etc. it is about 37L volume. Seems to go pretty well although does require quite a bit of paddling.
6'2'', 20 3/4'' ,2 5/8'' ,37.50 ltrs
This is a link to it : http://www.backdoor.co.nz/products/glid ... id-lines-2

Sometimes the waves around me aren't always that big/nice and often I'll see guys on fun-board style boards catching them a bit earlier and easier than I can on my fish.
SO, I was looking at this for a second board for something with a bit more volume and easier paddling + with a touch of rocker. It's a 6'6 Aloha Magic Mushroom. It's slightly longer, wider and thicker than my fish and apparently has about 5L extra volume. It is 6'6 x 21 1/2 x 2 3/4. 42.2litres volume. A link is below with pictures and more details on the design.
http://www.blitzsurf.co.nz/estore/style ... -12-s.aspx.
I am about 5'8 and 72kg.

How would this paddle and handle in comparison? Would it be a hinderance in the wrong direction to my progression (by going wider and longer again)? Would it be worth having as a spare or even as making my everyday board and getting rid of the fish? How would the rocker / concave compare (I don't fully understand the different concaves yet)?
I've got a low endish 7'6 mini mal at home but it is too long, flat and un-responsive for the type of waves that I get close to home. I was planning to get rid of it and swap with the Magic Mushroom.

At the end of the day, I can probably only surf 2x a week max and the best/cleaner wave beaches are at least a 2hr drive each way so I need a board that I can still catch a decent wave count on at my local beaches.

Any feedback or info would be great!
Thanks

Obviously, as a general concept, the greater the volume the better for the smaller waves in that there is more volume to push you along/keep you supported.

However, its also true that the flatter the rocker the better for smaller waves. And the thicker the rails the better. The wider the tail usually the better. You can even play around with the fins eg go for a small centre fin on a thruster

In other words, its not just volume.

Whether making the jump from 37l to 42l will make a noticeable difference I'm not sure. That is, will it make the smaller waves significantly easier? Its not a huge difference. The mushroom board you linked to says it has rocker like a high performance shortboard - not what you want for smaller waves. Its a bigger board but volume isnt everything.

If you wanted a specific small wave board then you either need to go quite a bit longer (6ft 10 or 7ft+) or go the other way and buy a short fat grovellor board (eg look at the Firewire baked potato or the potatonator on the Blitz store website or the dumpster style boards - these you are looking at probably 5ft10). The grovellors are much less stable but much more manouverable; the longer boards are more cruisy. Note that the grovellors may actually have less volume but their design is for small waves.

If you went longer, then something like a 7S Superfish might be worthwhile - its flatter, thicker rails, more volume. Or a Firewire Addvance or Dominator. Or any number of hybrid style boards. But a 'big shortboard' like you linked to is not really a small wave board. Its may well be better than the one you have in those conditions, but its not the best option. You want wider and flatter and thicker - then decide if longer or shorter suits your style. I suspect at your level longer is preferable, but its up to you.

In my view - given that I havent surfed or even seen in the flesh either of your boards.

In terms of skill development, all I can say is that the wave you dont catch is the wave that doesnt help you improve. there is absolutely no doubt you can improve surfing a 7ft funboard