From soft top to shortboard

[StaticAbuse]

So i'm 5'10" 140 pounds, and very fit. I've been surfing a 7 foot soft top for about a month and i can catch waves head on no problem and standing up isnt an issue anymore. I got a 5'9" rusty dwart from a friend for dirt cheap but i'm having trouble gettin into the waves, and standing up is a whole new game. Am i making the transition to quick?

(I surf in northern Florida, the waves are pretty shitty rightnow but i'm having trouble even catching those)

[drowningbitbybit]

[StaticAbuse]

Jee thanks. Very helpful

[waikikikichan]

I guess your question has been coming up a lot. Over and over. There's a similar question on another post today.
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=24700 . Question, did you read through the other post about beginner boards and shortboards, BEFORE asking your question ? But to answer, Yes you're making the transition too quick. You went from the Bunny hill to the Black diamond run. You asking what camber/caster you should set your suspension alignment or how much pounds of boost you should set the blow-off valve to be at when you just learned how to drive. You board is 5'9" , you are 5'10". Beginners should go around 3 feet over there head while learning. 2 feet over 2nd -3rd board. 1 feet over when they got down the front side and basics. A board less than your height is just way too difficult. But everyone got different skills and grit. Better a board than no board.

[oldmansurfer]

In other words yes you are going too short too fast. But hang onto the board for later. Theoretically if you are fit and a good learner you can use that board without getting another but most people will become discouraged before they accomplish learning on a drastically shorter board. I guess too that perhaps learning to surf on a board too short may teach you some bad habits but anyway you approach it shorter boards are more difficult to learn to use.

[StaticAbuse]

Thanks, and sorry, I'm sure its the most annoying question when your advanced- seems trivial and stupid I completely understand.

Heres my problem though. I have a;

7' 0" soft top

6' 6" wisnant (because people told me I need something long.. but floats like crap)

5'9" rusty dward (guys at realwatersports told me It would be the best choice for a beginner floats great, very boyant, but still have trouble catching waves)

The soft top is too easy, I'm getting bored with it.
The 6' 6" is about as boyant as a bag of rocks so i feel like i'm sinking when i'm on it.
but the 5' 9" dwart seems to short at this stage in my surfing.

Should I just tough it out and learn on the boards I have or would it really be worth it to drop some cash on a transition board?

[oldmansurfer]

The real thing is there are numerous threads allready about this very topic. But don't worry about it. The question is which boards can you catch waves with? I would use the shortest board that you can catch waves with regularly. I also would like to know what it means that you can catch waves head on no problem? Does that mean whitewater or unbroken waves?

[jaffa1949]

You have been sold a pup for your level of surfing evolution as all the previous replies suggest.
have a read of this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=20&p=181714#p181714
The head banging is that so many beginners are sold inappropriate short boards "because they surf better" and sadly you are just another that has been duped.

[dtc]

The head banging is that so many beginners are sold inappropriate short boards "because they surf better" and sadly you are just another that has been duped.

Yeah, I don't think it was aimed at you but at the surfer shop. The problem is that experienced surfers think a wide long board is 6ft and 20 inches; for a beginner surfer a wide long board is 7ft+ and 21.5 inches. At least.

Also, softops are not 'real' boards ie they handle and float very differently, so you cant just say '7ft softtop = 7ft hard board' and then decrease in size.

What you really need is a 7+ft fun board. 7ft (longer the better) 21.5 inches wide, 2 5.8 thick. Surf that for a year. It will float, you can turn it (or, if you cant, that's your fault not the boards), you can do cut backs and everything else. But, most importantly, you can catch waves with it. No waves, no surfing, no skill.

A 5ft anything board is not suited to your waves either, unless you already know how to surf.

Go bigger, longer. A short board does not make surfing easier; the rider makes the surfing easier. You don't become Tom Brady by wearing the same shoes as he does.

[jaffa1949]

Who is Tom Brady

[Lebowski]

The soft top is too easy, I'm getting bored with it.

I don't really get this. I've never ridden a board and thought "Hmmm, I'm catching too many waves on this, better make things more difficult". Catching a wave, standing up and going straight does not mean that you've mastered that board. If you're catching every wave on the soft board, learn to do turns, cutbacks and pump up and down the wave for speed. Try and make every ride as long as possible and develop your skills.

You can have incredible fun on a foamy. I've taken them out in all kinds of conditions and always had fun.

[StaticAbuse]

What you really need is a 7+ft fun board. 7ft (longer the better) 21.5 inches wide, 2 5.8 thick. Surf that for a year. It will float, you can turn it (or, if you cant, that's your fault not the boards), you can do cut backs and everything else. But, most importantly, you can catch waves with it. No waves, no surfing, no skill.

A 5ft anything board is not suited to your waves either, unless you already know how to surf.

Go bigger, longer. A short board does not make surfing easier; the rider makes the surfing easier. You don't become Tom Brady by wearing the same shoes as he does.

Maybe I'll try that, at least with everything I have now i'm pretty much set for life..

Thanks for all the replies and sorry again for adding to the surplus of annoying broken record posts, I do appreciate the information though. I'm just going to mess around with everything and try n' have fun rather than try to master something i'm not ready for.

[Tudeo]

Keep us posted!
Most important: have fun!

[jaffa1949]

Echoes that! It is entirely about having fun,

[StaticAbuse]

Hey guys so I'm on a budget and i've been scouring craigslist and my local shops and this is really the only board in my budget it's a little less than 7' but it's close. would this one be acceptable to transition from my softtop?
http://daytona.craigslist.org/spo/5062450136.html

[yumyumyellow]

That board is not worth $400. You can get a brand new board from Surf Station in St Augustine (their brand) for $400 or a brand new board from one of NE FL's great local shapers for not much more. Additionally, we don't know the other dims other than that it's a 6'6" with a pin tail. A pin tailed short board isn't likely to be super wide or thick. Keep an eye on Craigslist, but keep in mind most boards on there for our area are overpriced, under volumed, sun burnt pieces of garbage. You can score if you know what you're looking for and keep an eye out, though.

My first board was a 7' x 23 x 3 1/4" epoxy thruster from Surf Station. I'm 5'9" and 150 lbs for reference. I don't believe it held me back one bit...not even a little. BUT that thing had massive amounts of volume. It was a boat, but I needed a boat. I now mostly ride a 6'8" x 22 x 2 3/4 single fin egg from a local shaper but also have a longboard. Going from the 7' to the 6'8" was a massive change. Not in catching waves, but in actually SURFING the wave with way less volume under my feet. People always forget that part, catching a wave on a smaller board isn't that hard. SURFING on a smaller board is what's hard. You have to REALLY know how to surf and milk a wave to ride a 5'9" especially in our area.

That being said, keep an eye on craiglist but be skeptical and if you see something ask LOTS of questions. Inspect it thoroughly if you look at it. Lots of crap on there. If you have $400-500 to spend, look at Surf Stations brand of boards, or talk to one of our great shapers (Mystic, Miller, Clean Ocean, etc).

[oldmansurfer]

I spent $500 for a custom made board recently so that might be another option.

[yumyumyellow]

I spent $500 for a custom made board recently so that might be another option.

Yep. You can get a custom around here for $400 +/-. No reason to buy some used craigslist board for the same price, that isn't as good.