Board for pitchier inside waves

[LostAtSea]

I've been learning on a mini-mal (7'6") - I like it, it's got an nice sweet spot, it's pretty corky so the foam makes it a good paddler. When the waves are good, for example on monday they were 17 sec, 3 to 5 feet, good swell direction so lots of peaky, peeling waves, I can get into waves easily. Although, I did notice everyone out was riding a shortboard. Getting out back on my Mini-Mal was a struggle also. It does not want to sink.

Last week however, the period was shorter, tide wasn't great and the waves were flatter and backing off. Everyone out had a longboard, except me on my mini-mal. I couldn't get the glide/momentum to get into the waves, they rolled underneath me. I moved in a bit, but my new problem was the waves were dumping quickly once they hit the shallower sandbars. I caught a few, but was pitched hard on a couple as well,

I'm thinking I need to expand my quiver. I think a longboard is a no brainer, but there are other days when the waves are pitching faster and that is my only day to surf (I surf when I can, not when the swell is ideal) - so I want to be out there.

I don't see myself on a high performance shortboard, but I want something that will fit into tighter pitching waves.

I have been surfing for 3 or 4 years, I'm 51 (fit), I can surf lefts rights, bottom turn, top turn. I want something I can do some fast drops with, duck dive, but I don't need to get vertical on the wave. I consider myself beginner/intermediate.

I just don't think the mini-mal is the best board in all conditions, and I think my wave count could be better if I have the right tools for the job. I'm thinking a long board and....???

[dtc]

I remember feeling like you, only to (in hindsight) realise that it was really a skill level issue rather than a board issue. You need to be paddling faster, and you need to be willing to take that extra paddle and then pop up really fast. For fatter waves you can often get away without that extra paddle, pop up slower and then force the board over the edge and down the face. Fast breaking steep waves you cant.

That said, if you are surfing a 7'6 then you can go shorter - probably down to a 6'10 or so - obviously you will understand the transition issues, and its harder to go from 7'6 to 6'10 than from 9ft to 7'6, but its not overly difficult. It may not necessarily help, but why not give it a go. I call my shorter boards my 'momento mori' boards. At our age, no point surfing for another 5 years and then trying to go shorter. Give it a go now; because it wont be too long before going shorter isnt physically feasible regardless of skill level

One issue is that a 6'10 will still not be very duck-diveable, depending on your weight. My 6'10 is pretty big (22 wide and 2 7/8) and at 85kg or so I can get it a couple of feet under water. Which means I can punch through waves but cant really get under big whitewater.

Anyway, a wideish 6'10 egg or hybrid (narrower nose) can be worth a go

[tomthetreeman]

I have a 6’ FireWire sweet potato with loads of volume. I’m 48, pretty fit, surfing for just over a year, and it’s a good solution for me. Check out this, as well as maybe the greedy beaver and other grovelers. Hopefully you can rent & borrow until you find the right one. Keep us posted.

Tom

[pmcaero]

I got a longboard recently after being on a Mini-Mal for a while. It's good for crumbly waves but not good for closeouts / picthy waves obviously. I tried a high volume foam shortboard but I never catch waves with it.
So for days like you mentioned that leaves me with the foam beater (4'8") which is almost like a bodyboard or back to the Mini-mal - I've had that board for so long I can drop in a closeout without pearling,, or a my old step-up shortboard which is able to make steep drops.

[steveylang]

I agree with dtc that it generally is a skill thing, in the sense that it's not impossible to get into those waves on a mini mal, and that every board has its own plusses and minuses to deal with depending on conditions.

That being said- if you surf pitchier beach break a lot, a higher volumed short board or mid-sized board can be fun for those waves. I'm somewhat similar age and skill level as you (beg/int, coming up on 50 with ~2 years experience), I have both a 6'6" hybrid thruster fish and a 5'6" x 22" x 2 3.4" twin fin fish that I surf in those conditions. The small fish is a bit small for my skill level, but it's fun for trying to tuck into pitchier beach break and I feel like it's less likely to snap in shorebreak (maybe?). The 6'6" is better suited to my skill level though, and is not necessarily harder to make beach break waves as well. I'm in LA so find good deals on Craigslist for used boards, so it's good for experimentation and that's how I ended up with my small fish.

