Surfing Waves

Hi, first off thanks to all the prolific posters here, this site is an amazing wealth of knowledge. Been lurking for months and picking up all sorts of useful tips.

So. I'm ready for a second board. Background: I'm 5'10"/160lbs (1.77m/72.5kg), late thirties, good shape, former competitive swimming. I've been surfing a "real" 9'x 22"w longboard for the past 9 months and have a ton of fun on it. I catch just about every wave I want, ride front and backside, turn both ways, shuffle forward and back, carve up and down the face (well, frontside anyway) and am attempting to turn my shuffles to cross-steps. I go out in in knee to head and sometimes overhead surf, typically mushier long board waves (maui west side).

Lately I've been wanting to surf bigger, steeper waves, overhead+ which are faster and steeper than what I'm used to, either because it's a different spot or because bigger swells. I can sometimes surf these waves on my long board and have a bunch of strategies I picked up on these forums (take off early, take off on the shoulder, etc). However some of these strategies aren't always compatible with the break (e.g., if it's really crowded then blazing from way outside or taking off on the shoulder is not a great option). Also I pearl a lot when it's steep. I *think* I'd like to try a step down in length, say 7'6"-8', possibly a mini-mal shape.

However! I tried surfing an 8' wavestorm and while it is definitely slower than my longboard it turns faster and is a lot of fun. It has the advantage that I'm not worried too much about it hitting me and knocking me out when I fall, which is just about the only thing I worry about out there. I think it'd probably make me more willing to take risks. On the other hand it feels... spongy, for lack of a better term.

So here's my question: am I crazy to consider a wavestorm as my *second* board? My instinct tells me to go get a real mini-mal but thought I'd solicit the thoughts of the hive mind...

Thanks in advance!

If a board for steeper and faster waves is the goal then get a hard board that more importantly has real rails and fins. Beach boyz here rip on foamies in OH+ conditions but they shred harder on real boards.....they are just that good. FWIW in my opinion a longboard is easier to ride in bigger, steeper surf than a mini mal since you can get in a little earlier, set your line then hold on whereas the mini mal is really the worst of both worlds...toi big to duck dive, too wide to get close to the face, flattish rocker making late drops harder and a wide nose that gets hung up....not enough float to paddle fast enough to clear breaking waves timing intervals or to get in early enough to make a difference, and no glide but piggish enough to make you think there should be some. I have a pintail minimal that is alot of fun...good to jist overhead then its caught between the desirable attributes of longer more vol or shorter less vol.

Why not look into something like one of our active members OMS rides, a 7.5-8ft fungun shape...board is more foiled, more rocket, pulled in tail and narrower nose but still rather wide and thick so the transition isnt drastic but you'll defo feel a performance difference.

Something like this (random internet image, thats not me).

do what makes you happy and don't worry about what people think you should do.

If you are comfortable on your 9ft like you describe don't be afraid to go to something like a 7ft2 fun board, like a mini mal but with a narrower nose (look at the torq fun board for example). Or a fun gun style as suggested.

I went from a 9'6" longboard to a 8' rounded pin tail quad with a pointy nose. It was custom made for me however there was an alarming difference in the handling of the two boards. The first time I laid down on the 8' funboard I slipped off the side due to it being far less stable. I even found it difficult to sit on the board so the honeymoon was a little rocky but now I am totally in love with that board. I call it my oldmanoverweightoutofshape board. It can handle a lot of different conditions however it has too much flotation to duck dive but I have learned to do a half duck dive and I already knew how to avoid getting hit by waves fairly well. I used to be a shortboarder long ago so I wanted to carve some turns. After a few years I got a second board which is 7'6" squash tail similar in other ways to the other board. It is much better in small surf (less than head high) than the 8 foot board but I don't really know how well it handles in larger surf because I haven't had enough larger surf to go out in with it but it is fun although noticably more difficult to catch waves with in waves from waist high to double head high. I am 210 pounds and 62 years old so I bet a board around 7 to 7'6 should be an easy transition for you. By the way I was in much worse shape when I got my oldmanoverweightoutofshape board but I am in much better shape now but still old and overweight Fitness helps your progression in surfing

I forgot to mention that I already rode waves that were triple overhead with my longboard and got a full on standup tube ride on a double overhead wave with it so I didn't get the shorter board for bigger waves. I got it for easier turning.

Thanks for the suggestions! I hadn't heard the term 'fungun' before. Point taken regarding shorter boards not necessarily doing better in larger surf, and maybe having disadvantages. In case you're curious, one use case for me is hookipa on maui's north shore on days that surfline says are 4-6' (feels like double that in reality).

BTW if you wouldn't mind could someone chime in on where my board lies in on the performance/noserider spectrum? I realize I don't know. It's a 9'x22" mike doyle fiberglass board, squash tail I think, pictured below. Thanks again everyone for your time!

It will perform and at your weight and height , you will be able to nose ride. A good long board for all seasons

phri wrote:Thanks for the suggestions! I hadn't heard the term 'fungun' before. Point taken regarding shorter boards not necessarily doing better in larger surf, and maybe having disadvantages. In case you're curious, one use case for me is hookipa on maui's north shore on days that surfline says are 4-6' (feels like double that in reality).

BTW if you wouldn't mind could someone chime in on where my board lies in on the performance/noserider spectrum? I realize I don't know. It's a 9'x22" mike doyle fiberglass board, squash tail I think, pictured below. Thanks again everyone for your time!

IMG_20151111_193140946 (1).jpg

That board is a crap load more than you need for catching waves that size, it'll do just fine, I catch 7ft waves at our break with only a 6'6 fish, it planes like a longboard and I can catch any wave I paddle for, down side is, more surface area is more speed so after a certain height at our break I go faster than I can control and just straighten out and don't take risks because it'll just bounce on the water and I'll get thrown off, I'm not sure if it's the same for a longboard with a lot of width.
Also about the nose diving part, you have a longboard so paddle into waves early, you won't have issues catching them, shortboarders paddle in late so they take a steep drop to build speed, you on the other hand have lots of surface to plane on so you can just get into the wave before it goes vertical.

icetime wrote:

phri wrote:Thanks for the suggestions! I hadn't heard the term 'fungun' before. Point taken regarding shorter boards not necessarily doing better in larger surf, and maybe having disadvantages. In case you're curious, one use case for me is hookipa on maui's north shore on days that surfline says are 4-6' (feels like double that in reality).

BTW if you wouldn't mind could someone chime in on where my board lies in on the performance/noserider spectrum? I realize I don't know. It's a 9'x22" mike doyle fiberglass board, squash tail I think, pictured below. Thanks again everyone for your time!

IMG_20151111_193140946 (1).jpg

That board is a crap load more than you need for catching waves that size, it'll do just fine, I catch 7ft waves at our break with only a 6'6 fish, it planes like a longboard and I can catch any wave I paddle for, down side is, more surface area is more speed so after a certain height at our break I go faster than I can control and just straighten out and don't take risks because it'll just bounce on the water and I'll get thrown off, I'm not sure if it's the same for a longboard with a lot of width.
Also about the nose diving part, you have a longboard so paddle into waves early, you won't have issues catching them, shortboarders paddle in late so they take a steep drop to build speed, you on the other hand have lots of surface to plane on so you can just get into the wave before it goes vertical.

No disrespect here icetime, but in your other thread you state that you've only been surfing for two months. If this guy is surfing Hawaii's north shore, I imagine the 4-6ft he's talking about is perhaps a lot more serious than the '7ft' you're talking about.

In response to the OP, I presume a Wavestorm is a foamie, in which case I'd say you'd be a lot better off on your longboard in powerful surf.