Surfing Waves

Looking for advice on next board.
I'm 5'5/145lbs but can easily need 25lbs neoprene.
Started surfing on 8'4" longboard (72L), but waves here are hollow and anything > 3-3.5' and I'm pearling no matter how far back I get my weight, plus getting it out under bigger waves is a giant pain. Got 6'2" sharpeye disco (34L) but often have trouble catching anything with it.
Was considering getting a funboard but just surfed 3' on a friend's 7'6" board (about 21" wide) with pointed nose and pretty significant rocker and loved it. Seemed too big to be a shortboard but shaped like one. Problem is she doesn't know what it is and neither do I so have no idea where to find something similar.
So - 7' ish funboard? Look for a giant shortboard? Is there a third option?
Any advice or comments would be appreciated

I would guess it is a semigun: pointed nose, some good rocker on the nose for steeper waves and larger than a shortboard.

If you loved riding this friends board, it's less risky to get a similar board in my opinion.

You can ride hollow waves with a longboard. Stepping back too soon is the mistake. You need to get down the face first then step back. Taking off on steep waves is difficult to learn on any board. The tendency is to hesitate and freeze up but you have to focus and instead of hesitating go all out. Your friends board is a fungun. It's like a funboard but shortboard design. That is what I surf.

joshkeegan wrote: a friend's 7'6" board (about 21" wide) with pointed nose and pretty significant rocker and loved it. Seemed too big to be a shortboard but shaped like one.

I doubt it was a semi-gun, mainly because you were loving it, rather than hating it
(but I get the feeling we're just disagreeing about terminology)

At 7'6 and 21' wide, it sounds like a fatboy shortboard - basically a big shortboard - or a funboard.

My first board was 7'4, 21' wide, and a proper shortboard shape, and was great (wish I hadn't sold it...) - it could get into waves nice and early, but still surfed like a shortboard rather than like a mini-mal.

This is actually super similar... little bit less rocker but similar width/displacement and also 7'6". Got it from a friend. Comments on appropriate terminology?

5'-6' on the way Friday we'll see how it goes...

joshkeegan wrote: Comments on appropriate terminology?

Funboard

Not sure it's what I'd call a hollow wave board, but it looks like it should deliver the goods nicely

When you ride hollow waves on a longboard you are limited in the lack of maneuverability to generate speed and have to rely on the planning speed of the board to get through the wave (unless you are really good at longboarding). A shortboard generates speed through rapid turns up and down the face of the wave and has a more adjustable speed so you can try to match the wave. If the hollow wave is really fast then it becomes more difficult for the longboarder but a slower hollow wave is totally manageable with a longboard. Rails are important whichever kind of board you ride in bigger hollow waves because you want a board that can hang on a wall. I won't pretend to know exactly what rails but it makes a difference and the bottom design is also important, I think a board with less rocker will hang higher up on a wall. The higher up you get the faster you will go but typically longer boards are more difficult to keep high on a wall because gravity wants them to drop back to the bottom, however with the right rails a bigger board will hang on a wall better. So if you can generate speed turning a shortboard then it can help you on hollow waves but if not then maybe a longboard is the way to go. A funboard or fungun is in between and has pluses and minuses from both long and shortboards but I totally love my fungun. However the best tube ride I have had since I restarted surfing was on a longboard (so far).

Hey josh jump onto the mactavis website they have i think just what your looking for, if you cant afford a mctavish get your local shaper to make one for you thats similar to what you can get at mctavish, ive made boards for over 30 years in my own factories and for some big name shops,made boards for some of the best surfers in the world both short and longboarders, some of these guys and girls are still on the pro tour ,2 of them in the top ten, so i have a bit of a idea what im on about, this is what i ride for those day when its just too hollow for my 9.2, its a 7.6 x 22 x 2 1/2 ,tail is 14 1/2 nose is 16 3/4 not a shortboard looking nose not a longboard looking nose but halfway in between, tail is pure shortboard, set up as a thuster nose has a little flip in it ,not flat but not as much as a shorty,tail has very good curve in it starting from about 1 1/2 foot foward of the tail .rails are very soft until about 2 1/2 foot from the tail, then nice sharp edgeto end of the board,nice soft rails wont catch if there done right,the fins are set up, tail fin is set at 90mm from the tail and front fins are 110mm from the front of the rear fin,this gives you good turning but also will hold in tight turns,rocker is pretty flat other than the nose and tail rockers,so it generates o lot of speed ,single into double concaves,if you lay this board in still water the tail fin only has the tip of the fin in the water due to the big rocker in the tail area, so the board will surf a lot shorter than it is, more like a bigger short board,so thats what i ride on those hollow days,easy to paddle, holds in nice,turns on a dime and rails dont catch,hope this has helped, cheers

Hey josh ,what brand is that board in your picture, from what i can see the label looks a lot like one of my old ones,made a lot with that same spray.

Blew the picture up Lloyd , Mad Dog label out of Byron Bay.

A nice point too,
Lloyd lots of sage advice from you and no shameless self promotion like so many others. Welcome aboard!

Haha thanks jaffa.close to 30 years of making boards professionaly i think i might have some wisdom to share.

