Surfing Waves

Advice on next board

Hello everyone,

Just wanted advice on my next board.. I’m still in my first 2 years of surfing and I started on a 10 foot longboard hard top (80ish liters) and was able to catch green waves up to 3-5 feet consistently… sized down to a 7’6 hard top mini log shape (52 liters) and I catch waves but not as often and definitely not as well and more condition dependent… I’m not really having fun with my 7’6 I feel like it wants to be a log without the benefits of a log (or it could totally just be my skill) and was thinking of another board..

I was thinking either the 7’6 CJ Nelson outlier (51 liters) single fin or 6’4 plez phez R series almond (50 liters) single fin + sides…

What are your thoughts?? Don’t get a new board and keep grinding?

Everything you say sounds like you should go back to the 10 foot board

Agree with old man. If you're struggling with the 7'6 then why are you looking at a 6'4? You should have plenty of wave catching ability on your current board unless you're unfit and/or heavy. General 'mini-mal' type shapes in the 7ft+ range are some of the most fun boardshapes in my opinion.

One, forget about Volume.

Two, don't go for a board less than two feet over your head until you've learned ALL the basics and can do cutbacks frontside and backside.

Three, of the two boards ( 7’6 CJ Nelson outlier or the 6’4 plez phez R series almond ) which has better re-sale value ? Go for that one.

The thing about learning to surf is that if you chose a board that doesn't allow you to catch and ride waves, it's going to make learning to surf very slow and difficult. The more waves you can catch and ride the quicker you will learn.

A possible cause for your problems could be that you are too far back on the board when you are paddling. The shorter the board the more water you will push for each inch out of ideal position you are. Generally people seem to position themselves too far back so that when they paddle the board is tilted so the tail is sunk which makes the board like an inclined plane and the more inclined the more water you push in front of that incline. On a larger board there is flotation in the nose area in front of you which helps to keep the nose from pearling if you are too far forward and the weight acts like a counterbalance when you're too far back keeping the nose from going up too far. In addition the longer the board the more glide it has which is what keeps the board moving forward when you aren't paddling. Your 7'6" board is 2'6" less in length than the previous board which is a big change. You might be able to use the present board if you are just out of position when paddling which means you need to be an inch or two or three more forward when you lay down on the board to paddle. So besides losing the benefits of an easier paddling longboard then you are also out of position so can't get the board moving fast enough to catch a wave then maybe you can fix your problems with that board. However it sounds like maybe a longer board would be better for now. Build you skills and strength on a longboard then go down in size but less of a drop like a 9 foot or 8'6" then once you get that down drop again but not until you can use the board you are using.

Thank you everyone for the tips, I’ll take it and keep working on the 10 and move down to the 7’6. I was really frustrated with the 7’6 because I’d have some really good sessions and sessions where I didn’t catch anything!

I’ll keep grinding and I’ll take all the tips before I size down! I really do enjoy the cruisey-ness of longboarding and I’m searching for that as I size down! Not really trying to do performance short boarding, just want waves!