Select to expand quotehusq2100 said...
The problem is the average punter wants to buy a board and head straight into the line up for waves. When i bought my first board i practiced on the river every week day and then started in the tiddlers in currumbin creek mouth. Kick turns for paddling were my biggest hurdle. I dont see people doing these anymore???
Funny how the above went shorter before he could bottom turn. My first board was 10.7 Takayama and i had never surfed before. That and any other board will surf better than I can. You dont need to go short to turn you need to learn how to turn.
My mate rides a 7.4 x 24 thats way past my ability . I stick with what i know and can handle safely
Yep teaching myself to bottom turn was definitely part of the ignorance/fun of searching, learning and hopefully improving! Guilty!
I talked to a guy out turning his board heroically just this morning and he was riding a Naish 10' x 29" x 130L. It's all bloody great stuff!
Great post Suporator! So many of us have been lucky to follow parallel journeys. Our wallets have suffered but I would sure do it all over again.
Learn first....................then start to take manageable risks..................then go hard at the pointy end of the risk curve. Then the only thing to worry about is your wallet!
I think it has more to do with the wave you're trying to ride, rather than personal preference.
My local is a dumpy beach break, mostly mushy but sometimes very slow rollers that break very fast on a shallow sandbar.
In these conditions longer boards generally suck, just because they're too unwieldy to turn when the wave picks up speed and you need to get down the line ASAP before you die. A shorter (but not necessarily wider) board is amazing because you can line up closer to the break, drop straight onto the face after a single stroke or two, turn and get down the line.
When there's actually a nice swell that rolls and you can hit a bigger (and cleaner) outside break, the long narrow board is a lot more fun because you just have so much more wave to use, and the swell is slow enough that the speed of the longer board helps a lot.
My main board was a 7'8 x 29.5 and felt it was perfect. If I lived somewhere else it would probably be different, though.
Select to expand quotedyyylan said..
I think it has more to do with the wave you're trying to ride, rather than personal preference.
Exactly.
Long and narrow will feel dead on slow waves, short and wide will generate power. And on fast waves, wide will feel stiff.
Plus narrow is easier to go rail-to-rail, but wider provides a platform to push against for added leverage in turns.
There are so many variables that come into play.
But from a performance level point of view there,s 2 ways to look at it.
A performance surf sup, is designed to be surfed off the tail. Much like a shortboard.
If your ideal volume is 130L that means you're gonna be around a 9"0-9"5 (27"-28.5 wide) board.
But on the other hand, if 90% of the time, you're surfing 1-2ft waves, then a 9"0ft plus board will almost always stall when surfed off the tail.
Enter shorter and wider.
In a compact style shape a 130L board could be somewhere closer to 8"0-8"5 long (30"- 32" wide)
Sure it wont rail as good, but it will be easier to turn, easier to catch waves on and overall a more enjoyable experience.
I personally ride a 8"4 X 28.5 105L performance.
But enjoy a 7"11 x 110L on a lot of the days.
Obviously the "tomo" style changes things a lot but for now, thats how i see it.
Select to expand quoteJBFletch said..
But on the other hand, if 90% of the time, you're surfing 1-2ft waves, then a 9"0ft plus board will almost always stall when surfed off the tail.
Enter shorter and wider.
This is a very good point. FWIW In smaller waves I don't like my 8'10" Speeed as much because of the stalling issue. My new 8'7" Flow feels much better. I have had my speeed out in some bigger waves the last few days and it felt good (I did not take the Flow because it is often pretty lumpy waiting for waves at this break).
