Surfing Waves

Hi all

First of all thanks for all valuable insight your page has given me

im currently on a 6'6 g board soft top and am looking at progressing to a fibreglass board soon.

I am 178cm, 78kg and still a beginner.

i am currently just at the stage of popping up on open face waves and either heading straight to the beach, or if its a nicer ride trying to do a few turns before inevitably riding straight to the beach..

my foamie is 58l or so, it is difficult to sit on in the lineup. Obviously it paddles well and is very stable for pop up.

I just wanted to ask to see if anyone else has moved from a short foam board to something similar (ideally with less volume so i can sit on the thing)

I'm currently thinking of a hybrid style board like a hypto krypto (not that exact board but just that shape) in a 6'6 or 6'4 with around 45 litres volume. also am thinking of a groveller size board like a puddle jumper of sorts.

Thanks for reading and any input is appreciated

Why can’t you sit on the foamie?

I have tried several and decided for mys of in my conditions that grovellor boards aren’t for me. BTW, a hypto krypto is not too far away from a puddle jumper.

I don’t know your age, surfing frequency, wave type and size, actual ability.....in short really don’t have much to base a decision for you on. As big as you are, if you really are a beginner, I would recommend going UP in size to a mini mal in the 7’ something range and ride that for a year or two.

I went from a foamie to a 8ft mini mal. Have just got a 9’2 mal and love it. Easy to paddle and get waves.

Big H wrote:Why can’t you sit on the foamie?

due to such high volume (58L) packed into a short package (6'6) The board is 3 1/4 thick.
its too buoyant. (board tries to shoot away also)

Not that its a big issue at all. just FYI

Big H wrote:I have tried several and decided for mys of in my conditions that grovellor boards aren’t for me. BTW, a hypto krypto is not too far away from a puddle jumper.

I don’t know your age, surfing frequency, wave type and size, actual ability.....in short really don’t have much to base a decision for you on. As big as you are, if you really are a beginner, I would recommend going UP in size to a mini mal in the 7’ something range and ride that for a year or two.

Thanks for your input.
I am 27, surf once a week (on holidays much more than that) and surf quality is good. I live near bells beach, victoria
I am not opposed to going up in size but just thought it made sense to stay around the 6'6 range... happy to take any suggestions though

I have heard that grovellers arent for everyone too. I'd love a puddle jumper but I think i'm just falling into a marketing ploy from ...Lost

Cheers

Why would you love a puddle jumper?

kook_lover wrote: I'd love a puddle jumper but I think i'm just falling into a marketing ploy from ...Lost

because they look like a cool, fun board.... they are marketed well in AUS and you see a lot of them getting around.

Oggy wrote:I went from a foamie to a 8ft mini mal. Have just got a 9’2 mal and love it. Easy to paddle and get waves.

did you ride a shorter foamie (6 foot or so) or go from a bigger foamie to a mal?

Either way a longer board isnt something i am opposed to at all

CHeers

You need to get a less buoyant board because you can't sit on your current one? That's a new one.

Unless your current board is 10" wide so it's like trying to sit on a rolling log, I'm afraid you are talking nonsense. The reason you can't sit on it is because you don't have enough skill yet. Most new surfers spend a little while falling off whilst trying to sit on their boards.

Also, if most of your rides are ridden straightline to the beach, a lower volume board will just reduce the amount you learn, and the amount of fun you have.

kook_lover wrote:

Oggy wrote:I went from a foamie to a 8ft mini mal. Have just got a 9’2 mal and love it. Easy to paddle and get waves.

did you ride a shorter foamie (6 foot or so) or go from a bigger foamie to a mal?

Either way a longer board isnt something i am opposed to at all

CHeers

I used varying size foamies depending on availability when I had lessons. Varied from 9-7ft. First board I bought was the 8ft mini mal and now a mal. I really like both boards but only take the mal out now. Gives me the best chance at getting waves.
Plenty of people where I surf who absolutely rip on 9ft and bigger boards.

Lebowski wrote:You need to get a less buoyant board because you can't sit on your current one? That's a new one.

Not a new one at all mate. Plenty of children have this problem. I find this confusing how two people have commented on this....Its a minor issue.

Please, back on the topic. I am open to any advice.

Oggy wrote:
I used varying size foamies depending on availability when I had lessons. Varied from 9-7ft. First board I bought was the 8ft mini mal and now a mal. I really like both boards but only take the mal out now. Gives me the best chance at getting waves.
Plenty of people where I surf who absolutely rip on 9ft and bigger boards.

Thanks Oggy,

I am sure plenty of people rip on bigger boards. I will look into a smaller mal (8ft) board second hand and see how much they are going for!

Cheers mate

kook_lover wrote:

Lebowski wrote:You need to get a less buoyant board because you can't sit on your current one? That's a new one.

Not a new one at all mate. Plenty of children have this problem. I find this confusing how two people have commented on this....Its a minor issue.

Please, back on the topic. I am open to any advice.

It's sort of a new reason considering the most common excuse beginners give for wanting to have less volume is so they can duck dive. Lebowski is being relevant here. Beginners have trouble sitting on a surfboard if it's unstable. Anyway, 8' mini mal tends to have about 55-60L of volume so it'd be a decent size. Having more surface area is easier for learning. Volume isn't the only thing that affects how a surfboard rides but rather a overall combination of other dimensions, shapes, and detailed designs features.

saltydog wrote:

kook_lover wrote:

Lebowski wrote:You need to get a less buoyant board because you can't sit on your current one? That's a new one.

