Surfing Waves

I am 14 years old, 4'10, 90 pounds, and I am trying to find the optimal board size for my skill level and weight. Right now I have two boards that I use, a big Costco Wavestorm, and a 6'0 shortboard. I've been surfing for about 5 months almost every day and I can surf both surfboards pretty well but they aren't ideal for the majority of my surf sessions. The soft top is really nice in terms of paddle power and ease of popping up, but once i'm on the wave I cant really do any turns because i'm so light. The only turns that I can do on this board are when I for example angle my board towards the beach if there's an end section. My shortboard does work during some sessions but most sessions it feels like there's not enough buoyancy and I end up missing out on a lot of waves because of that. When I do get on waves, I can usually turn pretty well. I put my weight on by back foot and aim for the sweet spot right in the pocket in between the breaking wave and the soft shoulder. The problem is that most sessions i'm just not getting enough good waves to try that out. I used to have a 7'4 funboard with a little bit of rocker that worked pretty well before I dinged it up. I had more than enough paddle power but I couldn't turn it very well. My biggest strength is wave catching, and I've lost track of the precise number but I know that I've caught more than 20 solid overhead waves (for my size, which is about 6-7 foot). My weakness is my popup, because I have a bad habit of using my knees which has worked most of the time so far but I know it's a big issue I need to deal with. Most of the time I surf a spot that's for beginners that now has a perfect sand bar that makes it peel perfectly with medium steepness for about 1/2 a mile. Most days I'm the best out in the lineup, but some days with lots of experienced longboarders out I'm the 3rd best. I sit way outside and only catch the biggest sets. Sometimes I also surf a reef break that breaks right in front of a cliff and is pretty steep, but I only surf it on days under 7 feet. Also I'm goofy footer which means in my town i'm almost always surfing backside. Anyways back tow the original point, what board would be best? A fish? A step up? Something else? Thank you for reading and sorry it took so long.

Here are some pictures from today, I took my longboard out because It was small. And also a picture from another day that I took my shortboard out

In all your pictures you appear to be standing too far forward on your board to turn it well. At 5 months I think you are just looking to blame the board but really you could learn to use either one. There are some surf instructors who post here so wait to hear what they say

one of our regular posters is a longboarder and not hugely bigger than you...although he is probably a fair bit stronger than a 14 year old. Anyway, with some better technique you should be able to turn the board.

What you have found is the classic of wanting something easier to turn because you dont have the technique to turn a longer board. Which is fine; ideally learn the technique but why not give a shorter board a go as well. An 8ft board at your height and weight is probably a bit big anyway

A fun board (mini mal) around 6'8 - 7ft seems to be a good choice for your level and for the waves you surf. if you can find an epoxy board, it will be a bit lighter than a traditional board, which will help. Something like this http://www.torq-surfboards.com/fun-68.html as an example. Or a santa cruz pumpkin seed (not sure if they make them anymore). Or an NSP funboard https://www.surfsailaustralia.com.au/pr ... g-hardware

Dont be tempted to go too short/small - you are only 14, you probably will put on 20lbs and 8 inches in the next two years;; and those waves arent particularly huge (although maybe its a small day). On the other hand, you will probably get a lot better pretty quickly surfing that regularly and those waves. Because of those two factors you probably wont be able to find a board that will suit you long term. But you have a 6ft shortboard, so get a larger board for now and, once you are comfortable, start trying the shortboard again and see how it works for you

BUT: in the meantime, try to focus on your technique a bit

Thanks for the replies! I found a board for sale that I think I'll get, It's a 6'10 step up: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/spo/5837516402.html. I think it'll be useful for as long as it lasts because it looks good for small and big surf. It's also higher quality than a wavestorm for small surf.

oldmansurfer wrote:In all your pictures you appear to be standing too far forward on your board to turn it well.

