Surfing Waves

Im currently riding a 7'10 circle one mini mal and want to lock into waves a bit earlier, would an 8ft super fish help me do this, I would really appreciate feedback from anyone who has one of these boards, im 6'3 and about 230 lbs.
Thanx in advance

I don't know that minimal of yours, but I can tell you I have a 7'3 Superfish (I'm 165lbs.) that I use as a long board substitute. I can get into anything with it that I can with my 9' long board and almost as early- it paddles a little slower so I need a couple extra lead-off paddles but it works in small and mushy conditions really well. An 8' Superfish would certainly do the job!

Thanks bajoman, yea ive been doing some research on these boards and it seems that its the answer to my problem, im catching lots of waves but they ar nearly vertical by the time i catch them. Love to get in there earlier

You should be able to get on pretty early with a 7ft10 mini mal even at 230lb. Have a think about whether your technique is right rather than the board being wrong - in particular, one common reason for not being able to catch a wave until late is being too far back on the board (having the nose too far out of the water), which causes the board to be slower. This means the 'normal' spot to catch the wave is too early (because you are too slow), so you have to move to a position to catch the wave late to compensate.

You may need a bigger board, obviously I can't tell. But I thought I would mention it because getting another board when the issue is (partly, perhaps) technique wont necessarily solve the problem.

Also, waves are generally pretty vertical by the time you catch them normally, thats just the way they are (unless you are on a nice rolling point or mushy waves). Beach breaks are almost always pretty steep.

Thanks dtc, ive had this board for a year now and surf at least 3 times a week, ive tried edging forward more and more until i just pearl, im prob in need of a proper long board as i see the surfers on them catching waves very early indeed. When i do catch a wave i can cut across the face of it an keep the board trimmed and on the sweet spot etc, happy with my progress to be honest, I would just love to get into the waves a bit earlier and i suppose i thought extra volume would help me paddle faster to help me achieve that.
Hmm just weighed myself, closer to 240lb, that could be part of the prob lol fitness is quite good tho.
I really appreciate the feedback guys because as dtc says, no point splashing out on a board if that ain't the problem.

I grew up surfing then moved away from Hawaii foe 23 years. When I moved back to HI and started surfing again I had to pretty much relearn. I spent about a month or two on a long board then to a 8' 7s Superfish epoxy. Surfed it for about 6 months before transitioning down again. I was 6' and 245lbs then and it worked well for how I wanted to use it. Lots of float - though not quite like a longboard. I think at 240lbs nothing will get you into a wave like a 9-6 or 10 footer at 3" thick or better but the 8' Superfish worked great for transitioning down in board size especially at 240. I can tell you from experience that extra 15lbs from 225 to 240 changes what boards work and don't work- well it did for me. I am down to 210lbs now and have a broader range of boards that work for me as compared to 240. The 7s should work, my only problem with the board was I was catching rails often but that's it. Board was pretty fast, I thought.... It was easy to sell on Craig's list when it was time to sell as well

cheers surf hound, yea im gonna make a real effort to get below that 210 alright and stay there. im okin the lookout for a long board over 9', if i see a second hand super fish I may go for it too, as you say it will be easy to sell on, as would a decent lb.

thanx again for the info an tips folks

stevie wrote:cheers surf hound, yea im gonna make a real effort to get below that 210 alright and stay there. im okin the lookout for a long board over 9', if i see a second hand super fish I may go for it too, as you say it will be easy to sell on, as would a decent lb.

thanx again for the info an tips folks

Sounds like a good plan - the 7S might not have much of a volume difference from your current board, so its worth going up to the 9ft or 9ft6 length because there will be a noticeable increase in volume (not the be all and end all for paddling/wave catching but quite important). Some of the Walden boards might be worth a look if you want to stay a bit shorter (eg the 8ft mega magic), although they are very wide; but of course any decent longboard that has some thickness (as surfhound suggests) should be worthwhile.

I' have been up to 220lbs and one of my performance ( well for me anyway) boards is a surftech G&S 8ft magic fish, it's great. Epoxy so similar float to a 9ft PU mal.
The 8ft 7S epoxy superfish would also fill the bill maybe a little better than the surftech it has a slightly greater volume.
With all extra volume boards duckdiving and turtle rolling to get out is harder and harder still if they are a more floaty epoxy.
I have noticed with my epoxy boards with the EPS cores you have to keep the drive on whilst riding under the whitewater.
Ease off and the white water just pushed the board out from under you.

Thanks folks, local break is slow rolling waves, quite small too, I see some off the local lads on boards like 9' meyerhoffers etc and they're catching waves as they're forming, I love catching waves and it makes sense to go long, most people I know seem to want to go shorter but to me it doesn't add up. To learn how to work the face of the wave you first need to be on it, in my opinion a longboard can achieve this much easier, on the lookout now for a decent lb.
Great advice folks, real helpful. Thanx again