Surfing Waves

Hi All,

This is my first post so, Hi to everyone I live in Cornwall and have been out about 6 or 7 times on my 7' 6'' X 21 5/8'' X 2 1/2'' mini mal.

I can pop up ok, can stand (apart from the odd retarded moment) on most of the waves i have been out on (around 2-3ft). The one thing i am struggling with is going across the wave...At the moment i am the stereotypical kook that rides the wave straight towards the beach lol

I am 22 years old and 5'8 tall (or short), 10 1/2 stone (67 kg).

I'm starting to look at the other boards in the water and want to be able to move up to something more elegant than my water bound tank Not to mention my inability to make my board sink enough to perform a duck dive!

I'm looking for advice on when the best time is to move to a second board. When I'm ready, i would like to move upto maybe a 6'6 shortboard or fish. Would this be a good size for a progressional board? if so, would anyone recommend epoxy over fibreglass and what width and thickness would you recommend?

Cheers guys,

that sounds like a good board to move onto. id go with about 2 1/2" thick.

however id wait until you can comfortably bottom turn and ride the line

wouldnt advice even be considering a board change until you can confidently ride the face. Thats my advice anyway

^ agreed....figure out how to ride before you start gettin' fancy with boards.

Unless u want to add a longboard to your quiver....this will let u surf on small days, and will make u a more well rounded surfer.


keep the stoke!

yeh i agree too i think i move off a minmal just a fraction too early and i could comfterbly ride the face

ok, thanks guys for the advice guys

When the time comes....fish or shortie? i like window shopping months in advance! lol

id say shorty but with full rails and less rocker than a real performance shape. this way it will be a bit easier to paddle and catch waves but still surf like a shorty.

Fish are very loose. which is great once you know how to surf a shortboard confidently but isnt great for learning on as to a newer surfer loose just means wobbly.

I feel a performance fish is the awnser. (Basically a thick, wide shortboard with a semi-swallow/baby swallow tail. It turns and feels like a shortboard, exept that it has more stability and paddling ability.) Wait till you can ride the face every time you take off and become fitter. I'd say in good conditions it should take you atleast a month or so, in the UK though, I feel you should stick with the minimal for atleast half a year or more, since there isn't many good days out there, and you will want to make the most of whatever you can get, and catch every wave that comes through, since I hear it is also pretty crowded out there. Surfing is all about having fun. If anything I'd say a 6'8" will be the best choice in a month or two, unless the 6'6" is 20" wide and 2 3/4" thick, since that will give you a lot more paddling ability. I have toi admit, you might find it easier to catch waves with a shortboard (Beleave it or not, I catch more waves with my 6'1" than on my 6'6" or my 7'2".), since the drop will be easier to make, but you will have to sit WAY closer to the peak and paddle harder, which can be scary at times, but it is a good habit to have. Considering all the facts, the best option is to stick with a nice big board, and maby after a while get a little shorter board. Unless you want to turn a lot on the wave, a shorter board will only hinder you.

please don't give advice when your not qualified faf it makes you sound like your full of it. id reckomend a wide 6'6" about 19 1/2 inch but make sure it is a shaped like a short board because i am told a fish is too loose for your level, i moved from hireing mini-mals to a board like this and with a small amount of work considering i only get to surf about once a fortnite so you should be fine on it plus your about the same hight as me and lighter

cheers for the advice again guys Whats the deal with Faf, whys eveyone got a downer on him? Fill me in with the details lol!

cos he talks a lot of sh@t and he donst know what he's talking about so dont listen to his advice, that dosnt mean you should necsserly listen to me unless im consistant with what others say

faf knows nothing about surfing. a while back he advised a begginner to surf with their leash loose on their leg so they could "slip out of it" if caugh on a rock. he seems to think he can give advice on new boards when by all accounts he is riding a battered old gun. although he now seems to have a 6'1 and a 6'6 as well. within his first few months of surfing he claimed to have been riding waves of 16ft and bigger and getting barrelled. just search his old posts and you'll see.

Fish are not more stable than shortboards. i can tell you this because ive just got one. i stand by my original opinionof a thick shortboard.

listen to surferdude he knows what he's on about

stick with the mal until your riding the face on at least 70 % of the waves your going for,whats the rush youll only look worse splashing around on a board thats to short for you... just enjoy fleshin' what everybody else is riding

Heres adivice I got when getting my first board, they said that the mini-mal has more stability and is easier to learn on (u can catch more waves). But if your more experience, in your case a year and a half, then you could move onto a shortboard made for larger people. That will some of the stability and make it easier to turn, but harder to catch waves.

Surf shop's adivice!

I echo the thick shortboard. In the states, sometimes they're call a hybrid.

I have a Lost 6-8 that's 2 3/4" and I think 21" wide. Swallowtail. Great stability, but also quite manuverable.

But stick with the funboard you have until you're always getting up and begin to get the hang of moving it up and down the face.

thanks for the advice again guys, top stuff