Surfing Waves

I was curious if there were general tips for moving to smaller size boards. I've been surfing a 7'8" rusty all-purpose thruster style board, and I'm happy with the progress that I'm making. I feel pretty confident if the waves are breaking nicely, and I prefer them right around 4ft right now (though its not often @ 4ft, mostly smaller, sometimes bigger). My main reasons for wanting to move to a smaller size is to be able to fit my board inside of a car, and also to be able to duck dive on the better sized days.

I just picked up a Channel Islands K Small fish shaped board, 6'4" wide, for $95. It looks like a really nice board, and reviews said that it has a surprising amount of float. I was hoping it would have quad as an option but its a thruster. I know it will probably take a while to get used to a smaller board, but I was just wondering if there were any tips, besides the obvious tip of getting in the water and spending a lot of time practicing and getting the feel for it. Thanks!

I'm sure there are about a million things, but I'll offer just one tip...

Make sure you're at the front of the board!
Almost everyone when they move down a significant size initially lays too far back on the board, partly due to the fear of pearling on what feels a much less stable board, but mostly just because they're used to a bit of board in front of them. Pick a small day and shuffle further and further forward (arching your back as you catch the wave) until you consistently pearl. Then shift back an inch and now you're in the right spot, which is likely to be much further forward than you thought

dbbb's tip about being more forward is great; if you've been riding a longer board for a while, you'll be more used to seeing a larger section of the board in front of you. On a shortie, this is usually not the case.

I think one of the most difficult things to get used to on a shorter board is paddling, so I'll share some tips with you regarding the subject. To elaborate on dbbb's tip about being more forward, you should lie on your board such that the tip of the nose is just very slightly above the surface of the water. This will ensure you're pushing the least amount of water for no reason, and will maximize your paddling speed.

As far as balancing goes, the board will be more sensitive to front-and-back weight shifts (causing it to feel less stable). However, you can actually use this to your advantage. One big thing is that catching waves will be more difficult on a shorter board. On a longer board, you can just be approximately balanced, paddle hard, and plane across the surface of the wave. On a shorter board, this is not as simple. Namely, when you're paddling for a wave, your board will initially be much more underwater than you're used to. This makes you kinda slow. At this stage, it is very important to adjust your weight from front to back by arching and un-arching your back. Lying more flat (face closer to deck) will push your nose down more; you should try to keep your nose just above the surface of the water just as when you're paddling around normally. You will find that you should be a bit more forward than paddling on flat water. However, lean too far forward and your nose digs underwater, and you know what happens then.

If you paddle hard and maintain correct front-to-back balance, you will feel a point when your board starts to skim above the surface of the water. At this point, take one or two more paddles and then pop up! (Also, be careful not to put too much weight on your back foot after standing up; this will stall you, and you'll be too slow to either do anything, or you'll just pop out the back of the wave. I find it helps to think about shoving the board down with my hands and popping up by putting my legs through the new gap, rather than thinking about pushing up on a surface and kinda jumping and swinging my legs through. What you're trying to do is slide down a hill, not stand on a plank in a field!)

The best tip I have to give is similar to DBB, When you paddle on a shortboard your nose is going to lift out of the water, So... arch your back shift right forward.

When you are not paddling, its ok for your nose to be just under the water, when you start to paddle the nose will lift out of the water, think about how a speed boat works!

Thanks for all the tips, The best chance I have for any waves is this monday, looks like it will be small but powerful 2.5ft waves which might be good for practicing on.

Well I got to pick up my board and test it out...I really like it. I was wondering whether I should have got a high performance fish, but after trying it out I think this will board will be just fine for learning. I've tried a 5'9" fish but that was a little too unstable for me.

First place I went was breaking way bigger than forecasting...probably about 5' and they were throwing quite a lip, so much so that I saw half a dozen people get tubed before Iaven went in the water. I don't do well at all when the waves are throwing a lip like that, so I went to a point break 10 miles away and the waves were small, almost too small, but I was at least glad to see that anything I could catch on my 7'8" board I can also catch on this 6'4" fish (at least in regards to small waves)...and the board feels surprisingly stable, just need some better surf to practice on.

Getting used to waves throwing lips takes some getting used to as they pitch really fast (which means u need to be quick to your feet) but when u land one it feels amazing!

smaller fishes are ment to be really twitchy so you can grovel in smaller waves , I remember having a go on a 5"5 really wide fish back in Hong Kong around 5 months ago, it caught everything and felt amazingly loose under my feet.

Glad to hear you like your new board!

So its been a nice week to practice, mostly 4 ft waves, sometimes bigger, long swell period, at my closest point break. I left all my other boards at home so I would be stuck with my new 6'4 board. On the 2nd day out I managed to catch and ride a good number of waves (only had a few the first day). Definitely need lots more practice with timing when catching waves on a smaller board, I kinda wish I had a gopro to see what I am actually doing when I attempt to catch waves, cause its mostly a mystery to me at this point, sometimes I catch them and have a nice ride, and sometimes I just pearl, possibly because I'm just trying to catch them a little too late. I was experimenting with kicking my feet which may have added to my confusion.

I am actually quite surpised how stable the board feels, it actually doesn't seem any looser under my feet than my 7'8" board. It does turn nice, but I do feel really stable even when turning. It was super crowded but it let me watch other people on shortboards and see the timing of catching waves in action. I feel really good once I'm riding, I just need to get more consistent with my timing and popping up at the right time.

Thanks for all the tips, I was keeping them in mind while I was out there.

One more question. A lot of the waves I caught, I was doing something that many people recommend against. I was paddling with both arms in unison, and I felt more stable that way. Why is this a problem again?