Surfing Waves

Hello everyone I'm 5'8" 22 years young and weigh 145-150 pounds, I'm a new surfer that has a couple weeks under my belt. I have picked up surfing really fast (from my days skateboarding I guess, still very much a beginner though) and have tried out multiple boards (from a local shaper) and am set on a groveler type board. I haven't been able to ride a groveler type board yet though. I have tried out boards from anything between 9 & 7 foot longboard to a 6'3 shortboard with a steep rocker and was very narrow probably around 17.5 to 18 inches. volume was probably around 26ish. I have been able to stand up on all of them except the short technical board which I could only stand up on for a second or two then fall off it. The problem I was having with that technical board was the width (stability on popup) as everything else on the board was fine for me. So long story short the puddle jumper from lost is pretty much the board I want and I dont know what size I should get it in. Right now I'm looking at the puddle jumper in 6' and 6'2". which one should I get and why? I'm also open to getting a board In a smaller size if that's the best option. My only concern is that ill get too much volume (around 40+ in the 6'2" board) for me seeing as I have ridden a 26ish in volume and didn't really have too hard of a time. Everyone I have seen that ride groveler boards (reviews on them) have them around 5'9"ish so I was just wondering would 6'2" be too much board for my frame?? seeing how wide groveler boards are is that a preety average volume?? The waves here (central cali) are around 2-3 footers average getting up too 6-7 footers on really good days which are out of my league anyways.

also, what challenges does a wider board face??

murse2groveler wrote:I have been able to stand up on all of them except the short technical board which I could only stand up on for a second or two then fall off it.

murse2groveler wrote:My only concern is that ill get too much volume (around 40+ in the 6'2" board) for me seeing as I have ridden a 26ish in volume and didn't really have too hard of a time.

So you didn't really have that hard of a time for all of 2 seconds ? If between the 6'2" and a 6'0", get the bigger of the two. But I think you should get a 6'4" - 6'6" hybrid before getting on a groveler.

murse2groveler wrote:also, what challenges does a wider board face??

You legs get stretch out more when you sitting on the board, watching guys with bigger boards catch waves.

waikikikichan wrote:

murse2groveler wrote:also, what challenges does a wider board face??

You legs get stretch out more when you sitting on the board, watching guys with bigger boards catch waves.

Hah....40L too much volume.....

I would get the bigger size you mention.....actually I'd get a lot bigger....


I met a guy in the lineup the other day.....huge guy, much bigger than me, arms like my legs....native hawaiian, he was riding a tandem longboard that looked like an SUP....it had enough volume that he could stand up on it in flat water to check out oncoming sets....the lineup that day was struggling....full of short boarders who could not get into a wave....waves were about 1.5OH on the sets so it wasn't the fault of the waves.....this guy never missed a wave, was dancing around in circles while jamming down the line, literally turning 360* pirouettes ......he put everyone to shame with the ease that he took and rode waves......all the while on a board that had over 100L of volume and rails that were 4" thick easy.......my guess is I was watching 30-40 years of surfing experience....btw he did not use or need a leash.

.....and you may ask how he got out back without being able to duck dive?


.....suffice to say it wasn't an issue....he even took one on the head, paddling right into the breaking wave rather than block my path when I was riding one and he was paddling back out.....and he never let go of that board....




One more....

I surfed yesterday with a guy who was on a "bali board".....narrow rounded pin with a lot of rocker....nevermind the waves were fairly fat at the spot and there was a ton of competition.....he paddled for just about every set wave that he could.....only caught one that I saw the hour and a half I was out there.....either he was out of position, timing was bad, paddle wasn't strong enough or someone would block him off since everyone in the area was sick of him furiously paddling for every single wave and not ever catching one......that he was back paddling everyone and trying to snake (you have to catch a wave to snake I guess) waves didn't endear him at all to the lineup and that's when he started to get stuffed.....

Maybe you don't get the point of these two stories.....buy that little board as a beginner and check back in 6months....you'll understand then....

murse2groveler wrote: Everyone I have seen that ride groveler boards (reviews on them) have them around 5'9"ish so I was just wondering would 6'2" be too much board for my frame?

Of those "Everyone" that ride grovelers, how many of them have been surfing for only a few weeks ?
How many of them are" very much beginners" like yourself ?

murse2groveler wrote:The waves here (central cali) are around 2-3 footers average getting up too 6-7 footers on really good days which are out of my league anyways.

So you're not going to ride the big waves, so that leaves only the smaller, mushy, gutless waves that you have to have a lot of paddling power to get into and/or have the wave knowledge to know where/when to be.

But a 5'9" Lost Puddle Jumper will be easier to sell to those ripper guys. You might have a harder time selling the 6'2" when you find out it is still just as "unstable", even though it's 2 inches wider.

Right message clear.

