Surfing Waves

Hi guys, I’m after a bit of advice buying my first longboard.

I surf a 7’10 minimal (that I'm keeping for the larger days), its about 55l I get good green waves on it but living in-land I don’t use it enough to get the wave count id like and have frustrating sessions. I generally only make a day trip to the coast for small clean conditions as I don’t want to use all my energy getting out. I've spent many sessions looking on in awe of the guys on longboards, sitting further out and gliding past me on repeat. My aim from the longboard would one gets me more waves, catching further out from the beach, long rides/glides, then moving onto cross stepping and NRs.

I’ve been looking at the Custard Point UNR (https://www.custardpointsurfboards.com/ ... nose-rider ). I’m struggling to decide between a 9’1 and 9’4. The guys in the shop said for my size (5’10 77kg) the 9’1 would do, but I don’t want to go too short. I took the 9'1 out for demo and it instantly felt like load of volume (75l) compared with the mini-mal I ride.

The 9’4 is 84l, do you think that would be too much for my size? The 9.4l would be more waves and stability, what’s the negative? The board definitely felt slower than mine which put the small doubt in my mind in whether a wider longboard is the way to go over a longer performance type. I would love to be able to cross step and nose ride though.

Thanks

Ben

Think of a board like a baseball bat. The longer the bat the more weight and resistance to movement it has. The nice thing about longer boards is once you get them moving they want to keep moving but it takes more energy to get them moving or to turn them. So the longer the board the earlier you need to start paddling to catch a wave because you will need more time to match the wave speed but also the long the board the more easily it maintains speed. On a shorter board it slows down quicker when you paddle for a wave so you need to keep paddling if you aren't in the exactly right place. Or maybe the longer the board the larger the right place is but it's also more outside of the lineup compared to a shorter board. I think the time to move down in size is when you can feel that baseball bat effect that a longer board has so when your turning is good enough that you can feel the weight on the nose of the board as you push it around. But others may have specific opinions about the sizes my only thought is the 9'1 should be long enough for you.

I would also advise that you spend some time every day you surf watching what the good surfers with longboards do to get outside of the lineup. Going through waves is about fitness and knowledge. Knowing when and where to go through the waves and being fit enough to get out between the sets (and also know a few techniques to go through waves if you get caught inside)

That was kind of confusing

Long board need to be more outside and paddle sooner to catch a wave and can catch a wave before it breaks
Shorter board you need to be closer to where the wave is breaking.

Longer board keeps moving after you stop paddling
shorter board stops when you stop paddling so you either need to be in exactly the right place or keep paddling till you are in the right place.

Longer board requires more force to turn
Shorter board requires more force to go fast.

YorkshireSurfer wrote: The 9.4l would be more waves and stability,

Did you confirm that by demoing both the 9'1" and the 9'4" side by side ?

YorkshireSurfer wrote: I would love to be able to cross step and nose ride though.

Are you already attempting to cross step on your 7'10" ?

YorkshireSurfer wrote: The board definitely felt slower than mine which put the small doubt in my mind in whether a wider longboard is the way to go over a longer performance type.

Noserider versus Performance type ? Hmmm about a 3rd option........ what about an "All-Rounder" shape ? I'm not sure if you can cross step already, but a "Pig" shape, wide point back of middle, is not the easiest for newbie noseriders to control the tail and rail.

waikikikichan wrote: Did you confirm that by demoing both the 9'1" and the 9'4" side by side ?

No unfortunately, they only had the 9'1 in for demo, they did have a 9'6 'The classic' in (https://www.custardpointsurfboards.com/the-classic), i do wish id have tested this to compare - I don't live local to the shop I was on holiday.

waikikikichan wrote:Are you already attempting to cross step on your 7'10" ? .

No never, i haven't got the ability to do this on my minimal, id sink the nose in a second.

waikikikichan wrote:Noserider versus Performance type ? Hmmm about a 3rd option........ what about an "All-Rounder" shape ? I'm not sure if you can cross step already, but a "Pig" shape, wide point back of middle, is not the easiest for newbie noseriders to control the tail and rail.