I also have a long board for appropriate conditions/breaks. I didn't see your last line about a long board, that can work too as you will paddle in earlier than your current board. But no matter what it will be a matter of timing and recognition, for whatever board you are surfing. A pitchy break requires good timing no matter what, the main difference is at what stage for each type of board.

[jaffa1949]

About this , Waves with some power , everyone is out on short boards? Wave without power everyone is out on long boards. You can't paddle ou too floaty , but can catch waves in first instance?
Fuller days can only catch on the inside bank where it pitches more.
My choice for you, go long board, learn to choose your paddle out route , learn to turtle roll, learn time tomease your way out. They are moves that take you from beginner.
Long board pitchy waves, no problem you are on and up,earlier! Shorter you have to be able to catch and pop up earlier in steeper part of wave, doable but more challenging.
Skilled guys ride Pipeline on long boards and all sorts of punchy beach breaks.
Lengthen your board catch more waves increasing your skill. Voila

[oldmansurfer]

Each board you get is going to work differently. On steep pitching waves you can ride any board but you may find some boards easier to use. You can do longboards on steep pitching waves. If you can get into them before they get steep that offers you an option however in shorebreak situations this is often not true. Where i surf it seems that way anyhow and the technique for catching those waves is quite similar for any board you use. It is all about lining up in the right place and paddling quick and powerful to immediately get into the wave and angle the board and set the rail while you're popping up, the amount you need to have the board angled depends on the length of the board. The longer the board the more you need it angled on smaller pitching waves. As the waves get bigger this difference goes away. Then you need to get down the face rapidly and make a turn or turn before you get down if that is possible. To keep from getting pitched you need to be in the right place and if you paddle a couple times and don't see the progress down the face then stop because it's too late for you to catch it. Taking of on small shoredump on a longboard is kind of trippy because you have to angle the board so much it seems impossible but it isn't. I ride shoredump every year or so just for the challenge and a change of pace. Where I surf it is extremely dangerous for the size because it's shallow water and thick lips and so very exciting for smaller waves. Every time I finish a session of shoredump I feel like it was a victory just to survive unharmed.

[steveylang]

Each board you get is going to work differently. On steep pitching waves you can ride any board but you may find some boards easier to use. You can do longboards on steep pitching waves. If you can get into them before they get steep that offers you an option however in shorebreak situations this is often not true. Where i surf it seems that way anyhow and the technique for catching those waves is quite similar for any board you use. It is all about lining up in the right place and paddling quick and powerful to immediately get into the wave and angle the board and set the rail while you're popping up, the amount you need to have the board angled depends on the length of the board. The longer the board the more you need it angled on smaller pitching waves. As the waves get bigger this difference goes away. Then you need to get down the face rapidly and make a turn or turn before you get down if that is possible. To keep from getting pitched you need to be in the right place and if you paddle a couple times and don't see the progress down the face then stop because it's too late for you to catch it. Taking of on small shoredump on a longboard is kind of trippy because you have to angle the board so much it seems impossible but it isn't. I ride shoredump every year or so just for the challenge and a change of pace. Where I surf it is extremely dangerous for the size because it's shallow water and thick lips and so very exciting for smaller waves. Every time I finish a session of shoredump I feel like it was a victory just to survive unharmed.

I think that if a surfer is capable of surfing all sized boards, he/she is more likely to choose a shortboard for pitchy beach/shore break. You can get up earlier on the longboard, but things can go sideways really quick anyway if you're timing and responsiveness are off. And if I'm going to wipe out on a shore break wave, I'm pretty sure I'd rather it be on a smaller board.

I made a breakthrough in catching pitchier waves when I started looking down the line during my paddle-in, and doing what you mentioned in the bolded part. It helps me judge whether I've actually paddled enough and roughly matched the speed of the wave (because my intuition/body sense is usually wrong), plus you can actually see where you're going...

[oldmansurfer]

I ride whatever board I brought to the beach. However lately that has become just one board because I find my progression in learning to surf is faster if I only surf one board.

[LostAtSea]

Thanks loads guys -

I certainly do have room for improvement with my paddling and positioning, and I think that is an issue. I am getting better slowly and when the waves are good - no problem.

I don't really know what to comment other than I am soaking in all your replies. The advice here is always good. Stewing about it. I'll talk to my shaper too. I think I know what he will say, "Surf more!" and of course he's right.

Thanks for the board recommendations as well.

