Surfing Waves

Hello everyone.

I have said hi in the "hi section" however I thought I'd introduce myself properly in the chitter chatter section. My name is Andy I live in Hampshire UK not far from the admin dude.

As of this year I have taken up surfing (transferred from Snowboarding which is quite similar) and can now see what all the fuss is about. I have been surfing about 6 times now and have taught myself to stand up and catch waves, which Im quite pleased about. I have a 7ft Rip Curl Mini-Mal which is a lovely board but I feel maybe a bit too good for me. It is a very light board compared to my friends 7.6 NSP which seems a lot heavier and sturdy.

I found riding her NSP I got to stay up for longer and catch the wave further up the beach. I was looking at buying a 8ft Mini-Mal which would give me a bit more stability and floatation especially for the UK shores, what do you guy's think?

I did notice a lot of guys/girls down Saunton Sands had longboards and where getting up easily, however I feel I would like a compromise as I do not have the room for a 9ft + longboard and also like bit of a challenge.

Any help and advise be greatly received.

Im 6ft tall, weight 13-13.5st.

PS whats the difference between a single fin and a 3 fin set up?

Hi Andy
A 7ft board for a 6ft guy will be just a bit too small to learn on, so yes, an 8ft mini-mal will help things along. Dont be sucked in by 'the challenge' of learning on a shorter board - it's about how many waves you catch, not how short your board is. Surfing is enough of a challenge whatever board you're on without making it difficult for yourself.

But having said that, if you're standing on your 7ft just stick with it and keep on doing what you're doing. Over and over and over again.

I think if you are doing better on a bigger board the 8' mini mal sounds great. You will get better faster and ride more waves on a bigger thicker wider board. The difference with the single fin and the 3 fin thruster in general is the single fin will have more drawn out turns and the 3 fin thruster will be a little looser yet still have the bite and drive that is needed to get down the line. It also depends on the shape of the board as to how everything will work together. Good luck and stay stoked

Hey Andy, sounds like your gut instinct is to go with a bigger board and get more waves, you can always go back to a smaller board later on if you wish. A sightly bigger board will help getting into waves and balance. Generally speaking people forget that it takes time, effort and fitness so just keep getting in the water every time you can. For the record surfing is only like snowboarding when you ride a short board and can rip decent size waves! Keep going... D man

Thanks for your advice everyone, yeah gut instinct it is. When I get home from offshore Im going to try a few 8ft boards out from my local surf shop and see what I fancy. Cheers for your advice.

Welcome to the world of surfing have a good read around the learning section, it sounds like you understand how your learning process works so the longer board will help a lot, don't think long boards lack performance, grab a few long and shortboard videos and see what the "pros" can do on any length.
Get your basics up and running then start tuning your boards after that. have fun

I short board and long board and guess I am in the minority, in that, I prefer to long board. I love the combination of moving on the board and the wave.

The tri-fin will give you greater ability to turn on the waves and throw buckets.

Having the mini-mal in your quiver will allow you to surf more often and is a nice addition.