On my wavestorm I usually change my position on the board depending on what I want to do. In the pictures I am in a position to just trim down the line. Also I don't really try to do turns on that board too often because every time I try I dig a rail or just cant put enough force into it to do a proper turn. You're right in that I probably could learn to do turn with some practice. On the shortboard I also tend to shuffle around and at the takeoff I usually pop up more towards the front of the board without thinking much about it. After that though I usually try to go back while I'm transitioning into my bottom turn. I probably need to get in the habit of popping up with my foot on the traction pad so that I don't have to transition.

oldmansurfer wrote:At 5 months I think you are just looking to blame the board but really you could learn to use either one.

I can and have surfed both of them in a variety of conditions and they work, but I just think that It would be a good idea to have something in the middle because in most of my sessions I find both to be on the extreme end . For example, my shortboard works perfectly in 4-6 foot waves, but in smaller waves, although I have ridden it successfully, It seems to be lacking in paddle power and doesn't seem to be the most efficient. Whereas, my wavestorm has an unnecessary amount of paddle power, and it's just not worth the lack of maneuverability.

There are lots of surfers who have much mores skill than you who use wavestorms in conditions that you couldn't handle with any board. You say the wavestorm lacks maneuverability and I say you lack skill in using that board. You have trouble paddling a smaller board and you blame the board but I say you don't have the ability to paddle a smaller board. It's nothing permanent, you can learn to use either board. There may be a better board for you however that board isn't going to teach you how to surf. dtc gives you great advice, I would listen to him. You are young and you are growing, you are going to need to be getting a different board quite often just like you will need different pants or shirts. I learned to surf on a 6"10" board but I was 6'2" tall and weighed 165 pounds. so the 6'10 should be good for you for a while depending on how fast you grow and how fast you learn. Also hang on to the smaller board for when you get better at paddling and lining up waves and the wavestorm for when you get better at handling boards. I don't own one but there are lots of really good surfers who keep a wavestorm on their car just in case they see waves somewhere. They do this partly because wavestorms are cheap and so it doesn't encourage people to steal them and they paddle so well it gets them into critical waves much easier than other boards. Each board has it's pluses and minuses but to learn to surf you have to learn to use the board under your feet. Each board that you get you will have to learn what you can do with it and what you can't however there will be others who can do the things you can't with the same board. I am just saying it is possible to learn to use those boards. Whatever the limitations are for a board are the limitations of the surfer are much greater.

surph wrote:Thanks for the replies! I found a board for sale that I think I'll get, It's a 6'10 step up: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/spo/5837516402.html. I think it'll be useful for as long as it lasts because it looks good for small and big surf. It's also higher quality than a wavestorm for small surf.

If you haven't bought this then don't get it. It's a board for big waves - 15ft plus. Don't focus on just the length

dtc wrote:If you haven't bought this then don't get it. It's a board for big waves - 15ft plus. Don't focus on just the length

Ok, you're probably right, I was thinking that the reason it was good for big waves was that it was like a shortboard but had extra paddle power to catch bigger, faster moving waves. But now that you mention there is probably something about the overall design that wouldn't make it very good for smaller waves. I found a Santa Cruz pumpkin seed on craigslist thats a bit more expensive, and I'll have to save a little more, but I think I'll get that instead. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/spo/5832263064.html

The pumpkin seed will be much better. Its probably an ideal board for you - its long but its not overly wide or thick, so not high volume (36L). But keep in mind that this means it will be harder to paddle/catch waves with than a fun board of the same size (eg the Torq 6'8 funboard is 42L). However, given your size the pumpkin seed is probably fine for volume but has the advantages of being a longer/wider board than a shortboard.