I'll post again in about 10 days, I have a 4 day surf trip coming up and I will have a chance to try a few other boards. I'll update then.

Feel free to throw any more ideas though!!

[Big H]

OMS is spot on.....however, if you wanted to try a shorter board for a change of pace I'm 92kg now and 47years old, started surfing about the same time you did. I have a firewire spitfire 6'8" that has:
6' 8" x 21 3/4" x 3" 48.7L ....had to copy and paste, I forgot how much. Anyway, floats well, paddles easy, is smaller and fits into the wave better, is easy to surf and fun in small to head high waves. Tricks to beating fast, dumping waves are everything that OMS said, plus check and see that someone else can actually ride it. I was out the other day and the waves were big and got really dumpy....I looked around and all the tourists had gotten out of the water and the beach boyz were scratching their heads because the waves closed out so quick there just wasn't much to do with them. A stronger paddle and angling as you're getting up is the key; a solid arch and setting the tail while looking down the line before you stand up so that you're not trying to pop up while shooting straight to the beach will help if you're not doing that already.

[LostAtSea]

I think I'm pretty good on angling my take off and looking down the line - I agree that helps a lot.

I've been thinking about what OMS said about one solution to pitching waves is getting in early on a longboard, before they pitch. (Thanks OMS - much respect and appreciation for your input) The guy I surf with is an experienced longboarder and that's what he does. He also does this thing where he sticks his whole arm in the wave face as he's taking off to swing his board around to avoid a nose dive. Next level stuff.

When I get frustrated I will sometimes lose my confidence a bit, and that does me no good when I need to be committed to get into pitchy waves. That happened last week when I got pitched hard on a few. I also know when I get frustrated I will blame my problems on other things - like my board. That's why I am asking other surfers - sometimes I need another perspective on things.

I just can't help but notice in less than perfect conditions (especially either mushy or pitchy/dumping) I am the only one on a mini-mal, and logic tells me that it might not be the best tool for all conditions. I think it's an excellent surfboard, but I think I can be getting more waves with an expanded quiver.

I am taking note of board recommendations here - thanks for those.

[Millsy82]

My very limited knowledge is this.

I struggled with bigger steeper waves so decided to get a short board for these and keep my longboard for everything else.

I bought a 6'6 high volume shortboard and did surprisingly well on it. But the problem was that it would take me 45 mins to an hour to get into it and by then I was getting tired. The reason being was on my longboard I could catch a wave in an area say the size of a tennis court my short board would be say an area of 5x5 meters, so when I took my short board out I was dropping off the back when I was on my longboard I was trying to take off far too steep for me to handle on my longboard.

What I did was get a 6'10 and ditch my longboard lucky for me I learnt to duck dive my 6'6 and can duck dive my 6'10. I wanted to use my 6'6 for bigger waves but now I just use my 6'10 for everything until I can master steeper drop ins etc.

I suppose my point is good surfers can probably swap and change boards from 1 extreme to the other but for us regular Joe's it will take you a while to get used to that board so I reckon pick a size and stick to that.

[LostAtSea]

My very limited knowledge is this.

I struggled with bigger steeper waves so decided to get a short board for these and keep my longboard for everything else.

I bought a 6'6 high volume shortboard and did surprisingly well on it. But the problem was that it would take me 45 mins to an hour to get into it and by then I was getting tired. The reason being was on my longboard I could catch a wave in an area say the size of a tennis court my short board would be say an area of 5x5 meters, so when I took my short board out I was dropping off the back when I was on my longboard I was trying to take off far too steep for me to handle on my longboard.

What I did was get a 6'10 and ditch my longboard lucky for me I learnt to duck dive my 6'6 and can duck dive my 6'10. I wanted to use my 6'6 for bigger waves but now I just use my 6'10 for everything until I can master steeper drop ins etc.

I suppose my point is good surfers can probably swap and change boards from 1 extreme to the other but for us regular Joe's it will take you a while to get used to that board so I reckon pick a size and stick to that.

Yes...this is a good point, as OMS said earlier too - learn one board well and chart my progress from there. Keep it simple. There is good logic here too. I'll borrow a board or two and if the learning curve looks like it's going to eat into my wave count to heavily, I may abandon the idea of a shorter board anyway. However,I don't think you can go wrong with a long board in your quiver. Amirite?