No, the message is NOT clear. Somethings can only be learned by experience. A lot of times it not a bad student but a bad teacher. I don't understand why your local shaper put you on a 6'2" x 18" shortboard ? You did your research and are asking the right questions on this forum, but you need to be real with level/ability. If you have the funds, get that 6'2" Lost Puddle Jumper and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out put to the side and maybe next or next next season you can ride it. But that's another thing I don't understand, you "have" a shaper, but will burn him by ordering another shaper's board. ( unless your shaper is Matt Biolos )

I've rode a 6'7 board that was to easy so I've been working my way down. I just want a board that I can grow with and won't throw away to side in a month and need to buy another one to advance with. I barely know the shaper.

Like you said too the shaper might be a bad teacher.

He sells lost boards too with the other 80% of boards being ones he created.

murse2groveler wrote:I've rode a 6'7 board that was to easy so I've been working my way down.

How can this be true?

So that means you can catch almost every wave you paddle for (100% if you dont try for the waves that you think you are too far out of position for but go for anyway)...can go down the line front and back side, link bottom and top turns, can catch waves early or late and know how to adjust for waves as they get fatter or more hollow over the course of a sesh, can do cutbacks, re entries and floaters, can surf in overhead waves.......


Of course you can't.


Which now begs the question "What were you doing on the 6'7" that you found to be "too easy" and made you think you were on a board too big?


The goal is to be able to catch and surf waves, not to ride the smallest board possible to stand up on.

murse2groveler wrote:I've rode a 6'7 board that was to easy so I've been working my way down. I just want a board that I can grow with and won't throw away to side in a month and need to buy another one to advance with. I barely know the shaper.

Ah yes, the old beginner classic! You need a smaller board because the 6'7 you rode was 'too easy' ! I assume you were tearing up waves like Kelly Slater on it then? You must be a real pro if the 6'7 is holding you back after two weeks.

And what the hell does 'too easy' mean? The challenge is riding the waves, not riding the board. If you can stand up for 5 seconds in whitewater, wobbling your way to the beach then you have not 'mastered the board'. Get someone to video you surfing and then post it on here. We'll tell you if you're ahead of the curve.

Also, grovellers do not (in my opinion) make good all rounders, especially for a beginner. As soon as you get one on a steep wave maybe you'll understand why.

Lebowski wrote:Also, grovellers do not (in my opinion) make good all rounders, especially for a beginner. As soon as you get one on a steep wave maybe you'll understand why.

This is a very good point; do not think that you stumbled into a "secret" in that there is a whole genre of boards with more volume that look kinda shortboardish.....they are designated grovellers for a reason and that reason is that they are a fairly narrow, certain type of wave specific kind of board. Actually they are hard to ride in alot of common conditions; not a good all arounder.



Another story....

I'm out today just now.....mushy conditions, softest we've had in more than a month....I went to the reef nearby that jacks up more than any other so that I could get the most bang for the buck off these small, gutless waves (which happened to be about 4-5ft faces, shoulder to ear high more or less)....there were about 50+ surfers spread over three peaks...I went to the central one that had around 25 people on it....as usual I sat out the first set to get a lay of the land, look at the lineup as well as a courtesy; that many waiting on 3-4 decent waves per set you don't just roll up and take a wave. Anyway, the four decent waves went through, only two got ridden....lots of flapping around, back paddling, attempted drop ins, paddle battles, you name it....no one could catch two of the four waves off that set out of that whole group......anyway, I stayed an hour, took one off each set and shook my head looking at their too small boards....I saw a few lost boards, Channel Islands, one of those new Slater Firewire things, some firewires.....lots of nice, nice boards.....the boards were all shortboards and too small apparently for the flappers who kept missing waves with them. There was one local guy in his 20s who was a ripper and never missed, a guy on a mini mal who made most of his waves, and me on my "new" secondhand McCoy Nugget, sucking up waves like a vacuum cleaner. (That board is ridiculous BTW....felt like as I started to paddle for waves an engine would kick in because the board seemed to pick up speed on it's own.....might be the case owing to the design).

Horses for courses....alot of the lineup would have been better served with a different board today....the local ripper proved that if you can surf like he can a standard shortboard can rip in small waves.....that and 10 - 15,000 hours of practice.....

My "new" wave sucker....7'x 21 1/4" x 3 1/16".....btw I live in bali, surf daily and this is my latest.choice. You are in no danger.of outgrowing a board any time soon.

Thanks for the replies. I never said I was a pro out there doing aerials.. just I have very limited experience and was standing up fine on a board most people say is too short to learn on. but i thought you could only do so much on a larger board (hence why I wanted to get a short board) that they had a ceiling so to say so that's why I asked the question. cause I just want a board that will last me. so I won't out grow the long board anytime soon and it will definitely last from everyone's advice I now know that so that's awesome thanks for everyone's input. I'll pick up a bigger board to learn on for awhile and then work my way down.