What to do?

[Gvr23]

I have been surfing for 3 years now on a 7'1 x 22 1/2 x 2 3/2 minimal.From those only 8 months i have been constant until now. Im practicing my paddle by just paddling to a distance to and from. In december i plan on making myself a smaller board 6'8. My ability in surfing comes down to standing up for sure but still having trouble flowing with the wave sideways and as i said before my paddling is not as strong. Do you guys think is ok to my new purchase? Or what would your advice be? And the size of waves are from half a meter to 1.8 meters.in Peru.

[Gvr23]

I forgot to mention i go twice a week sometimes 3 times 2 hours minimum 4 hours max.

[pmcaero]

go for a longer board for now. it will help you catch more waves and thus get better at riding down the line.

[oldmansurfer]

How often do you practice paddling and how far and how much time do you spend on it? Basically if you want to build paddling muscles that is the way to do it. Paddle long distances and work at your speed. Most of the big wave surfers do long distance paddling.

[oldgrom22]

Think you need to spend some more time on your current board. A smaller board won't make it any easier to paddle or ride down the line. You need to have those skills in check before you consider going shorter.

[dtc]

when you say your paddling is not strong, are you missing waves (paddling for the wave but not catching it) or are you just getting tired easily when paddling around the line up? the former might be fixed with positioning and some strength work; the latter should be fixed just be surfing a lot.

In terms of 'flowing with the wave' a shorter board certainly will turn easier and, as such, will hide to some extent technical deficiencies you have in that area. However, there are disadvantages as well eg less stable, harder to paddle, faster (sometimes good but not if you cant control the speed etc).

The safe course is to stay on your current board, but if you are planning on buying a new board and keeping your current board, then you can surf both as you feel is appropriate.

[Gvr23]

I get tired easily

[Gvr23]

I get tired easily when paddling out and i between waves, and yes i do plan to keep current board.

[dtc]

Apart from paddling more (ie surfing more), maybe just some general upper body strength work could help with paddling (push ups, pull ups, shoulder press, rows). Also make sure your paddling technique is good - I wont go into detail but you can google up tips. If (for example) you have a wide arm shallow paddle then you are going to get tired arms very quickly. General cardio fitness (running, cycling etc) can also help.

In terms of the boards, its definitely harder to catch waves on a shorter board and it will be harder to paddle. But you might enjoy it more - who knows. You can just have shorter surfing sessions or 4 good waves rather than 7 mediocre waves. Or it might be the opposite and you get no waves or just fall off all the time.

However, with enough surfing and enough thinking about what you are doing when you are surfing, you will end up having the skill to move to a shorter board. If you buy it and its too hard, you can go back to your other board for a few sessions or months and then go back. Use it for bigger waves and your current board for small waves. It will always be there.

By 'thinking about what you are doing' I mean make sure you arent doing the wrong thing and just getting better at doing the wrong thing. Watch on line instruction videos, even for skills you think you have, and making sure you are actually doing them correctly. Of course, for anything you are finding hard, you need think about how to do it right (which might include watching videos, getting coaching etc), not just hoping one day it will all suddenly work