Surfing Waves

Hey guys im 15, 5'9" and probably about 120ish lbs. i currently ride an 8'6" epoxy longboard in small walls in Narragansett, RI and Florida. I am looking for something shorter that catches waves better than my 6' shortboard. I was thinking of getting a fish... any suggestions on good dimensions???

narmo67 wrote:Hey guys im 15, 5'9" and probably about 120ish lbs. i currently ride an 8'6" epoxy longboard in small walls in Narragansett, RI and Florida. I am looking for something shorter that catches waves better than my 6' shortboard. I was thinking of getting a fish... any suggestions on good dimensions???

How well are you riding your 8'6''? Are you catching alot of waves, turning etc. or are you still pretty raw compared to the other guys you see surfing at your breaks? I'd probably recommend dropping down to a 7'6- 7 ft. funboard/mini-mal first before dropping down to a <6ft. retro-fish. There are some hybrid fish out there that are in the larger 7ft range, really wide (like 22-23 width) and 3'' thick as another low-risk option. Just from reading alot of posts and recommendations on the subject, I just think a really short retro-fish may give you quite alot of frustration. They catch waves easy but getting to your feet/balancing takes quite a bit of surfing skill. Again, I'm no expert on the subject, just from what I've read on the board here over the last few years.

I ride it pretty well and i have a decent bottom turn going on. But yeah i see what your saying because i dont want to spend all my cash on a board that i wouldnt have any chance of riding.

narmo67 wrote:I ride it pretty well and i have a decent bottom turn going on. But yeah i see what your saying because i dont want to spend all my cash on a board that i wouldnt have any chance of riding.

Go back to the main chat page and check out the ad at the top for 9-Fish surfboards. I've trolled around on their site and they have a wide assortment of fish styled boards in all shapes and sizes (if your determined to get a fish). They seem reasonably priced and look great. I couldn't find much track record from the web/forum on how they perform though or quality.

Dropping from a longboard to a fish will be a bit of a nightmare, unless you're competent and confident on a range of boards.

Fish are very loose, and you might struggle if you're used to the stability of a longboard. Also, while a fish will catch waves easily, you'll then have to work it to keep it moving - which will be completely alien to you if you're used to a longboard.

Fish can be great, but you might be better off on a hybrid fish, or a funboard as an intermediate step.

Yeah i changed my mind now im thinking about a 7'6" or so funboard that's pretty thick and wide

7'6 is likely to be a bit too big for a funboard - thats a mini-mal with shortboard pretensions

If you're competent enough to be doing bottom turns, then something around the 6'10 - 7' mark would be good.

narmo67 wrote:Yeah i changed my mind now im thinking about a 7'6" or so funboard that's pretty thick and wide

7'6'' would be an ideal step-down for you...1 ft. less length. Any board probably between 7'0 on the low end to 7'6'' would be fine for you since it sounds like you have some pretty good basic surfing skills already developed. I'm very much a beginner and have had some success on a 7'4'' funboard that I've borrowed from a relative several times (very thick (3')' and wide (24'') funboard as well). I just bought a 7'2'' board that is thinner (2 &3/4'' thick) and more narrow (21.5'') than the 7'4'' I'm used to and am a little leary as to whether I'll be able to ride it well at first. I couldn't catch anything on a 6'2'' shortboard I tried out once. Waves passed under me most of the time, and the few times the wave picked me up I struggled to get to me feet well because of how wabbly the board was compared to the 24'' wide "Mack Truck" funboard I was used to.

Ok thanks guys I'll look into it.