Difficulty on new board, wrong volume?

[scampbelliron]

Hi everyone,

I have been surfing for about 3 years pretty consistently. I go maybe a few times a week or a few times a month depending on the conditions.

I am 5' 11" and 200ish lbs started surfing on a 9' 4" x 23.5" x 3.25" epoxy single fin longboard. there was no volume indicator but i calculate that its in the 65-75L range. and I can consistently catch about 70-80% of the green waves i go for, and can generate speed, move up and down the deck of the board and trim across the unbroken wave on this board. I decided it was time to get a slightly shorter board.

I purchased a used 8' 4" x 23" x 2.5" longboard/funboard with the thruster tri-fin setup, again no volume indication but i calculated that its in the 50-55L range, so not a huge drop in size but I have taken it out about 5 times now in dirty surf and clean surf and I CANNOT manage to catch a single wave with it and I'm getting frustrated.

Is the volume just too low for my body weight or is there a technique issue that i should be trying to address? It has taken me quite some time to acclimatize to the smaller size in terms of body positioning to not make the board pearl everytime.

Any help or thoughts on this would be great, Thanks.

[oldmansurfer]

There are many possible causes for you not being able to catch waves. One would be lining up in the wrong place for a shorter board, two is laying on the board in the wrong place which would be my guess if the board was fairly flat bottomed, three would be your not a good enough paddler for that board and likely others or combinations of the above.

[waikikikichan]

1) FORGET about volume. You can get 10 boards with the exact same volumes and ALL will ride differently. You can also get 10 different 8’4”s and they will All ride differently.

2) What steps you are taking to prevent pearling is causing you to miss the wave ( or just delay the pearl until the wave yanks up the tail and slams the nose down )

3) 6 inch jump down in length, is a lot. I would recommend going to a 9’0 or 8’10” first. 3.25 down to 2.5 thickness is also huge. None of my longboards are 2 1/2. Usually 2 5/8 or 2 3/4.

4) Look for a 9’0” x 22 x 2 7/8 progressive/all around long board with a 2+1 fin set up. Save that 8’4” for a few years later.

[doubleseshhesh72]

Im close to your height and weight. I think your new board is probably big enough. Surfing can be a tough thing sometimes ha ha. Just keep taking it out and try different things. Dig hard!! you'll start getting waves on it. Also if you're getting frustrated bring out the old bigger board. You have plenty of time to get used to the new board.
also you might have new board/ bad luck/ overthinking/ god dammit syndrome ha ha. Ive had it its a bitch!

[IB_Surfer]

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[scampbelliron]

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