Hey Lloyd + Uncle J + Waikkiki + OMS + Dbbb + Ks + EVERYBODY (started that list and realised how many of you guys there are lol)

Seeing as we're talking boards I think I'm gonna need your advice in the future. After staring all gooey eyed at shiny new boards I've realised at some point I'll want to get closer to a real board so I'm lining up a replacement for my trusty 8'4 bic 72lr (HMS Unsinkable) not yet mind, I've still got a long way to go on her and don't feel like she's holding me back at all! But future proofing I'm gonna want to advance and get a step closer to the real deal.
For those that don't know, I'm 6'2 175lbs am comfortable out back in up to shoulder high faces, bottom turn (nearly) every time and go down the line. Have recently started doing turns and cutbacks but they prob ain't pretty lookin! So yeah I'm a beginner
However I'm asking for the future and where I see my surfing in the next 6-12 months (I get to go roughly 3-4 times a month)

I've a list narrowed down based on durability, desirability, cost and ease of progression. I want to go epoxy because although apparently it doesn't 'feel' proper to the purists, it should last and I don't wanna faff with repairs if I can help it!
I'm thinking 7'6 with a slightly more pointed nose and lively tail. Here's my selection so far; wondered if you sages had any wisdom you'd care to impart?! Always always appreciated as I'd rather learn before I pull the trigger.
Option 1 - 7'6 Torq Mod fun. I like it because I think there is room for progression on her and have heard good things about Torq (thanks Banz)
http://www.torq-surfboards.com/fun-76.html

Option 2 - 7'6/7'10 westbay hybrid nose slayer. This may or may not be a step too far for me but it's moving into the realms of a more lively board
http://www.westbaysurfboards.co.uk/hbnslayer/

Option 3 - 7'6 circle one lazy hog. More fat and floaty but maybe it would still perform??
http://www.circle-one.co.uk/product/76-round-pin/

Option 4 - 7'10 circle one Heritage series. Classic looks and shape, the squash tail might aid wave catching but I was hoping the pin on the others would make my turns quicker
http://kiteboardinguk.com/acatalog/Circ ... Range.html

I've ridden 7'6s before and can manage them so think this is the next logical step but would love to know your thoughts, especially regarding shape Lloyd! I also generally surf the beach breaks of Ireland and have just moved onto reefs, again about waist to shoulder high but I'm looking to progress and eventually end up on overheads like Benjl and one day get barrelled!! The waves here are generally fatter and mushier though.. A lot of scrabbling around on the beach breaks.

Thanks anyway and sorry for the hijack

I don't know what would be best for you but if I was chosing I would pick the first one. This would be entirely ignoring brand names since I am not familiar with them.

Hey Jester

I'm slogging away at work at the moment ( ) so didn't get to open all of your links to have a browse but i've got a 7'2 mod fun board and it was awesome.
I'd highly recommend to progress on! It doesn't have a lot of rocker so not sure how well it would go with late drops but its really flat through the middle so I would tend to get in super early on the wave anyway.
The newest models have upped the volume by about 4-5L but kept the length the same so their new 7'6 could be sweet for you!

Best thing about them is that when a big set comes or you go over the falls, you don't have that worrying second thought about coming to the surface and seeing the board broken. The thing is built like a brick! (although with some performance in mind )

Strangely enough, one session on this board and it had taught me how to grab and hold the rail during steeper or hollow waves that I hadn't found myself doing on my shortboards before. When i took this technique back to the shortboard I started sticking all the sketchy drops and steep walls.
They've also got a new 6'10 fish which has more volume than my current 7'2 funboard which could be another to look at?

If i'd had this board to start on, I would probably still be on it

Hi jester, had a look at the boards you had posted, that first one looks like a go, or the 7,6 that circle one do in their heritage range, im thinking either one of those woulk work ok for you, there not begginer boards but its something you would progress on then not having to change agian once you get better, the 8,4 bic your on now ive ridden them good stable learners board catches plenty of waves but not performance base by any means and heavy, epoxy boards are great if you dont ding them becease they will suck up water like a sponge, dont let anyone tell you that they dont break or get dings, ive fixed hundreds of them, if they break in 2 throw it away, ,well thats my opinion on the boards your looking at, so good luck

Thoughts on the 4 boards posted. ( and thank you for listing your choices, it helps a lot ! )

#1 Torq - nice overall shape and should take some abuse. I like this one the best

#2 Westbay - double bump -swallow. Fast but maybe "too much" for you. Plus you'll be seeing the repair guy more often.

#3 Circle one Lazy Hog - Trash Can nose - will get in the way for beach break hallow dumps.

#4 circle one heritage - can't tell exactly which one you're talking about, but if it's the blue pin line squash tail, that board is ugly. I don't like the flow of the hips ( or lack there of )

Question for you, does your BIC has the bolt thru the deck fins or FCS ?

The one im thinking of from circle one in their heritage range is one of their 7.6 mini mal customs, good looking shape, something as a advanced board from jesters 8.4 bic barge,

Ahh thanks guys!! You came through in style yup that's really helped with my selection, really appreciate the input!

Yes Waikiki, it has bolt through fins which I've taken off and am now running it as a single fin about mid way in the box. The middle fin isn't a bolt through though.

The heritage range one I was looking at wasn't blue, there were two next to each other, one was 7'6 the other 7'10 in a minimal shape, pin tail I think!

Thanks guys. Looks like Torq will be getting my money unless I bump into a heritage one first!! Very happy with the feedback, cheers!

Get the Torq so that we can 'Torq' about our experiences on them together

Jester, I rarely say this but I reckon you are being too conservative going with the 7'6. If you are reasonably comfortable on an 8'4 and ok on a borrowed 7'6, I think a 7'6 will get frustrating sooner rather than later bc it won't be different enough

Go the 7'2 torq. Challenge yourself. You will find catching the waves takes a bit of learning re positioning and timing but you will pop up ok and ride down the face ok. Turns will be fairly different but you won't be flailing and falling like when you first started.

Also a 7'2 will fit in a car much better...