Newbie looking for a second board

[Henx]

Hi all!

Another one of those "looking for new board" threads. I've been reading a lot of threads here it seems like people get really good advice.

I currently ride a 9'4x23x3 McCoy allrounder malibu here on the east coast in sweden.
Surfing here isnt exactly world class. The spot i surf is a really really really rowdy beachbreak where We get knee high super mush to head high super mush.
Somedays we get ankle to knee high peelers at this other spot where the longboard really comes in handy.
But those days are almost as rare as a unicorn

Anyways...i'm 31 years young, weigh about 70kg, 180cm tall, and still very much a beginner. Been surfing for about 6 months consistently. Paddle fitness is improving. but could definitely be a hell of a lot better.
I can take of on not to steep waves with the longboard. I can turn and go frontside/backside. Still struggling a little bit with going backside.
Started to work on the trimming stuff, but i have a long way to go.
If the waves are bigger then approx 4ft i find that i nosedive really easy though.
I guess this has to do more with positioning and a to late take off then the board, but the war zone we call our surf spot is really hard to read where the peak of the wave is gonna be.

I know i should most probably try and stick with the longboard, but i want to start working my way down to a shorter board.

Why do i want a shorter board you ask? Well. Well the spot is all wind swell baby, which turns the longboard into a sail/lethal projectile and i find it incredibly hard to handle it on land and when i try to paddle out. Also it would be nice with a board i can travel with without having to pay a xxxxx ton of money.
i'm not looking to shred and rip on a high performance shortboard. I really like and enjoy the more cruisy, soul surf style. But i would really like something a bit more easy to manage. I guess the end goal is to be able to surf a 7' mini mal or something, really well.

Second hand market is virtually non existing here, and there are zero shapers around. So i'm stuck with what we got here in sweden. Or order stuff from the UK.

I've talked to some people at three different shops in sweden. One suggested to move down to a 8'2 NSP longboard.
One suggested moving down to a 7'6 Torq funboard and one even suggested getting a 5'8 lost bottom feeder (lol right?)

So...would it make sense getting the 8'2? or should i go for the 7'6? volume wise it would make sense with the 8'2 right?
But then again, like anybody else. I'd rather spend the money on something i can progress on for a longer time.
I'll still keep the longboard

Or should i just stop this silliness and stick with the longboard and keep nosediving till it snaps?

Thanks a bunch!

//Henx

[dtc]

If you are comfortable on a longboard, I think you can drop to a 7ft6 board without too many issues - you will probably find that popping up is not a problem, but your positioning for wave catching will need a bit of work (because 7ft6 boards take off from a different spot to a 9ft4 board). Not saying the 8ft2 is a bad option - its probably the better transition option - but if you buy the 8ft2 you will probably find that its not hugely different from your current board. So you may as well keep surfing your current board and then go 7ft6 rather than dropping to an 8ft2 then a 7ft6.

I think you are already aware that you aren't really at a skill level that justifies going shorter. But if you want to go shorter then I would suggest something about 7ft6. Still minimal/funboard shape. The Torq would be perfect.

However, be well aware that you might struggle on the 7ft6 and might realise, after a few surfs, that you need to go back to the longboard for another 6 months. The Torq wont rust in the meantime, it will be there when you are ready for it. Or you may find you can catch enough waves to keep it interesting, even if you aren't catching as many as the longboard or are tiring 45 minutes earlier (although in Sweden presumably its freezing cold?).

The reason you are nose diving on the bigger waves is that bigger waves move faster than smaller waves. This means the water moves up the face of the wave faster (google how water moves over a wave). If you are paddling for a wave at the right speed, the wave hits the tail of the board and keeps pushing it forward. Nose diving occurs because the wave hits the tail of the board and the wave is going much faster than the tail, so it pushes the tail up (think of cars rear ending each other - if they are roughly at the same speed, the front car gets pushed forward. If they are a different speeds, the rear of the front car may get launched into the air). Anyway, the tail gets pushed up and the nose gets pushed down - and you nose dive (it has little to do with the nose itself). So you need to paddle faster on a bigger wave. Keep in mind that a smaller board allows you to turn and get up to speed quicker (just less mass) but...its harder to get up to speed because it doesn't have the volume. So smaller boards can nose dive just as much. You might want to work on your paddle speed/power before transitioning, because there will be the same problems

By the way, the best boards to deal with wind are ones with narrower noses. They slip through the chop easier and the wind doesn't catch the nose as much. The Torq has a slightly narrower nose so will assist in that respect; but there aren't many board around the size you want that will be suitable. For your third board you could look at something with a narrower nose

Finally - I have a McCoy myself (6ft10 Nugget). Can you get a 7ft6 or 7ft9 allround nugget? Will be much more expensive than the Torq I guess, but the volume drop wont be as much. And a narrower nose...

