Surfing Waves

Hey guys, I've been riding an 8ft soft top over past 18 months. I've progressed on it to advanced beginner. Over the last 2-3 months I've started riding a 9ft resin (nice buoyancy - 3.25in thick 23in wide) I've got to the stage where I prefer the 9ft as it paddles easier and rides nicely. I am managing to handle it better and better. I can ride down the line, bottom front turn, back turn is a little tougher but am learning to shuffle back a little to help there. However I don't like it in bigger surf - too awkward to manage.

So I took out a board I had bought on a whim last year. It's a minimal 7ft 8 but only 2.75in thick. Now I cant paddle this thing. It feels like a submarine, wallows side to side when I paddle, nose often goes under. I can't get any speed on this to catch the wave unless I leave it very late...and that gets tricky. Once I'm up which only happened a couple of times - no problem I can ride it well and it feels much more manouverable than the 9ft. But basically a long session of paddling with not much else.

My question is - if I can find a similar board up to 8ft but much thicker say 3 to 3.25, will that give me back enough float to solve my problem?
I've seen these high end resin/soft tops that have similar profile to hard boards. A friend said that for the same volume as a hard board they should be more bouyant.

Any advice guys?
PS I'm only 5'7 and 67kg

cheers

How many times have you tried the 7'8" board? That's a big drop in size but perhaps if you figure out where to lay on the board to paddle for the waves and where to lineup the board to catch a wave and spend more time paddling to get used to it. It's possible you might figure it out. However it's also possible to figure out how to ride the bigger board in bigger waves

What size do you consider “bigger surf” ? Getting away from Hawaiian/California grading scale, what would you say in comparison to your body ? Head high, Overhead , double over head ?

Have you looked into the Walden Mega Magic line ? They have a 8 foot version. I have a Ben Aipa Big Boy Sting model that is 7’4” x 23” x 3 3/4”. Catches waves easily, doesn’t catch the nose and very maneuverable due to the sting rails

oldmansurfer wrote:How many times have you tried the 7'8" board? That's a big drop in size but perhaps if you figure out where to lay on the board to paddle for the waves and where to lineup the board to catch a wave and spend more time paddling to get used to it. It's possible you might figure it out. However it's also possible to figure out how to ride the bigger board in bigger waves

Well, I suppose I've only tried the 7'8 3-4 times I think. I suppose the bigger board is more forgiving when I don't lie on the exact balance point. I'm still keen to keep trying. Admittedly the surf was not ideal on the days I did take it out. But I could really feel a huge difference to the 9' even to the 8' soft top with paddling. I have tried the 9' on bigger waves a couple of times. I did catch a couple but had some scary wipeouts. I don't mind the bigger waves if they are rolling but not so much when they close out quick.

waikikikichan wrote:What size do you consider “bigger surf” ? Getting away from Hawaiian/California grading scale, what would you say in comparison to your body ? Head high, Overhead , double over head ?

Have you looked into the Walden Mega Magic line ? They have a 8 foot version. I have a Ben Aipa Big Boy Sting model that is 7’4” x 23” x 3 3/4”. Catches waves easily, doesn’t catch the nose and very maneuverable due to the sting rails

Bigger surf for me with the 9' board is probably in the head high to a bit over head range. I'm comfortable in 4ft on the 9'. I feel more confident on the soft top in head high surf. Now this is because the surf in my area is not really long board surf...it closes out much quicker than classic long board breaks, so short boards dominate. But on the right days the long boarders come out as well. When the waves are rolling nicely bigger surf doesn't worry me so much. The problem last time out where the surf was biggish, I could barely paddle out the back, i was so slow paddling and kept getting hammered by incoming walls of whitewash. I was exhausted very quick.

The high end soft tops I was looking at are (Ocean & Earth Creative Army) $600 - $800. I only spent $200 including leash and bag for the 7'8 so that doesn't worry me. Plus I also know I will eventually get the hang of it.

Had a look at the Aipa Big Boy... Very pricey... $1000-$1300. They have more of a gun shape than minimal which as a beginner I've been told to steer clear of (less volume around nose). Yet I noticed very high volume 69 L for the 7'6. My 7'8 is only about 54L!

Also as a beginner I was told not to shell out big bucks for a board as I will likely be chopping and changing as I improve.

Yes I think I've dropped too much volume too soon. The 9' and the 8' foamy are around 80L so I think I need to step down more gradually but retain the minimal shape for this next step.

waikikikichan wrote:What size do you consider “bigger surf” ? Getting away from Hawaiian/California grading scale, what would you say in comparison to your body ? Head high, Overhead , double over head ?

Have you looked into the Walden Mega Magic line ? They have a 8 foot version. I have a Ben Aipa Big Boy Sting model that is 7’4” x 23” x 3 3/4”. Catches waves easily, doesn’t catch the nose and very maneuverable due to the sting rails

Just had a look at the Waldon Mega. Now they look the goods....minimal shape, plenty of volume....but around $1000 to $1500.

Hmmm Christmas?......

Well, I suppose I've only tried the 7'8 3-4 times I think. I suppose the bigger board is more forgiving when I don't lie on the exact balance point. I'm still keen to keep trying. Admittedly the surf was not ideal on the days I did take it out. But I could really feel a huge difference to the 9' even to the 8' soft top with paddling. I have tried the 9' on bigger waves a couple of times. I did catch a couple but had some scary wipeouts. I don't mind the bigger waves if they are rolling but not so much when they close out quick.

I am not sure how big you mean but the bigger the wave the scarier the wipeout. That's just the way it goes unless there is some other factor like a reef or rocks or a pier. The power of waves increases exponentially with size so 2 times the size is way more that 2 times the power. Yep that was a big decrease in board size so it's very noticeable. Even the stability when paddling a board is often noticeable in a big drop in size. I went from a 9'6" to an 8' board and immediately bought another longer board because it was so different. However before I picked up the new board I was getting used to the 8 footer.

I ride a 9ft Mega Magic and freaking love it. I bought mine used for $600. It surfs like a 9ft but floats like a 10.5 ft, making paddling very fast and wave catching much easier.

HaoleKook wrote:I ride a 9ft Mega Magic and freaking love it. I bought mine used for $600. It surfs like a 9ft but floats like a 10.5 ft, making paddling very fast and wave catching much easier.

I forgot to finish comment and say it comes in 8' and 8'6" options.