The other board was long but very thin and narrow (a 'semi gun'). Its designed to paddle into big waves but maintain control (big waves have much more power) but then basically hold the line and provide control. Whereas surfers in normal waves want to have a 'looser' board that allows turns and so forth.

http://www.surfscience.com/topics/types ... un/the-gun

oms, I can and have used both boards, and I completely agree with you that I could learn to use them both better, but my point is that with the shortboard theres a smaller margin of error and if I'm not in the exact right spot, I will most likely miss the wave, although I could learn to be at the right spot more often, and also lots of other issues arise when I'm at a break where most people are longboarders. And with the wavestorm, although I could learn to use it and turn it very well in a wide range of conditions, I think it would be nice to have a board that is fiberglass, and just a little bit smaller and less clunky than a wavestorm. There's a reason why people have a quiver of multiple boards, and that's because although for example, you could use a shortboard in mushy 1ft surf, it'd probably be better to use a longboard. I just think buying a board that fills the gap between a shortboard and a wavestorm. I think would be a good investment and higher quality than the rubber fins and foam build of a wavestorm.

1 foot surf? well ok but you didn't have any pictures of that. I think for those learning to surf the less boards the quicker you will learn but that is just my opinion. You have to learn to use each board. Anyway don't listen to me I am a minority. You will find most of the posters here agreeing with getting more and more boards. For myself I find time is a limiting factor so I don't want to learn to use a lot of different boards but to master the ones I have. Anyway welcome to the forum and I hope you stay on and contribute as you learn. if you are interested here is a page where people who know how to use wavestorms post pictures https://www.instagram.com/teamwavestorm/?hl=en

I'm a little bigger than you at 5'2, 105lb (but not the surfer dtc has mentioned) and I started out with a wavestorm. As much as I agree with others that it's not the board but the rider that enables all the maneuvers, I found it to be very bulky, a bit sluggish, and hard to handle in water. I've since switched to a 9' poly longboard (longer but thinner and narrower) and found it to be so smooth, not corky at all like a foamie. One of my kids is about your size and he feels the same way as well. So I get that you want to look for a hard board. At your size anything between around 6'8 and 8'6 should be fine. But once the board is less than 7'8 or so it won't have the glide and the paddling power the longboard offers so If you want a small wave board longer the better in a typical longboard shape. If you are after a transitional board you can go shorter with more pulled in nose and tail as long as it's not too extreme. Start saving now so when something comes up on craigslist you would be ready to jump on it. Post the pic or the link to the listing so the forum members can offer input.

Meanwhile, you can buy a single fin called Perfect Storm to upgrade a wavestorm for about $30. I still prefer a hardboard, but definitely drivier than those flexy original thruster fins.

There is a reason most surfers dont surf foam boards - because they just arent very good. They are ok and some are better than others, but they have basic or no bottom contours, fat rails, poor fins etc. They are great for beginners (esp the wavestorm because its cheap) and are great for preventing injuries to yourself and other ocean users while you learn. Good surfers can do remarkable things on them, but they didnt get good surfing a wavestorm for 10 years. They got good on normal boards and then went back to the wavestorm with those skills

So dont feel defensive over buying a hard board and getting rid of the softie - everyone does it! I agree with OMS that it wont cure your technical defects, but if you want to replace the softboard and then focus on and use the new board almost exclusively, I dont think there is any particular downside.

I didn't mean to discourage you from getting another board. One of the things you need to do is determine how much adversity you want or are willing to put up with surfing. So if you have a board too small for you at this stage of surfing you will find that you have trouble catching waves with it. However this is temporary if you can endure this adversity and build your paddling power and increase your wave knowledge this can be overcome in most cases. If you have a board that is too floaty or too big you may find it hard to maneuver however if you can tolerate this adversity you can learn to maneuver those boards. So in the long run you want to be sure you don't set yourself too high of a learning curve or you will give up. Just keep in mind that just because you can't surf a board right now doesn't mean there is some problem with the board. For instance many beginner surfers want to be like the pros so they get a pro quality board but they can't even catch a wave with it because they lack the skills and strength and they can't even get in the right place to ride a wave because they lack wave/ocean knowledge.

Or you could simply put your back foot over the fins. At 5 months in it's not too late to correct bad habits!