Learning on a Shortboard for a Bodyboarder

[imperio59]

Hi guys!
I'm originally from Guadeloupe in the carribbean, awesome island for surfing with many year-round, warm water spots of all levels!

I used to body board from 13 years old (even younger) until 18 years old when I moved off the island, first to France then the US for 3 years. (I am now 21.)

I was never a "great" body boarder in terms of tricks but I know very well how to catch a wave, read the ocean, I know the local spots, how to avoid the reefs (and surfers' fins ), etc... all on my body board with my fins. I can have fun for a solid 2 hours catching small or big waves no problem.

But I've always wanted to really surf, and I always felt like a second grade citizen of the ocean, but I'm not the slimmest dude around and a body board is easier to naviguate (or so it seems) at around 200 pounds currently. (Back then 240...) Height-wise I'm around 5'11

Anyways, I've been recently doing a lot of fitness, and I have muscle underneath all the fat . I am moving back to Guadeloupe for 2 years (or maybe more) and I want to take up surfing!

I did take a few lessons on what I recall was a longboard when I was around 15, and got to standing up a couple times, but nothing more.

Now I'm gonna be in college locally, with a car, and plenty of free time to go surfing every day if I want to (at least 3-4 times a week consistently.)

I've looked around a lot on this site, forum and other sites and the general opinion seems to be it is harder to learn on a shortboard at first. Now because I will be surfing so much (I already love the ocean and the waves so I know I'll be out there whether on a surfboard or a body board), I want to just go straight for a short board. There are a few local surf shops that rent boards for the day and I will of course try before I buy, but I wanted some opinions.

I understand a lot of the newcomers have to, on top of learning how to stand up, learn how to read waves, how to catch them as far as positionning, etc, etc... But since I already know all this and know the local spots, I feel it won't take me as long to overcome the learning curve on a short board...

What do you all think? Am I going to be regretting it for a while until my skill catches up or is there hope that it won't take me forever to stand up and have fun on a short board?

Also, considering my height/weight (which I am working on reducing in preparation for my move back so I can have fun in the waves from day 1), what size board would you recommend?

Thanks,
Imperio

P.S: If you wanna see a nice documentary on my island, check out http://close2target.tv/ and click on travel docs, and then "Gwada Stylez" on the right. It has a lot in there about various surf spots, most of which I frequent as well

[imperio59]

No body board convertees here? I'm sure there are some out there, even if they won't admit it

[isaluteyou]

i converted from bodyboard to surfing a while back and never looked back since. Bodyboarding gives you good grounding in wave knowledge and handling yourself in the water but beyond that it provides no real advantage. DKING is the closest thing on bodyboard to surfing but i actually found this a hinderence as i constantly wanted to go to one knee on the surfboard it took me about a week or so before i could actually surf a green wave. One of the plusses with bodyboarding as a grounding was that things like duckdiving, reading waves, taking a wipeout, and dealing with crowds was no issue at all.

As far as you jumping right on to a shortboard - because of your weight this would be unwise. if you are stubborn then i suggest looking into a big guy shortboard / hybrid shortboard. Something with lots of volume and width. I weigh 140lb and started surfing on a fun board for a week then i dropped down to a hybrid shortboard for 2 months - then a 6'8 shortboard for 4 months, then a 6'4 that was more preformance orientated. Now i ride anywhere from a 6'0 - 6'2 shortboard all geared up for preformance.

[imperio59]

I was looking at the size charts on this site and I think I will go for a 6'8" board or around there. I'm going to be loosing weight, I already know it (I've already started running 30 minutes a day and plan on increasing that, on top of surfing, my girlfriend will love it ) and I enjoy a challenge. It might take me a bit to stand up but eventually I'll get there, and if I do what I plan right now, which is to go every day for a month before college starts up again for 2-3 hours a day (or more, if my skin can take it - with lots of sunscreen and a rashguard, of course), then I doubt it will take me very long to get the hang of it.

I also did a lot of fencing before (which helps with balance) and I'm sure that'll help. In the end if the board I buy is just too small I can always sell it back and go for bigger, but I don't want to have a 9' granddaddy longboard either and look totally retro :p

Now comes the wait for another week and a half before I go back. Patience is not my strongsuit

EDIT: Can you still do tricks on a 6'8" board? I'm thinking mainly bottom turns, as I doubt I'll be able to tackle much more than that for a while...

[Sillysausage]

you can do 'tricks' on any board but it varies in style for different boards. a bottom turns not really a trick, more a set up for the next maneuver or setting a line etc although are difficult to get steep or vertical from with little practice but you can bottom turn any board. i'd still recommend getting a funboard or something with a fuller nose etc as it's gonna take you a long time to learn if the waves aren't great and you're surfing a small board

[imperio59]

So I assume a 6'8 board is considered small then? I guess I will try out various boards, hopefully I can rent/try out the boards from the shop I'm planning on going to, they do board rental anyways so they might be willing to let me rent some of the second hand boards they are selling, or buy a board they are renting if I fall in love with it!

The waves are usually good from what I remember, it is very rarely flat in every single spot, and I never had a day where I couldn't at least ride SOMETHING at my favorite surf spot. And now I'll have a car and a license, and I won't have to have mommy and daddy drive me around

[scsurf]

I went from bodyboard to a 6'2" thruster. Probably weighed about 160-170lbs back then. It was pretty hard. It took about 3 months 2-3 times a week before I felt like I was actually starting to surf.