[pmcaero]

My second board was a "big boy shortboard" even though I am not tall or heavy. 7'4", shaped like a shortboard with a swallow tail.
At first it felt small versus my first board, a 7'9" Mini Mal, but I was able to catch waves with it from the very beginning. The rocker and sharp nose also meant that I could make steeper drops with this board.
I'd highly recommend something with rocker and not too long, if you have pearling issues. The extra volume on this board also meant that I could catch the wave earlier and avoid too steep of a drop,

[drowningbitbybit]

Why do i want a shorter board you ask? Well. Well the spot is all wind swell

Shortboards and windswell go together like rock climbing and olive oil.

If you're on weak gutless wave, then the longer the board the better. If you're struggling to handle the sheer size of the board, then you could probably drop a foot or so and still be in the right ballpark, but it sounds more like a lack of skill and experience than anything.

[dtc]

My second board was a "big boy shortboard" even though I am not tall or heavy. 7'4", shaped like a shortboard with a swallow tail.
At first it felt small versus my first board, a 7'9" Mini Mal,,

Although I think a drop from 7ft9 to 7ft4 is a bit different than dropping from 9ft4 to a big boy shortboard.

DBB also raises a good point - if the waves are weak then you need a big board to get the waves.

[jaffa1949]

Be aware to that EPS foam epoxy boards are more likely to be wind effected, not so bad in onshore but strong off shores make them good kites.

Stay long Henx, enables you to glide overflat spot in lumpy conditions, you need to be a lot more capable in surfing and reading waves to ind the power pockets in each lump of swell and get from one to another with a shorter board. Glide makes it easier to maintain momentum between those power pockets and not have drive out of each.

[Big H]

I am a relative beginner, 1 year 9 months in.....my advice....

Early on I was stubborn and went against advice and got a shorter board with a narrower nose because I couldn't ride my longboard in anything above waist high conditions. i couldn't ride the mini mal I got at all (85kg) and had several sessions where I did not catch any waves....went back to the longboard, practiced skills, developed better paddling technique and muscles to support it and endurance to maintain it, and slowly I learned to surf. A local shaper told me I should ride a longboard for the first year....that was pretty much the timeframe it took to get the hang of it....the longboad WILL work in those conditions.....you need to be able to paddle better, faster and read positioning better....practice and more practice but you have the right equipment right now. If you can't ride mush on a big McCoy, you can't ride it on anything.

The other thing is what Jaffa spoke to.....if you surf in windy conditions with choppy seas, an epoxy board will quickly make you hate surfing. You sit too high and get pushed around to much, water slapping the bottom of the board sounds like a boat hull (not a good thing), it's harder to hold your poise when paddling because the light board wants to move around too much under you, the kite thing with off shores, bounce around all over, harder to get into a wave....PU board cuts through the chop better, feels better doing it, esp. if it is a little on the heavy side. Longer boards with a little weight will have more inertia once underway....."glide".....equals smoother ride in chop and some assistance like Jaffa said in getting thru soft and mushy sections provided you had some speed going in. My 2 cents; save up and practice with what you have and get something shorter that you will actually be able to ride 6 months from now.

[Henx]

First of...Wow! Thank you all for taking the time to write some really well thought out advice and share some insights!

Sadly the McCoy i've got is an EPS Epoxy board
I was advised on buying a EPS epoxy board because the shop told me they where more durable than a PU.
Since the spot i ride is beachbreak with only stones/reef with some really shallow parts it made sense.

But i'm totally feeling what Big H and Jaffa describes. The board feels more like a ping pong ball then a surfboard. Both on shore and outside in the water.
The board really wants to move around underneath me, and when i paddle over or punch through the waves, even the slightest lift in the nose will catch the wind
and sometimes pitch me over backwards.

Except for the logistics of transporting and storing or even flying with a 9'4 board, i love the cruisy longboard style. At least to watch it lol
And since the advice from all of you seem to be to stay on the longer side of things, it got me thinking.
Maybe i should get a proper PU longboard around 9'0 or maybe 8'2 then?

[dtc]

Since the spot i ride is beachbreak with only stones/reef with some really shallow parts it made sense.

...
Except for the logistics of transporting and storing or even flying with a 9'4 board, i love the cruisy longboard style. At least to watch it lol
And since the advice from all of you seem to be to stay on the longer side of things, it got me thinking.
Maybe i should get a proper PU longboard around 9'0 or maybe 8'2 then?

The first bit says be careful with PU, the second bit says 'go for it'...

That said, a lot of longboards are heavily glassed eg 2x6oz on the bottom and are pretty tough. You will know how often you hit the rocks where you are - if its fairly rare, then you can put up with it, just learn a bit of surfboard repair (I assume its fairly rare, because otherwise you will be hitting the fins on the bottom a lot).

