Next board dimensions - hybrid for kid

[squiredogs]

Hey all!

My son is surfing a Solid Lunch Break 5'4 20.87 x 2.38 30.6L (stock) as a thruster. He's been on it for a couple summers, he can catch lefts and rights, 1-3' waves, trim down the line, and is starting to working his turns decently well. He's small, 5' 78 lbs, 13 y/o small for his age. Trying to decide what to do for his next board. Could go custom, but not necessary.

He has a cruisey style, and isn't gonna be super vertical, just not his way, he's not really a daredevil. Seems like he should use a little narrower nose. The groveller has great stability and paddle for him, but that bottom turn and cutback could benefit from a little less board. I'm sure plenty of that is on his technique. I'm worried that if he goes too narrow or goes down too much in volume, it might not be worth it.

I was thinking stay 5'4" or go 5'6", the 5'4 dims were 19 7/8 wide, 2 1/4 thick 25 liters, the 5'6 of the same board is 20" x 2 7/16 27.9 liters. Both had a squash tail like his current board, EPS like his current board, seems like more rocker and definitely a narrower nose. We can see his Lunch Break, but I'd like him to get just a little more turning. No delusions of contests or going pro, just like to see him be able to get some more maneuverabilty (and make duck diving a little easier. NJ beach break. He gets out most days, way more in the summer before school & sports book up time - with cover, he's gonna end up surfing well into Oct/Nov since there's less to do.

Anyway, 5'4 25L or the 5'6 27.9L a good next step?

[squiredogs]

I should add, that I could also just keep him on the board he has now, since he is still improving on it too...

[dtc]

I wouldn’t over think it, the difference between the boards isn’t huge. I would go for the bigger board simply because he is also getting bigger and the bigger board will suit him for longer - slightly easier transition and then, as he grows, the board becomes comparatively smaller but his skills have become better to compensate

[waikikikichan]

All you need to do to help loosen up the board and help you son feel the rail/tail more is to put a smaller trailer fin in instead of the regular center fin that comes with the thruster set. You could use the FCS MR.TX trailer fin or a Futures Fins T-1 trailer. Also you could use a center fin off of a grom set.

[squiredogs]

I wouldn’t over think it, the difference between the boards isn’t huge. I would go for the bigger board simply because he is also getting bigger and the bigger board will suit him for longer - slightly easier transition and then, as he grows, the board becomes comparatively smaller but his skills have become better to compensate

Thanks, I was thinking that a little too. Hopefully he grows some in the next year or two.

[squiredogs]

All you need to do to help loosen up the board and help you son feel the rail/tail more is to put a smaller trailer fin in instead of the regular center fin that comes with the thruster set. You could use the FCS MR.TX trailer fin or a Futures Fins T-1 trailer. Also you could use a center fin off of a grom set.

You mean on the Lunch Break, or any board? I got him using 4" from fins now. I have some 4.5" laying around, I could put them on the sides and leave the 4" trailer. They are all those ProTeck Performance ones that are hard except the little soft edges to prevent fin cuts.

[dtc]

Not wkk, but I think he meant keep the current fins and put in a smaller centre - smaller fins = looser; if you increase the side fin sizes that goes against what you are after.

However 4 inches is already pretty small, you might struggle to get much smaller. You could try a more upright fin (less rake) or a stiffer fun if you wanted to experiment. If you are using the power flex protek fins you could try the performance fins. This is regardless of whether he gets a new board or not

[squiredogs]

Not wkk, but I think he meant keep the current fins and put in a smaller centre - smaller fins = looser; if you increase the side fin sizes that goes against what you are after.

However 4 inches is already pretty small, you might struggle to get much smaller. You could try a more upright fin (less rake) or a stiffer fun if you wanted to experiment. If you are using the power flex protek fins you could try the performance fins. This is regardless of whether he gets a new board or not

Ah, ok - I'll mess with the fins this week and see how it goes. Thanks!

[dtc]

Yep, best method is just to mess around and mix and match; sometimes new fins look like they are going to give you what you want but don’t. Experimenting is the best way