Even with your current workout routine, it's likely that it will take a while to build the paddle strength fort a shortboard. I think that a 6'8" is still pushing the envelope for your size. You might want to consider a 6'10" for the first year or so if you're still bent on learning on a shortboard.

I agree with Sillysausage, Fun boards are good to have anyway for small or mushy days and if you start on that, you'll start having fun sooner. Then add shortboards to your collection as your experience level increases.

Looks like a nice location, which ever board, your stoked.

[Sillysausage]

nah a 6'8 is about as big as shortboards get really, i'd say most shortboards are 5'10 to 6'6 and then a few smaller and slightly bigger. although you can buy shorter boards with far more volume than bigger boards, like a 6'0 fish will have a larger volume than a 6'6 shortboard (in most cases) its just the volume in fishes has been constructed to make wave catching easier etc. the main reason for going funboard shape is to help with having more volume in the upper end of the board making paddling easier where on shortboards a lot of the volume isn't really used in the nose.

[imperio59]

I just found out the owners of one of the local surf shops are my parent's neighbors... I definitely won't have much trouble getting help in picking a board now haha!

[scsurf]

Sweet, it can be better to hook up with someone with local knowledge. As long as they're not just about the buck.

[imperio59]

I'm bumping this one up. I went to the first surf store locally today. I asked the vendor what she thought would be good for me to begin with and she said I had to get a 7'10 minimal, new 480€ with leash, bag, wax, fins and grip pad (I forgot to ask the brand...) Seems a bit pricey but with all the extras it might not be that bad...

I talked with her a bit and said I wanted to start off with a bit shorter so it could last me longer than a few months and she said "oh you won't need to change for a WHILE" (thanks, that's encouraging...). I asked her about secondhand and she said they go very fast and they don't have any in the store themselves...
She wouldn't really show me any other boards as her manager said with my weight/size that's what I needed to start off (not very good sales people I say but...)

Anyways, I should be getting my car tomorrow here and then I'll be able to go around the various shops to see. They didn't have THAT many boards either above 7', maybe 3-4...

I'm a bit dissapointed by the store which was supposed to be one of the best ones around. Do you think this vendor was right and I will need a mini mal that big? I'm also afraid it won't fit in my small car, in which case I'll have to put it on the roof I guess?

Let me know what u guys think, I'm still looking around for a few days, I'm gonna go body boarding tomorrow for fun while I shop around for a beginner board, it's all flat till the weekend anyways.

EDIT: For info I'm 5'10 195pounds about.

[IB_Surfer]

I think we all bodyboarded at one point or another. I'm 5'8" 200lbs shortboarder. My smallest shortboard is a 6'2" shortie, but my most confortable length is 6'5". I own a 6'8" shortboard that I use when I feel lazy, super easy to paddle and catch waves, but then again I've been surfing for 12years, 2-3 times a week.

Wave sence is a great asset, but you need to develop your popup, develop the "sweet spot" on your board so you can glide easy, develop your paddling technique, etc...

The normal thing to do is to buy big and buy your way down. The main reason, though, is not for learning purposes, it's for enjoyment purposes. Buying a big board almost guarantees that you will stand up right away, buying a smaller boards means you might get skunked for a while while you get better. Many have learned on a shortboard, I more or less learned on a shortboard, I had an 8ft mal that I snapped after 2 months and then went directly to a 7'4" bigboy shortboard, which I rode for 2 years until I got so good I wanted more performance.

6'8" to 6'10" is a good size if you want to skip the big board phase, I say at least 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 thick, at least 19 3/4 wide. Nice easy stable board for your height/weight.

Finally, you are not the first person learning on a shortboard, nor the last, I say go for it.

[scsurf]

Yep.

[imperio59]

Went to my old spot with my body board... It was supposed to be near flat but I got a few nice 3-4 feet waves so...

Going to go shop around tomorrow for a board and hit a couple more surf shops before I pick the board. Might rent one or two if possible too. I am wanting heavily to buy a 6'8/7'0 board atm though

[IB_Surfer]

7'0 beefy shortboard should be great. Remember to start slow, stay in the shallows and practice your popup before going to the lineup, doesn't help to catch a wave and fall off, learn to stand first. Other than that your bodyboarding knowlege will help you once you can pop up.

[imperio59]

Cool, will do. The girl at the surf shop reccomended some beaches I already knew were kook beaches but she said at this time of the year there's less people there, so I will go there to practice, like the kook I am... Gotta start somewhere

[Sillysausage]

you're a beginner not a kook so no need to worry

[imperio59]

Hehe thanks.
Went to another store just now, it's not a surf shop but a big sports store and they sell boards and some gear (nice bodyboards but I digress... ) They mainly seem to sell BIC boards. There was a 7'3 BIC that looked pretty decent, brand new at a price I can afford, but it's a BIC board so... I'm not sure I wanna buy it. There's still a few more stores to go check out but my car's in the shop today so I'm gonna have to wait another day grrr...
What do you guys think of the BIC boards? yay or nay? Will I resell it easily?

[Unorthodox]

I think any Bic is probably going to have a pretty good resale value, they all seem to sell pretty quickly judging from what I see online. I'm keeping my old Bic though, to teach my friends on when I finally get them out to the beach.

That being said, I wouldn't generally advise buying a Bic. See if you can find a used board that matches up with the specs you are looking for. It may take some time, but it'll probably be worth it.

[imperio59]

Yea I drove all over the island today in search of another shop and one was only open in the morning (d'oh!) and another was closed down since a while so...
I might go back to the first shop and say "sell me a 7'0 board please!" lol!
Hopefully I can go to the morning store tomorrow.