I'm not sure where you source boards from - I guess the UK. You may actually find that a shaper, rather than an off the rack/store bought board, will be cheaper or no more expensive. The benefit here is you can talk to the shaper and about your conditions and he (or she) can build the board a bit heavier, for example.

Other than making it slightly easier to transport, you probably wont find an 8ft2 is that much different to a 9ft board (slightly different but not hugely). So anything in that range will be fine and if that means an 8ft6 or a 9ft, you shouldn't worry.

[Henx]

Since the spot i ride is beachbreak with only stones/reef with some really shallow parts it made sense.

...
Except for the logistics of transporting and storing or even flying with a 9'4 board, i love the cruisy longboard style. At least to watch it lol
And since the advice from all of you seem to be to stay on the longer side of things, it got me thinking.
Maybe i should get a proper PU longboard around 9'0 or maybe 8'2 then?

The first bit says be careful with PU, the second bit says 'go for it'...

That said, a lot of longboards are heavily glassed eg 2x6oz on the bottom and are pretty tough. You will know how often you hit the rocks where you are - if its fairly rare, then you can put up with it, just learn a bit of surfboard repair (I assume its fairly rare, because otherwise you will be hitting the fins on the bottom a lot).

I'm not sure where you source boards from - I guess the UK. You may actually find that a shaper, rather than an off the rack/store bought board, will be cheaper or no more expensive. The benefit here is you can talk to the shaper and about your conditions and he (or she) can build the board a bit heavier, for example.

Other than making it slightly easier to transport, you probably wont find an 8ft2 is that much different to a 9ft board (slightly different but not hugely). So anything in that range will be fine and if that means an 8ft6 or a 9ft, you shouldn't worry.

Allright, thanks a lot for the advice.
So far i've been managing to not hit the rocks, so hopefully a PU will be OK
From what i've seen most people at the spot ride higher volume/groveler shortboards and they are all pretty dinged up. So eventually it's gonna happen i guess.

We have a couple of shops in sweden. One only stock Lost or Torq boards. And one has a rather good stock, but it's pricey as hell.
I'll look into shapers in the UK!

[Henx]

Also!
Should i stay away from the so called performance longboards? What i've understood is that they're usually more slim than i more traditional longboard, more rocker and fancy bottom contours. Good or bad for a beginner?

One of the shops here stock PU longboards from Modern. Both the Blackbird and the Retro. Are they decent?
Heading over to bali in April. Playing around with the idea to get a board shaped over there. Would that be prefferable then bying "of the shelves" boards like the Modern boards?

Thanks!

//Henx

[dtc]

I've seen the blackbird, it would be fine. Don't know the retro but the website description suggests a good choice as well (personally I prefer the three fin set up of the blackbird not a single fin like the retro, but it's a personal thing that differs from surfer to surfer. The blackbird will allow you the option to play around with fins a bit more)

There are a few posters here living in Bali who can perhaps suggest shapers. It might be cheaper but obviously you have to factor in air transport. You may or may not notice much difference between something like a blackbird and a custom made at your level or for quite a while. Except it can be fun designing your boards paint job.

Performance longboards are, as you say, designed a bit thinner, designed to be easier to turn (which means less stable). But sometimes boards are described as performance when they aren't really, it's just marketing. So you can't really rely on the spiel.

[Big H]

Just a note on longboards and staying away from rocks....

The first month that I started, I got dings in my tail three times in a row after surfing a certain break....I couldn't figure it out; thought I was begin careless handling the board outside of the water until I realised that when I sat on the board and sank the tail I was pinging the tail off the rocks and reef every now and again.

[Big H]

You can get a decent longboard here from local or quasi local shapers/production....doesn't have to be custom, there is stock in stores and you could just walk in and pick one up. I would recommend Luke Studer (you can check the website)....he has good shapes (I have a couple of his boards ATM) and decent glassing and always has some boards in the shop ready to go; prices not bad either (around 8mil RP for 9'ish boards). Other recommendation would be the On Fire longboards shaped by Skye Bourton; stocked in Canggu at a shop called Kartel. Look up Scott Harrison on Facebook; prices are good (6mil Rp new) as the boards are made in Java but with export quality glassing and foam. I have an On Fire shortboard and it has held up well and is a favourite. Again, you can just walk in and he has stock. If you need more info, just send me a message here. Cheers!

[Big H]

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4819946 ... 130975824/
http://www.studersurfboards.com/surfboa ... ng-boards/

[Henx]

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4819946 ... 130975824/
http://www.studersurfboards.com/surfboa ... ng-boards/

Thanks a lot Big H!
I'll definitely look them up Luke Studer seems to be popular. At least when it comes to shortboards