No ive done no cross stepping which was why i was looking more towards a board dedicated to it, would an 'all-rounder' be suited to someone that can already cross step/longboard? During the demo on the UNR i did catch a couple of waves i afterwards thought i could have cross stepped there.

YorkshireSurfer wrote:No never, i haven't got the ability to do this on my minimal, id sink the nose in a second.

Then you should watch this video:


7'0" rounded pin pointy nose twin fin.

Yeah I cant do that lol!

oldmansurfer wrote:Think of a board like a baseball bat. The longer the bat the more weight and resistance to movement it has. The nice thing about longer boards is once you get them moving they want to keep moving but it takes more energy to get them moving or to turn them. So the longer the board the earlier you need to start paddling to catch a wave because you will need more time to match the wave speed but also the long the board the more easily it maintains speed. On a shorter board it slows down quicker when you paddle for a wave so you need to keep paddling if you aren't in the exactly right place. Or maybe the longer the board the larger the right place is but it's also more outside of the lineup compared to a shorter board. I think the time to move down in size is when you can feel that baseball bat effect that a longer board has so when your turning is good enough that you can feel the weight on the nose of the board as you push it around. But others may have specific opinions about the sizes my only thought is the 9'1 should be long enough for you.

I would also advise that you spend some time every day you surf watching what the good surfers with longboards do to get outside of the lineup. Going through waves is about fitness and knowledge. Knowing when and where to go through the waves and being fit enough to get out between the sets (and also know a few techniques to go through waves if you get caught inside)

That does make sense, the earlier and longer paddling onto a smaller wave would be what I'm after, which would be a little easier on the 9'4 once its moving? I must say the 9'1 i tested paddled like a dream compared to my minimal!

With regards the turning, would there be much differences in the 9'1 and 9'4? the main difference between the boards isnt so much the 3 inches but the extra width and thickness.

Boards are complex things. The extra length makes for a larger planing area without increasing drag but the extra width increases drag while also adding more planing area. The planing area increases lift which helps to make paddling easier. More foam increases the buoyancy which helps to keep the board moving forward without force from the wave. Or the simple answer is I am not sure if one board is better than the other. Waikichan might be able to help with that

oldmansurfer wrote: Or the simple answer is I am not sure if one board is better than the other. Waikichan might be able to help with that

Exactly, at your current level and that you've never really cross stepped yet, it really won't matter which of the 2 boards you end up purchasing. It is the NEXT board, after you've learned the basics of how to noseride, that you can determine for yourself what works and doesn't work for you.

That said, 3 inches may make a difference depending on your "Gait" or stride you take when you cross step. For me, an 8'8" puts me perfectly on the nose. But 9'0" is the minimum for longboard competitions, so I'm forced to use a 9'0". Thus I need to do an extra half or kick step at the end. But in your case, it doesn't matter right now.

Hi Ben I reckon go for a 9'6". I know a bunch of people smaller than you who ride 9'6" boards really nicely.

You will be able to get a bigger board moving easily, yes you're not going to flick it around like a shortboard but it won't feel super slow; you still have some weight behind you to sink the rail. I know a girl who's about 45-50kg who rides a 9'6" x 23 x 3 at near pro level.

You will enjoy the extra length+volume if you are surfing small clean days. If you get the 9'1" you'll have the big log riders catching further out than you and gliding past you, go big IMO!

By the way as an inland surfer you should practice your cross steps on a long skateboard if you want to get any good.

I'm going to muddy the waters and say get the smaller one. Every time I ride a longboard bigger than about 9'1, it feels like an absolute barge compared to the ones around 9'. It will still be plenty of volume and allow you to do what you want, without feeling like you need to make a public broadcast to announce to the other surfers in the area that you're about to begin the lengthy turning procedure (I may be exaggerating slightly).

Whereabouts in Yorkshire are you surfing? I'm also in that area at the moment.