Moving from foam board to hard top - Advice please

[iam2coo4u]

Hi all! I've been learning to surf since I moved to SoCal about a year ago. I can now get up and turn down the line about 9/10 attempts at most breaks (Bolsa, San O, Doheney, Seal Beach, etc.). The thing is.. I learned on a massive foam board... and now I want to transition to a hard top, but I'm used to the foam.

I was 260 and am still 6'4", so when I started a 10' * 24 *4" Storm Blade made sense but I've lost about 50 pounds. Now, I feel kind of silly out there and I can barely carry the thing from car to beach. It is SUPER STABLE and FLOATS on anything.

For summer, I decided to transition to a hard board. Now I am 205 pounds and still 6'4". I found a Stewart Redline Pro Model that is 9' * 23" * 3". It has about 66L of float. I took it out on my first day - it was a bit choppy - but I could not get up at all. I seemed to float alright and could catch the waves, but lacked stability of my foam board and I couldn't pop up. Lots of wipe outs. My question is - is this board big enough for me? Any tips on transitioning to a hard top?

[waikikikichan]

I've been learning to surf since I moved to SoCal about a year ago. I can now get up and turn down the line
I found a Stewart Redline Pro Model that is 9' * 23" * 3". It has about 66L of float. I took it out on my first day - but I could not get up at all. I seemed to float alright and could catch the waves, but lacked stability of my foam board and I couldn't pop up. Lots of wipe outs. My question is - [b]is this board big enough for me?

From the Stewart website on the Redline Pro "So if you are a high performance surfer or an average surfer looking to step up your game this is the model you will want to have in your quiver! "

So question to you:
1) Are you a "high performance" surfer with only a year under your belt and only do a basic get up and turn down the line ?? If the answer is "NO", my question is why get a board named "Pro" if you're not even a intermediate or upper beginner yet ?
2) Did your 10' foot foamy have a Squash tail ? Because Rounded Pin tails ( like what the Redline Pro has ) maybe be "faster", but usually Squash tails are more Stable.

There's guys bigger than you who ride smaller dimension boards than the one you have. But they know how to surf it, not just ride on it. So if you gain those skills, then Yes the board is big enough for you, but right now it is the wrong purchase. I would have stayed with a 10'0" or go down 6 inches to a 9'6". Model wise I would have gone for a Stewart's Hydro Hull.

[RinkyDink]

My question is - is this board big enough for me? Any tips on transitioning to a hard top?

That's a cool board for an intermediate surfer. I think the board is big enough for you, but it's a high performance longboard so it will be less stable and more maneuverable. Can you learn on it? I think you can, but it'll be more difficult. The advantage of the RPM for you, however, is that you'll have room to grow as far as your skills are concerned. In the Bill Stewart video he says the board has a lot of V in the bottom which will mean you'll get a lot more side-to-side tippyness in the ride of the board. That's great if you want to make sharp turns, but you're looking for stability as a learner. Since you own the board, I'd recommend that you focus on sticking your popups so that you land on the stringer of your board. In other words, try to get yourself centered on the board. The board will be less forgiving if you glitch your popup and land with too much weight on one side of the board. Take it out at least 4 times, in small gentle surf, and see if you can get rides on it. If you're struggling at that point, then you might want to think about renting a board without a V bottom.