Surfing Waves

At the moment I'm experimenting with the variety of surfboards I can ride. Performance, short/flat/wide, old singles, finless, etc. I've always had a mal to ride if the waves are under knee high. And now I'm also thinking I'll buy a beater. How many different surfboards do you guys have/ride?

I currently have 2 Sups and a 9'6" longboard and a 6'2" shortboard that I never ride. I do ride my 8 foot fungun and my 7'6" fungun. I also have a 9'6" fungun that I don't ride much. My 8 foot board is good in a lot of different conditions , the 7'6" board is better in smaller surf except that it has a narrower takeoff zone so if the waves are inconsistent it's not quite as fun as the 8 foot board. The 7'6 board seems good in mushy surf or steep waves up to 12 foot faces. The 8 foot board works in waves up to 18 foot faces or like this past weekend in knee to waist high surf. The 8 foot board has a lot of tail rocker and nose rocker which makes it more forgiving in steep waves but the 7'6" board is flatter (less rocker both in the nose and the tail) and quicker and hangs on a wall better so I like it for a variety of surf as long as the waves are consistent. With little rocker it hasn't been a problem for me to ride steep quick waves and because it's flat it carries well in mush too. But the 8 foot board I ride it similar to a longboard in smaller surf and like a shortboard in larger surf.

A few.....

....by all means, get more boards!!!

Maybe you should try the purest form of wave riding.......... with no board at all. Grab a pair of fins and go Surf your Body.

Somehow I've ended up with too much stuff.

9'6" longboard
8' Wavestorm (awesome board, paid $40 used for it)
8' hard board (feel a bit meh about it, paid $100 used for it)
7'6" fish/big boy stinger (love this board, paid $650 for it)
7'2" (bought it in college and it's still kicking around with me)
6'4" board that's probably older than a lot of the forum members
5'6" foamie I used to practice living room popups on
body board
Makapuu fins
surf watch, 3 aging wetsuits, booties, gloves, soft surf racks, Doc's pro plugs . . .

waikikikichan wrote:Maybe you should try the purest form of wave riding.......... with no board at all. Grab a pair of fins and go Surf your Body.

I really should try this with fins, I've always done it without.

You guys have a solid range of boards, I ride a standard 5'9 and a flat 5'5 for shortboards. For something different I have a late 70's single fin, a 9'2 mal, plus some others which don't get ridden often. At the moment I'm trying to ride the single fin finless, but I think a beater board might be easier. I think changing the shorty for a mal or finless every now and then dusts off some ruts I get stuck in and kills any anticipation of "surfing good"

I think the equation to the perfect amount of boards is:
N+1

benny wrote:

waikikikichan wrote:Maybe you should try the purest form of wave riding.......... with no board at all. Grab a pair of fins and go Surf your Body.

I really should try this with fins, I've always done it without.

You guys have a solid range of boards, I ride a standard 5'9 and a flat 5'5 for shortboards. For something different I have a late 70's single fin, a 9'2 mal, plus some others which don't get ridden often. At the moment I'm trying to ride the single fin finless, but I think a beater board might be easier. I think changing the shorty for a mal or finless every now and then dusts off some ruts I get stuck in and kills any anticipation of "surfing good"

Surfing is about having fun right? Some people ride one board almost exclusively, others have a quiver. Some only ride in certain conditions....others relish the challenge of riding whatever the ocean has on the menu that day. It's really up to you; it's your party and you're the guest of honour. Whatever adds to the fun!

The thing about surfing is the only goals are ones you set yourself. Some want to have fun, some want to learn to surf better. Some want to be a pro and some just want to hang out. Figure out what you want and go for it. I body surfed without fins initially then with fins then bodyboarding then kneeboarding (on a finless board) then surfing. I surf challenging conditions most of the time and it keeps me happy but I am trying to relearn to surf in the quickest way possible that fits my busy schedule

waikikikichan wrote:Maybe you should try the purest form of wave riding.......... with no board at all. Grab a pair of fins and go Surf your Body.

check out this guy (well known australian surfer/hipster/hippie) at around 1.15min - body surf like a dolphin

http://www.coastalwatch.com/videos/2119 ... r-attitude

dtc wrote:

waikikikichan wrote:Maybe you should try the purest form of wave riding.......... with no board at all. Grab a pair of fins and go Surf your Body.

check out this guy (well known australian surfer/hipster/hippie) at around 1.15min - body surf like a dolphin

http://www.coastalwatch.com/videos/2119 ... r-attitude

Rasta! That was cool, I'm going to give it a go