Second board for a drop knee convert

[tinoater]

Hey guys,

Last autumn I made the switch from bodyboarding (mostly drop knee) to surfing and bought a Hawaiian soul mini-mal ( 7'6 x 21 1/2 x 2 3/4). I've been surfing it since then and after getting used to standing up to my feet rather than just one knee I've been having loads of fun, and progressing well.

I'm at the point now where my get-ups are fine, can easily trim and have been doing slow arching turns. My main gripe with my current board is not being able to duck-dive it and I'm aware that soon the size of the board will start to hamper my progression to snappier turns.

For my second board I was thinking of getting a fish, and then transitioning over to a shortboard sometime next year if I can keep progressing. I've read a lot online about getting a second board but a lot of it is aimed at either beginners or posted by sites trying to sell me stuff. Could you guys give me any advice?

I'm 5'11 75kg in good shape, living in Devon with my main breaks being Watergate or Newquay.

My local surf shop is recommending either a 7ft hawaiian soul fish or a second hand "big boy". My worry is that the 7ft fish would make a smooth transition from my mini-mal but would still be a bit long for duck-diving and progression, and that the big boy might not get ridden until next autumn if I'm going to lose so much volume.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Martin

[oldmansurfer]

I think just going really short might work for you but it will be a challenge. You missed going shorter to start with, the 7'6" board you rode was significantly larger than the board you were used to. However you don't need to duck dive to surf. I don't duck dive and none of my boards can be duck dived. I do a half duck dive where I lean forward and shove the nose down and dive the top half of my body underwater, then the wave comes over me smashing my rear end and pushing it back down, while this happens I simultaneously pull the nose of the board up. I also work at paddling out where I don't need to duck dive. I think a 7 foot rounded pin might be good to go to however I wouldn't worry about the board hindering your turning. You will feel the weight of your board as you throw it around and that is when you will need a shorter board to progress. These days people ride really short boards because the pros do but there is a lot you can do with a longer board. If you aren't going to ride it till next autumn then I would wait till next autumn to see how you are doing before making a choice.

[oldmansurfer]

One of the things I think bodyboarders should try if they want to surf is just catch waves with the body board and stand up on it either with or without fins. If you can do that then going directly to a shortboard shouldn't be too bad. Drop knee is perfect for a transition to surfing just bring the other leg up and stand. Wear one fin or shorter fins so it isn't too awkward. If you are a good bodyboarder and you can stand on your bodyboard then maybe a shortboard isn't going to be insanely difficult.

[tinoater]

Thanks for the reply!

Maybe I'm still in a bodyboarding mindset, but I think I'd have a lot more fun knowing that I can get out easier and sit further inside if I was riding a board that I could duck dive.

Good point about stand up bodyboarding, I have done that a few times just for fun and it didn't feel too bad. You can imagine how good it feels turning on a board that has fins too ha.

I'm leaning a lot more towards a fish since it should be a while until its hindering my progression and I should still be able to catch a lot of waves and do some really fun turns, I don't want to fall into the trap I see so often of people trying to go straight to pro.

Is a 7ft fish short enough? To me it feels like losing 6inches in length won't make a huge diffference...

[Lebowski]

What are the other dimensions of the 'fish'? Do you have a picture? A 'proper' fish in my eyes is around 6ft with a wide swallow tail, and they only work well in a specific type of wave, and are a difficult handful in steep, hollow waves. I really don't think they make a good 2nd board.

If it's a more regular shape just with a small swallow tail, it could be alright.

[tinoater]

I've been looking for the board online and can't seem to find it, the closest I can find online is 6'9 x 21 5/8" x 2 5/8".

I've asked him for the dimensions of the one he was talking about in the meantime.

[oldmansurfer]

One of the things I loved about paipo boarding is I could duck dive under every wave completely except maybe where the lip is coming down in which case you are going to get pounded anyway but less if you are on the bottom already. I bodyboarded at Pinetrees which is a break surfers like but it has cleanup sets that break way outside and mow down the surfers. I would dive down to the bottom and could see the wave pass over me swim back up and viola! No surfers. They all got swept in and it takes them 10 or 15 minutes to get back out just in time for the next cleanup set. It was a great place to paipo board.