The perfect small/mushy surfboard

[Mat6920]

Hey,

Looking at getting a board only for small mushy/windy days 1 to 2 foot, you know the kind of days where there isn't much section and a lot of white water ! i currently ride the rocket v3 in 6'1 35L ( i m 184 lbs, 6'11 ), i know there is volume you d say underneath this board but still need a bit of ''size'' to perform well.

Any advise on design / model ? retro fish ? fire potato type of board ? what volume/size should i go for ? Let me know what you guys have for those days

Thanks !
Mat

[jaffa1949]

For very small mushy days with lots of wind!!!
A mug of coffee and if after midday maybe a pint of approximately .5 of a litre in volume.
More than that the wind gets worse. I find something else to do..... stuff with my wife and girlfriend really helps when the surf is up.
but since you are 10" taller than your 6' 1" surf board, and assuming you are skilled on your current lost rocket why not add an inch or six in length and a maybe one in width and bump the thickness. If you can go rail to rail for drive, think fish and whack around the short sections.
If you are not a skilled surfer then length is your friend and glide under to join sections and be roller coastery with them.
But like I said mushy I tend to find things to do that allow me time when quality surf is around.

[Namu]

Longboard!

[Mat6920]

problem with longboard is manoeuvres, I like ''punchy'' type of surf, not the cruising type and unfortunately on a longboard in very small wave there s not much you can do except letting the waves taking you along the wave.

[Big H]

Honestly, small mushy days with a lot of wind I'm with Unc Jaffa....

Punchy is different from mushy....I got a board that I can ride in the conditions that you describe....it's a heavy balsa longboard that cuts through wind chop, holds speed well once underway and makes the crap conditions you describe somewhat fun and rideable. I like the drive and momentum which helps me blast through flat sections and onshore whitewater patches.

If you're torn between mushy and the punchy, hybrid shortboards like your current rocket are designed to do well in those conditions....I'm also with Jaffa on that if you like your rocket and can surf it well in cleaner or bigger conditions, look for a similar shape a little longer/wider/thicker or all three. The hypto krypto shape is supposed to do well with mush and more lively surf due to the fishy nose and pulled in tail. If you believe the advertising it is supposed to do just about everything but surf itself, but to it's credit there are lots who love it.

I had a dominator that worked in the mush like you described....at 92kg I needed 50L that the 6'8" had to make it work in knee to waist high onshore, short period waves. Rode like a mini mal and since I have a mini mal I like better than that board (it is more versatile, able to handle a larger variety of waves, gets in a bit earlier, is only 4" longer, feels equally as manoeuvrable and my kids like to use it and the tail is not so wide, can ride with more control)....so I got rid of the dominator. Also had a Lost RV 6' for a week that had something like 42L of float....hated that board from the first wave I took....wide tail did not feel good at all in the fast jacking waves here, even at small size (was a 1-2 ft day but relatively clean). My experience is that wide tails in surf around here means getting slingshoted into the wave with less control than if the tail was more pulled in....also means that you'll get thrown out in front of the wave really quick once you're up and riding....harder than other boards to throttle back. Maybe under the feet of someone that is good it would be a different story, but FWIW there aren't a lot of groveller boards in the lineups around here that I've seen, especially under the feet of good surfers.....maybe they are just parked under the butts of the floaters who don't take any waves.

[Big H]

I went out this afternoon....conditions were about like you described...waist to shoulder high, onshore winds @ 10-12kph, weak swell, relative short period with a sneaker set rolling through every 4-5 sets of head high but raggedy waves. Because of the wind the break was not that crowded, everyone chasing the offshores on the east or just not surfing because the swell was so small..... the group at the main peak was only 10-12 people. There was one guy on a foamie longboard, one mini mal, me on my woodie, and the rest on shortboards of various types. One of the local ripper instructors came out on a foamie with no leash and caught a few no paddle waves, corking into them....wave shape was good and it was easy to catch waves, the onshore wind toppling the waves so that they were not hollow as they normally are at that spot.....waves at that break line up and break on the reef so get your lineups and the spots to catch are extremely predictable.

That being said.....being a consumate beginner-intermediate lineup, the first thing they would all do is paddle to the spot that the last person to catch a wave was, then clumsily jockey for position, one by one sneaking around each other steadily deeper into the wave, irrespective of the sections....because of that they were all constantly too deep in the wave and would take off and the wave would immediately section on them and they'd either bail or ride straight. Amusing to watch....backbiters getting what they deserve. Anyway, most of them could barely/rarely catch a wave so it was moot anyway....they'd paddle like crazy but be too far outside, off the peak, too far inside, just not paddle or time their paddle well.


One of the group had a potatonator.....firewire grovelly kind of board....a couple of others had similar looking fat/wide/short shortboards....none of them could surf them at all unless you count not being able to read the wave at all (foam even floating in the water for 2-3min showing where the wave was breaking and they'd paddle somewhere else trying to outfox each other) and due in part to that inability were getting 3 second rides or riding straight until they bogged out and the foam ball would come and roll them up. The wave really didn't have much guts at all....a really good surfer could have worked it I guess....me and the little ripper were breaking off 200m rides and having a great time. I was also catching a solid 30m outside of where they were since I could get on at a shallow spot that would wall up the wave enough to get on with a longboard, but holds off on breaking for another 30m....my rides were longer due in part to that as well. I saw Mr. Potatonator mostly floating, and every now and then catching a wave and promptly bogging out. Couldn't help but think he'd have better luck in the conditions of the day along with the rest if they had different boards.

Maybe they could surf better if conditions were cleaner, waves bigger/more powerful. The boards they were on were not doing them any favours.

Take what you will from the story.

