Learning to surf. Have I bought the correct surfboard?

[Mikeysurfer]

Hey guys, so I’m new to surfing and have just come back from a weekend away learning to surf. I have been able to stand up on breaking waves and keep my balance on an 8foot foamie consistently. I have been told to get a minimal 7ft 6 by numerous people but these have been pretty hard to come by so have bought a Nigel semmens 7ft 2 board. It’s approx 35l litres, 19.75 wide and 2.625 thick. I am 5’11 and 160lbs. After a good weekend surfing on a foamie I took my own board out and struggled really bad. I kept sinking pretty much, caught very few waves and felt unsteady on it, which was surprising as my balance was overall good before hand. I’m just hoping I haven’t bought the wrong board. The guy i bought off said it was like a minimal and rode a minimal and he learnt on it and is a similar height and weight me. but is shaped and feels to an extent like a pipeline board, but technically not a minimal. I was wondering if any of you guys could help me out in figuring out what board it is and whether it is right for me. I’ll post a pic below. Cheers

[dtc]

There are several reasons why your new board is much harder than your old board. Its only 19 3/4 wide; the foamie is probably 22 or 23 wide. That extra width makes a huge different to stability. The new board has a narrow pointed nose, your foamie will have had a rounded nose. The outline of your new board is rounded/curved, the foamie will have had straight/parallel rails for most of its length. All of those make the new board much less stable.

The new board has a fair bit of nose rocker (the curve up at the front). The foamie will have had minimal curve. That makes the board harder to paddle, which means your paddling will be slower and therefore catching waves is harder (and its more tiring)

Your new board is thinner and much much less volume. If you were surfing an 8ft foamie will have around 80L volume. You are now on 35L. I'm pretty sure you can tell that is a huge change. Amongst other issues, with a high volume board you can catch a wave and the wave will push the board along the face due to the volume. With a smaller volume board, you the rider have to create the speed using the wave (pumping or whatever). If you dont, you slow down and then you sink ie you cant just stand there and cruise. You have to actively surf the board, which is a skill you may not have yet. (although at 35L you should be able to surf the face of anything but small waves - are you surfing along the wave? You will definitely sink if you are going straight or surfing white water. And if you are still just going straight ie not doing a bottom turn, then you probably arent ready to move off the foamie to any board).

To me your board is a 'step up' board - designed for bigger surf (like 2x overhead). That doesnt mean it cant be surfed in smaller waves, just that its designed to be able to control speed in big waves, vs a longboard that is designed to generate speed in small waves.

So you have a choice - you have found that the step in skill level needed between what you had and what you have is huge. You dont have those skills. You can either keep surfing the new board and slowly (hopefully) develop those skills, but it will take some time. If you are catching 1 wave out of 10, then it takes a very very long time to develop a skill. Surfing is all or nothing - you either succeed or you fall off. If you are falling off every time, then you dont develop any skills which means you remain catching 1/10 waves .

Or you can put this board in your garage (or resell it) and get the board that everyone recommended you get for good reason.

That said - it was your first surf. This board is not the worst board you could have bought, you can learn on it if you want to take the time and effort.

One possibility is to surf your new board another, say, 5 times and see where you get to. Maybe by the end you can start catching 3/10 waves, which over time becomes 4/10 and so forth. Admittedly, its still going to be a lot lot slower than a board where you are catching 6/10 waves from the start - is your time worth more than your money? But if you surf it 5 times and you are catching 4/10 waves by the end of that, it could be viable. If at the end of that time, you are catching 2/10 or are finding it really frustrating, then look for another board. TBH, if you have just learnt to surf I suspect you are going to find that its the latter, but may as well give it a go.

If you are in the US and have just started surfing, honestly I would say 'just go and buy an 8ft Wavestorm straight away and surf that for 6 months at least'.

Learning to surf is hard enough, you want to get a board that maximises your chances. There are boards that will help you more than the board you have; but with time and effort and persistence you can learn on this board. More time and effort and persistence than another board will require; whether you want to put yourself through that is up to you.

[waikikikichan]

Sadly you've been duped. Totally wrong board for you and probably for the seller that sold it to you also. That's why he got rid of it.

I worked in a surfshop close to the University of Hawaii. Used Longboards ( which we recommended at least 8 foot ) were at least 3 x the price of used shortboards. College students didn't have the funds and looked elsewhere for "deals". So many times they came back looking for a leash or a replacement fins for their "beginner longboard". "Hey, check out this longboard I got really cheap, it's even 9 foot like you recommended I get !". Ends up they went to the Northshore and were sold 9' rhino chaser/ big wave guns.

Live and Learn. Next time ask here first BEFORE you go and buy a wrong board.

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[IB_Surfer]

Honestly, I love what you picked for your new board. If you are not ready for it put it away and practice some more on the foamy, but that would be a good transition to shortboarding.

[steveylang]

Yes, unfortunately you bought the wrong board.

You should get a longboard or big foamie and continue the progress you were making before, until you are pretty good with it. It will be a lot more fun too!

Hopefully you got a good deal on this board. You can put it away and it might be an excellent NEXT board, but only after you are proficient on a bigger board first. I am pretty sure it's over 35L with those dimensions, even with the pointier shape- I am guessing 45L or so.