Surfing Waves

Hi All,

I've been surfing for 1.5 years now and surf Northern California mostly around SF. I'm 26, 5'11 and 165 lbs. I started off on an 8'0 mini-mal for year and then transitioned to a 6'6 Firewire Addvance (21.5" wide, 3" thick, 48 L). I'm pretty comfortable on the board in terms of catching waves and trimming and attempting bottom turns (at the same level as I was on my 8'0 but having more fun with the maneuverability). I also recently purchased a used 6'1 Lost V3 Rocket (36L, poly) and can catch waves and ride down the line on it as well without too many problems, though not as comfortably as on my Addvance. This is a board I will continue to work with as I progress.

However, I'm starting to think that the exceptional floatiness/volume/epoxy construction of the Addvance combined with the shorter length is making the board too corky for the conditions I ride in. The board sits very high out of the water. Often our conditions are not as clean here and the board seems to bounce around a lot both when paddling out and when riding choppier waves. I'm considering selling the Addvance and purchasing a custom board (or used if I can find the right specs) around 6'10" - 7'0" in length but thinner so that the volume is similar but better distributed. Also would want the board in poly construction as I seem to prefer that in the water feel for our waves here (my 8'0 was poly). I would probably go for a similar shape to the Addvance or maybe a fun gun shape. I had spoken to a local shaper Steve Colletta recently and he had mentinoed the Mahaka Fun Gun, Kestrel or potentially King Fisher could be good designs for me at around 7'0". Funboard shape is probably fine as well.

His designs can be found here:
http://www.naturalcurvesboards.com/html ... signs.html

I was wondering if I could get feedback on sizing and board design I am proposing and if it is even worth the trade. Or is what I am thinking about not going to be much of a difference from what I already have for my conditions?

Thanks guys!

Another local shaper around here that is pretty popular is David Vernor and it seems like the hybrid or bazooka could be interesting for what I'm looking for as well:

http://vernorsurfboards.com/surfboards.html

A poly /PU board will be much nicer in choppy conditions for sure. You may notice however a difference between your 6'6 and even a 6'10 - you may not care but you might.

The 606 addvance is 48L I think; given that you are able to surf a much shorter board already I reckon aim for a 6'6 or 6'8 replacement with volume in the low 40s. So I agree the high volume in that length isn't so good for you, but query whether the solution is to maintain volume and increase length (as you are thinking) rather than the other way around.

But if you feel you won't mind the increase then it's a good idea.

The Verner hybrid looks a nice board. As does the kingfisher as a 6'8

dtc wrote:A poly /PU board will be much nicer in choppy conditions for sure. You may notice however a difference between your 6'6 and even a 6'10 - you may not care but you might.

The 606 addvance is 48L I think; given that you are able to surf a much shorter board already I reckon aim for a 6'6 or 6'8 replacement with volume in the low 40s. So I agree the high volume in that length isn't so good for you, but query whether the solution is to maintain volume and increase length (as you are thinking) rather than the other way around.

But if you feel you won't mind the increase then it's a good idea.

The Verner hybrid looks a nice board. As does the kingfisher as a 6'8

Thanks for the feedback dtc.

Yea it's tough to tell on length but I think if the board is going to be 40+ L in volume, it is likely I can't duckdive it very well as right now I cannot budge my Addvance to get deep at all. If that's the case I feel a little extra length probably won't hurt my surfing as I dropped from 8'0 to 6'6 very quickly (mostly aided by the float of the Addvance), but maybe I'll have a chat with Vernor to get a better feel. I agree though maybe dropping a few liters in volume may help a lot in addition to switching to PU. What do you think about width? My thinking is I should drop that a little bit along with thickness.

What do you think about Vernor's bazooka shape? Do you think both the hybrid and that have a pretty good range of waves (2/3' - slightly overhead)? I was a little worried about the hybrid's squared off tail but I guess it is small in relation to the rest of the board outline.

Thanks again

I like the foil in the bazooka (foam thickeness distribution from nose to tail), it looks nice. But I suspect it means you need a slightly larger/ more powerful wave because the tail is so refined (low thickness). But I'm going off website pics; the shaper will be able to tell you which one best suits what you want. The square tail on the hybrid probably won't be noticeable to you over a rounded pin or whatever.

Your rationale re board size etc is sensible - as mentioned, it's only whether you end up wanting a board that is the same length as your current board or are happy to go longer. Some people agonise over 2 inches difference; others swap between board with 6-8 inches difference and don't care.

I think you have made a good analysis of what you want and your skills etc and the boards you are looking at all seem suitable - and will likely be fine. Which one has that extra 10% benefit over the others I couldn't really say-it's up to you and the shaper. It can be a hard choice but I doibt any choice you make out of your listed choices will be 'wrong'

So I spoke to Vernor yesterday and he recommended the 7'2 Hybrid as a good fit for my needs. 7'2 is the off the rack size and is the same volume as my Addvance at 48L. I may go for something closer to 7' or 6'10 shaped custom.. now I just have to see what I can sell my Addvance for haha.

Thanks!

Sounds a great choice. Now you can think about the custom spray job, which is just as important as the board itself

So I actually ended up finding a used Vernor Bazooka sized at 7'0 x 14" x 20.75" x 15" x 2.75". Was reasonably priced and included honeycomb fins, a case and leash so felt like I couldn't pass it up for a custom given my generally standard physical stats.

Tried it out today in relatively clean 3-4 ft waves, could definitely feel that it was less volume than the ADDvance (48L); this one is probably below 45L. Definitely made the board feel less corky as I think 48L in a 6'6 board is too much for my size at 160 lbs. Initial thoughts are what I expected: seems to paddle very similar to my 6'6 ADDvance, maybe tiny bit more glide, but takes off more in the wave vs. on top of it. The turning didn't seem too different from my 6'6, maybe even a little sharper due to it being more narrow (the ADDvance is 21.5" vs. the Bazooka's 20.75"). The outline of the Bazooka seems to be more narrow along with the rails (ADDvance feels much thicker and is beveled), so that might be it as well. Though I am not sure I am skilled enough to really tell the difference. I did feel like there was more a of a chance that I could push the Bazooka down for a shallow duckdive than the ADDvance in the few times I tried and the board definitely sat a little lower.

Will probably hold onto both boards to see which I like more, but I think I am currently leaning towards the 7'0 Bazooka for the choppier, heavier NorCal beachbreaks. Just thought this would be a good reference to anyone who is still a progressing beginner and thinking about a midsize board.

Anybody's thoughts on how the two board shapes compare / would perform are welcome! Thanks guys

Pics and link of the Bazooka below:
http://vernorsurfboards.com/surfboards.html

Note that my Bazooka is an older version and has a squash vs. the swallow tail Vernor currently makes





FireWire ADDvance:
http://shop.firewiresurfboards.com/prod ... r-addvance

enjoy wrote:Anybody's thoughts on how the two board shapes compare / would perform are welcome! Thanks guys

I think how they perform is up to you!

Looks like a fun board. Obviously being narrower its probably not quite as stable but there are benefits as well. I have (co incidentally) recently spoken to a few people (good surfers but I guess a bit older/slower like me) who first went down the shorter thicker route and found the volume worked really well but they didnt like the corkiness, same as you; they then went for longer, thinner/narrower but approx the same volume and they have been very enthusiastic about the move. So hopefully it will work for you as well. You may even find that you (for example) like the Addvance in smaller cleaner surf and the new board in bigger or choppy conditions (or the other way around!); choose the board according to the conditions