[Mat6920]

Hey Big H,

Very interesting story, especially the mr potato firewire one struggling when i thought that could be this type of board i could need, i m starting to consider having a small fish foamy board for those crapy day where i still want to get out there and try to have a bit of fun, needs a lot of technique though to turn those (which i dont really have now haha). I tried to attach a photo of the exact type of day i m talking about (yesterday) but can t seem to be able to attach a photo here.

/Users/mathieurevel/Desktop/Screen Shot 2017-04-05 at 5.30.09 PM.png

[Mat6920]

that s for this type of wave i was talking about (yesterday in Manly, OZ)

[Big H]

You'd have to be a ripper to make a fish or groveller work in that. We call that flat here.

[Oldie]

There are people who can surf short boards in the smallest stuff. But this one i.e. is a professional

For me as a beginner; i would need a big longboard.

[oldmansurfer]

Mat6920, that looks like the kind of waves I surf frequently. I am 6'2" and 210 pounds (and 63 years old). I currently use 2 boards one is an 8' X 23" x 3.75" funboard (it's in my profile picture) with a pointy nose and a round pin tail and plenty of rocker in both the nose and the tail. The other is 7'6" x 24" x 4" with a pointy nose and a round tail and little rocker in the nose and none in the tail. Both of them work for me in small mushy surf. Overall the 7'6" board works better in small mushy surf but it also works better in small steep surf. I had both boards custom made for me. I like the 8 foot board when there are fewer waves or it is less consistent because it has a wider takeoff zone than the 7'6" board so I can be more out of the ideal position to catch a wave and still catch it. I don't know how much volume but it is way more than your board. The eight foot board keeps going through flat sections better but the shorter board does ok because it's flat like a board. The shorter board has a slight V tail just a few millimeters (metric maybe a eight of an inch). The shaper I use makes great old man surfboards. You might take this opportunity to meet a local shaper and get them to make a board for you. I imagine you won't need the volume I have but more than your other board would help as would just length without added volume. I understand not wanting to ride a board that mostly just trims along or you have to exert a lot of effort to change the direction. I used to surf before on a shortboard which was longer than your shortboard but that was what they called a shortboard back then. I quit surfing for 12 years and restarted and when I did it was on a longboard. For a while that was fine but as I got better I began to feel the weight of the board as I did carving turns. I have heard this described as the baseball bat effect. When you turn it's like swinging a big bat. You have most of the board out of the water and then you swing it around to the other direction. That is when I got my 8 foot board. I haven't ever gotten that baseball bat feeling yet even with the 8 foot board but I only surf an hour a week. You are used to a 6'1" board so it may take some getting used to on a longer board . I don't really know how much more volume you need. Volume is something I don't ever think about, I let my shaper worry about it. I can't duck dive any of my boards but I do a partial duck dive.

[oldmansurfer]

My shaper is going to make a me another board.....a 7 foot board which will probably involve it being wide in the nose and tail and middle maybe like a minimal? (and extra thick too) I don't know he will let me know what he is planing soon. Something different.

[waikikikichan]

Mat6920 - you asked for recommendations on "the PERFECT small/mushy surfboard". Looking at your question, there is none. Most of the time as surfers, we as human aren't perfect. The waves and nature are ever changing and not perfect ( thus the mushy small blown out days ). Usually we are just dealing with wave, we can't control it, just do our best to work with it.
In the photos you provided, i don't see anyone one out. There's just nothing to ride, let alone surf. You can't fly a kite with no wind. You can't catch fish if the pool ain't filled with them, no matter what fishing pole you buy. In another post you asked about Twin-fin fishes. They like to be ridden from rail to rail and draw a different line on the face. But there is no face to ride on the photos. "Riding" in the soup is just trying to stay up right, not true surfing.
Don't ask for the LIFE to be easier, but ask to be stronger to handle what the world throws at you. Stop looking for the perfect board, but look at the man in the mirror, and how YOU can be a better surfer. ( not get a better board ). Good surfers can ride anything,......... if there's something TO ride. Learn the wave and the ocean first. ( then maybe you realize why no one is out that day )

[jaffa1949]

that s for this type of wave i was talking about (yesterday in Manly, OZ)

Like I said coffee or beer and Manly in an easterly wind, cafe time only.

[Big H]

There are people who can surf short boards in the smallest stuff. But this one i.e. is a professional

DSCF7558.jpg

For me as a beginner; i would need a big longboard.

Clean wave with a face on it, even small like that is different than those crumblers that were in the Manly pic.

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah boards are like an instrument, you need to learn how to play them and each one is different. You may try a board out and not like it initially but if you persist to use it you figure out you need to lay an inch or two more forward on the board or stand more back or do something different to turn the board or catch different waves or takeoff deeper in the lineup. If you work at it you probably can increase your skill in those kind of waves with the board you have. But certainly there are boards that will be easier to use in particular waves. I think learning to use one board in as many different conditions as you can will give you skills that you can apply to other boards. I have reflexive skills that are board related. If I switch boards then I have to surf the other board a bit to get to where I have reflexive skills that are meaningful for that board. I think for surfers wanting to improve their surfing skill they should stick with one board 90% of the time at least so they develop those reflexes. It's just my opinion and if you are happy with your level of surfing then no need to worry about improving it.

[Big H]

Surf report was favourable, so I packed the car this morning and when I got to the beach this afternoon I found.....small soft conditions. I wouldn't ride the board I brought normally in such conditions, too small and soft, but since that's all I brought and In the spirit of this thread, I gave it a go.

It was a struggle, late takeoffs and short rides......one of the regulars cruised past me on his 8 1/2' mal he always uses on small soft days (he's a beach boy, probably about 65kg and surfs daily) after a set on the paddle back to the lineup and asked me with a puzzled look "where's your big board? You need that!"

He was right.