Surfing Waves

So I'm looking to step down from my 7' funboard. I am thinking of getting a fish after using my buddies in some 2-3 ft waves, it was awesome. His was 6'4x22" but I think I'd rather have a 6'6 so there's a little bit more room for error. Quick reminder, I am about 230 and 6'2. Any suggestions of a good brand? I'm looking at more of a retro fish but I'm having trouble finding one the size I want. Thanks guys!

FWIW a retro fish is not the best choice for a step down from a funboard - board....to make them work properly you need to work them rail to rail. Because of this you won't find too many really large size retro fish out there as being designed for better surfers even guys as big as you would use a smaller board than a 6.6.

That being said there are a lot of hybrid shapes including bigger swallowtails that would be more suitable and come in sizes that would float you off the shelf. I am 6.1 and about 200 lbs and have a floaty Webber mini fish 6.3 around 47L of volume that works good for me, but again, rocker is flat and the board needs input to work.

On July 19th you wrote:

yeaahgarrett wrote: Sitting in these summer months my 8' speed egg is getting harder and harder to catch the 1-3 ft waves I'm in especially seeing all the longboarders catch virtually anything, any recommendations on possibly a cheaper board? Or is it pretty much I have to go all out to get a good longboard? That's kinda the conclusion I've come to, but I thought I'd ask. I'm looking for one around 9'6 to 10'.

So you passed on the 9'6" to 10" Log and now looking for a 6'6" Fish ? Your paddling and wave knowledge have vastly improved in 2 quick months.

I have the NSP Elements Fish in 6'4". They also make a 6'6" x 21 3/8 x 2 5/8 43 liters. Price is good and they're made tough.

Another popular brand is Torq. They make a Mod Fish in 6'6" x 21 x 2 5/8 39.6 liters

Torq uses Futures fins , while NSP uses FCS fins, so that might factor also in to your choice.

WEBBER MINI FISH SLX SURFBOARD
6ft 3

Features:
Construction: PU
Length: 6'3''
Width: 20 3/4''
Thickness: 3 1/4''
Tail: Fish
Low rocker: To optimize speed, on rail drive and stability
Full rail: Balance of control and performance
Fins: FCSThurster
Suited conditions: 1-5' waves
Ability level: Intermediate to advanced
Double to vee concave : To help direct water release for speed and maneuverability, slight vee n the tail for helping rai

The mini fish has the greatest thickness for it's surface area of any surfboard on the market today. This ratio, gives amazing paddle power while retaining incredible maneuverability. The deep double concave accentuates the bite near the rail edge, which is needed to offset the tendency for high volume rails to skip out of the wave face. The vee in the center makes the chunky-ness easier to control by keeping it more neutral and forgiving on the wave face. If we had used a single concave with this short and chunky design the lift would have been too great and it would have less wave range and would be harder to put on rail with any stability. The deep double with vee works really well with high volume.

I noticed that Webber has the 3 plug fronts. Cool that you can play around with fin positioning or....................... you can use the super rare 3-tab keel fin.

Big H, does yours have the 3-tab too ?

Yes it does....tried thruster set ups forward and back but that's the only way I've surfed it so far. Board came with these weird long twin fins and a stabilizer which I will try soon but as a thruster I clicked with it so haven't messed with it yet.

Here is a couple of internet photos of the fins that came with the board.....they are like 7-8 inches long.

Wow, strange, never seen those before. But the trailer looks like on this one auction I'm looking at.

waikikikichan wrote:On July 19th you wrote:

yeaahgarrett wrote: Sitting in these summer months my 8' speed egg is getting harder and harder to catch the 1-3 ft waves I'm in especially seeing all the longboarders catch virtually anything, any recommendations on possibly a cheaper board? Or is it pretty much I have to go all out to get a good longboard? That's kinda the conclusion I've come to, but I thought I'd ask. I'm looking for one around 9'6 to 10'.

So you passed on the 9'6" to 10" Log and now looking for a 6'6" Fish ? Your paddling and wave knowledge have vastly improved in 2 quick months.

I'm not sure if I posted anything on here lately, but I actually bought a 9'7 noserider and it's been awesome throughout the summer. My neighbor also sold me a 7'x22" funboard. It's perfect for San Diego when the swell picks up and gets to 3-5 feet so I really don't NEED to get a fish. But I just enjoyed riding this one and always thought they were cool boards. Not saying I'm a pro like you yet, but I have improved a bit and would like to try finding a fish that works for me.

Big H wrote:FWIW a retro fish is not the best choice for a step down from a funboard - board....to make them work properly you need to work them rail to rail. Because of this you won't find too many really large size retro fish out there as being designed for better surfers even guys as big as you would use a smaller board than a 6.6.

That being said there are a lot of hybrid shapes including bigger swallowtails that would be more suitable and come in sizes that would float you off the shelf. I am 6.1 and about 200 lbs and have a floaty Webber mini fish 6.3 around 47L of volume that works good for me, but again, rocker is flat and the board needs input to work.

I was looking at the swallow tails too, I just don't know too much about fishes yet to know which I would like the most since I have really only tried the one. I do like how buoyant they are though.

waikikikichan wrote:I have the NSP Elements Fish in 6'4". They also make a 6'6" x 21 3/8 x 2 5/8 43 liters. Price is good and they're made tough.

Screenshot 2017-09-24 at 8.46.13 PM.png

Another popular brand is Torq. They make a Mod Fish in 6'6" x 21 x 2 5/8 39.6 liters

Screenshot 2017-09-24 at 8.46.01 PM.png

Torq uses Futures fins , while NSP uses FCS fins, so that might factor also in to your choice.

Thank you !! I like both of those I'll definitely check them out. The NSP seems to be not to expensive too.

Actually the dims are this....found this on the net. 49l of good times....at my 92kg/200lbs I'm right in their spec wheelhouse.

waikikikichan wrote:Wow, strange, never seen those before. But the trailer looks like on this one auction I'm looking at.

Screenshot 2017-09-25 at 8.38.26 AM.png

Those are some funky looking fins.

Honest reason why I haven't used the fins yet is that I use that board on small waves......small days here are crowded.....I imagined shish kebbabing an unwitting newbie that dropped in on me or otherwise got tangled with......they look fun (flexy) but dangerous in a crowd.

waikikikichan wrote:Torq uses Futures fins , while NSP uses FCS fins, so that might factor also in to your choice.

I assume FCS is more mainstream? I got no clue.

BaNZ wrote:

waikikikichan wrote:Torq uses Futures fins , while NSP uses FCS fins, so that might factor also in to your choice.

I assume FCS is more mainstream? I got no clue.

No, it is not a matter of what more popular, but of what you ALREADY have. If you got a boat load of FCS fins, then you might not want to get a board equipped with Futures. But, if you only ever used the stock FCS fin that came with your board and never bought other fins, then getting a board with Futures won't matter.
The FIN WARS was over, over a decade ago. Only FCS and Futures fins were left standing.