Not a new one at all mate. Plenty of children have this problem. I find this confusing how two people have commented on this....Its a minor issue.

Please, back on the topic. I am open to any advice.

It's sort of a new reason considering the most common excuse beginners give for wanting to have less volume is so they can duck dive. Lebowski is being relevant here. Beginners have trouble sitting on a surfboard if it's unstable. Anyway, 8' mini mal tends to have about 55-60L of volume so it'd be a decent size. Having more surface area is easier for learning. Volume isn't the only thing that affects how a surfboard rides but rather a overall combination of other dimensions, shapes, and detailed designs features.

Ah i see where you are coming from. Sorry i took 'thats a new one' as tongue in cheek..

I understand what you mean about boards being unstable too. Of course this is not the case but rather about displacement of water in such a short and fat size. Its painfully stable 60l spread over 8-9ft is very different to 6'6.

I am very open to a mal and am planning on borrowing one this weekend. Thanks for your input regardless. I am learning more about rocker and other key characteristics of surfboards. I just borrowed out a book from uni library about this currently!

Lebowski wrote:
Unless your current board is 10" wide so it's like trying to sit on a rolling log, I'm afraid you are talking nonsense. The reason you can't sit on it is because you don't have enough skill yet.

I am less than a month away from my completing my Mphys. I can explain to you politely why this is not the case, but I will just ignore your opinion.

I do agree with your statement on volume and catching waves and inevitably having a good time.

So far on this post i have two recommendations for longboards (which is totally fine) and I do respect this may be a good transition to fibreglass.

Does anyone else have any suggestions for a smaller size board at all? Mid length, oversized fish, 7'6 fun board, 6'6 fatty?

Thank you again,

I don't have any recommendations but I am also perplexed by this post. You are still riding waves straight in and think you need another board? Can't sit on it and blaming the board? Why do you find it difficult to sit on? It sounds like you aren't even past the point where anyone would have trouble sitting on any board. You are just a beginner and sitting on a board is a skill that you need to learn and you have chosen to sit on a very short board for a beginner and they are more difficult to sit on. If the board is working ok other than sitting on it just persist and you will learn to sit on it. Once you can ride waves down the line and do a bunch of turns then it's time for another board. No point in changing now unless there is something you aren't telling us.

oldmansurfer wrote:I don't have any recommendations but I am also perplexed by this post. You are still riding waves straight in and think you need another board? Can't sit on it and blaming the board? Why do you find it difficult to sit on?

Hi, Thanks for replying.

First of all, I should have noted that my foamie is deteriorating rapidly and i am unsure how long it will hold up. It has been great to learn on, and I'm kind of proud I learnt on a short board. I guess that's the only downside with foamies whilst you are learning and being rather clumsy.

In regards to the text i have quoted. I am not blaming my board at all, its a joy to ride. The fact that a group of adults (apparently) on the internet can't understand why an approx. 75kg man cannot sit 'up right' on a 60l shortboard is the perplexing issue.

I can comfortably sit on an old 7'0 indo gun board that is around 38l, but then again I couldn't catch a single wave on the thing!

So what you don't seem to understand is sitting on a board is a relatively easy skill to master. You can learn that one just with more time. I would go for a fiberglass board about the same size as the one you are on (Volume wise, length wise etc.) It will likely be slightly more difficult to catch waves with but you can overcome that with gaining some paddling and positioning skill and paddling strength and endurance (it will still be a problem sitting on it but you can learn that with time). If you feel you can't build paddling strength due to not enough time in the water then a bigger board would be better

kook_lover wrote:[
In regards to the text i have quoted. I am not blaming my board at all, its a joy to ride. The fact that a group of adults (apparently) on the internet can't understand why an approx. 75kg man cannot sit 'up right' on a 60l shortboard is the perplexing issue.

I think you are mixing up (or not properly articulating the relationship between) volume and surface area, notwithstanding your MPhys. Its not the volume itself that creates instability, its the surface area. SUPs have a huge amount of volume and are very stable - because of the surface area.

I guess that, past a certain point of volume, a board will become less stable for a given size (ie past that point, increasing volume will decrease stability), but I dont think 58L at 6'6 has reached that point, given your weight, and I suspect most of the people causing your perplexity also dont think it has reached that point. You obviously disagree

In any case, no longer relevant: like most beginners you will realise at some stage that going longer and wider, with an outline that assists stability (eg rounded nose, parallel rails) will work best. That means a funboard or long board. The realisation may happen before you are tempted to buy a shortboard or after you buy a shortboard and end up buying a second, longer board.

The first board you buy wont be the last board you buy; it might only be a board that you use for 6 or 12 months. But there is no reason at all to make your learning harder than it already is - if it takes (say) 9 months to get to a certain level of skill on an 8ft board, it might take you 12- 18 months on a 6'6 board. You can usually sell your second hand board pretty easily, so the financial effects arent particularly great (I just sold a board I bought 6 years ago for the same price as I bought it)

Pretty much everyone has suggested the same thing; I'm not sure if you are after someone to say something different. If you want to stay on a 6'6 then by all means go and find one. However, dont think that volume is the be all and end all of board measurements; its just one of about 10 measurements. In other words, a beginner is much better off (in my opinion) on a 7ft6 board at 45L than a 6'6 board at 45L. And even better on a 7'6board at 52 or 55L