Surfing Waves

Hello,
I know posts like this are a dime a dozen. I currently surf a 9'2" longboard and was thinking I want something in a smaller form factor just for easier transport. I like having a big board for stability and catching waves, so I've never veered from it. Is this possible?

I'm 6'1" and 215lbs, is it possible to get a 7 foot board that I can grab waves with? I've been looking at something like a firewire dominator but was wondering if it would change everything and make catching waves hard. I'd also like the possibility of duck diving.

I am similar sized as you 6'2" and 215lbs. If you drop down immediately to a 7 foot board and even more for a 7 foot board that you can duck dive it will be a very steep learning curve. It won't paddle as well, you will need to line up the waves better and be exactly in the right place as opposed to a much wider tolerance for the 9'2" board. I surfed a 9'6" longboard and went down to a high volume 8 foot board. Most notable to me was it was way harder to lay prone on or to sit on. It felt so unstable I fell off the side of the board several times the first day I tried it and fell or lost the board while sitting on it as well. As far as paddling and catching waves it wasn't too bad except I was so unstable sitting or laying on the board initially. It is now my favorite board but I do have 2 shorter boards a 7'6" and a 7 foot board. I like both of those too but my surf time is limited so I want to catch as many waves as I can and the 8 foot board is much better for that yet still turns pretty good. My boards are custom made for me by a shaper who specializes in old surfers

sdsurfing wrote:I've been looking at something like a firewire dominator but was wondering if it would change everything and make catching waves hard. I'd also like the possibility of duck diving.

I've had a Dominator 6'6, I'm 6' and weighed at that time around 80kg. It's a great paddler for it's lenght, but is aimed at weaker smaller waves. It's relatively easy to duckdive cos most of the volume is back.

I surfed it in Bali and when it's shoulder high +, even in soft waves, the board generates too much lift and gets hard to control, at least with my body weight then. Also it has a very wide tail, that makes it catch weak waves very good, but doesn't work good on better. You'll get catapulted forward, on your belly..

Sure you can ride a 7 footer, you'll need some time to adjust off course. But consider the waves you want to ride, weak and small, a Dom or any other relatively short/wide/thick/low rockered board will do.

If the waves are a bit bigger/better, it's better not to have too much wide in the tail, something like 15.4" (one foot off) seems to work in most shapes. Boardformula.com will give u that info for most boards.

If you're looking in the Firewire range for maximum volume in minimal lenght, the Addvance is great. I've got the 6'6 and love it until little overhead. For bigger maybe look at the SeaAxe, I've not tried it myself but hear good things about it.

Btw. If it is possible to rent boards the size ur interested in, it would be perfect. Sometimes you'll *know* if the board will work after just a few paddle strokes..

I doubt it’s duck diveable, but a Walden mega magic or mini mega would work better for you than a dominator. As old man says, going to 7ft might be a step too far; but 7’6 might be feasible if it’s got enough volume and size. Of course if you can cough up for a Walden you probably can get a custom for a similar price

Got a used 7'6" addvance with almost 70liters.. haven't had a chance to try it out, will update! Surf is only 1-2 ft!

Let us know how it goes - lots of people are interested in the Addvance

The most significant thing IMO about catching waves on a shorter vs. longer surfboard is not that it's harder, but that it's DIFFERENT. It's not just getting better or paddling harder at doing the same takeoff, it's generally speaking a different technique (that also is faster, requires better timing, experience, etc.) Only going down a couple of inches is not that different of course, but going from longboard to midsize, midsize to shortboard requires that sort of change in your approach.

Once I got my head wrapped around that, I really started to enjoy and improve paddling into waves on my shortboard.

Also, I think the shorter the board, the more important it is to have a board that is appropriate for the type of waves you surf. I surf my shortboard at a beach break that is pretty punchy, so anything 2' and up is pretty easy to paddle into on even smaller volume boards (my shortboard is undersized at 30L but that's a different story.) But I'm sure it would be a lot more difficult for me at some of the point breaks here, until I have some more experience.

I am of similar size and weight, and old (53 ). My current main board is a 9 ft longboard with 76l volume, so pretty stable. Previously I had an 8.4 CI Waterhog with 71l that i enjoyed at least as much and had lots of success in wave catching with. This week i tried a 8.0 mid lenght with 67l and although that is not much smaller than the waterhog, i had a very hard time to adapt, same with the 7.6 Addvance a few years back. But then i am only a beginner with no regular practice and max 30 surfing days per year. Anyway, from 9 to 8ft or less definitely makes a big difference with regards to paddling, timing and speed of the popup, and i would try/rent first.