Move Shorter

[captain]

I am a beginner (surf camp & a few additional times) and have only used longboards in the past. However, I want to move towards a shortboard. While I know that I'm not ready for a shortboard, I want to at least start moving in that direction. I find the longboard cumbersome and exhausting, and I would prefer to have more maneuverability.

I can stand-up fairly easily on a longboard, and am 5'7" and 145 lbs.
I live on the Texas coast, so conditions are usually mushy and always inconsistent.

I talked to a local shaper this weekend, who suggested that I go to a big guy shortboard rather than a fun board. He thought that I would be able to keep learning, while having the ability to duck dive. Does anyone have any thoughts about whether this is a good idea?

[rich r]

Sounds like solid advice. Always trust a vouched-for shaper. They know things.

[isaluteyou]

yeah that sounds lik a good idea any idea what size board the shaper had in mind?

[captain]

He suggested something between 7' and 8'.

[dondiemand]

He suggested something between 7' and 8'.

sounds like a semi-gun, not a shortboard

[captain]

Assuming that I take this shaper's suggestion and go with a big guy shortboard, what length would you suggest?

It didn't appear to be shaped like a semi-gun, as it was thicker and wider. However, as you can tell from above, I don't have much experience.

[btard]

big guy tri 19.5 or wider, 2.5 or thicker, squash

[GowerCharger]

its probably the "jumbo" type board, a lot of shapers do them now, which is good for me cos im 6'3 and 15 stones. could be ok for a beginner but i would recommend you look for one with a bit more volume in the nose, towards the funboard/dolphin end of the scale, that will help your paddling and make more of a difference than the slight loss in duckdiveabilty. You should be able to duckdive fine with a bit of practice anyway.

[captain]

Thank you all for your advice.

[rich r]

Yeah - the 7 foot range is sort of topping out on the hybrid shortboard sizes and entering the funboard range, but I've seen 'em that big.

It'd probably look for the low end of the 7's, like a 7-2 or 7-4. depends on the thickness and width you go with. My 6-8 Mayhem is 19 1/2 and 2 7/16 thick and it's a pretty good all-around shortboard.

You could probably get away with similar dimensions in the 7-4 range.