Hi guys,

I know you've seen it before (I read through the post to find similar but no-one really meets my size). I'm looking at whether to change board size.

I have only been surfing since January so i'm not sure if i should just stick with.

I have a 7'6" Mini-mal (i have read the distaste for these after buying). I can paddle pretty confidently on the board, can stand on the board now everytime and can basically make one small turn or go straight all the way to the beach (no real manouverability).

basically at the moment i can catch the whitewater from the first break, or catch the second break if it's far enough out. When i have tried to catch the first break (when i manage to build up my courage) i generally pearl on the wave.

I only weigh about 57kg and i'm about 5'9, 5'10 (I know EXTREMELY lightweight! i do eat and work out but never seem to gain weight - please no jokes about the wind blowing me off the board, i've heard them all ).

I surf at the goldcoast and i'm wondering if should maybe drop down in size and to what? I'm not one of those people that will ask for an opinion then argue when i don't like the answer so please feel free to tell me im being stupid.

Many Thanks all and sorry for another post of the same, but i couldn't find anyone with similar physical traits (for obvious reasons).

Cheers.

Newbie relax mate its all good in here

I would stick with your current board until you get to the next stage,the board you have would float you well,be stable which makes the learning process easier.

Then switch boards down the track if you wish.

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62mac said...

Newbie relax mate its all good in here

I would stick with your current board until you get to the next stage,the board you have would float you well,be stable which makes the learning process easier.

Then switch boards down the track if you wish.

Yep I agree with Mac, what you have is fine, just keep at it.

cheers guys, much appreciated. i'll stick with what i have (it's been good to me so far ).


what should i expect from the board as (hopefully) i progress? i understand the skill is in the surfer, not the board, but what wave size / manouverability could be expected from a board like this?

Agree with the guys above... 7'6" is perfect to learn on, and once you get a bit better your WILL be able to get some moves out of it. FYI - I surfed a 7'6" fun-board shape for about 4yrs and loved it... only let it go when it started looking worse for ware.

I suggest not changing boards until you are confidently trimming the green wave face and are sure that the board is what is holding your progress back. Even then, I would be wary of stepping too far down in size. Maybe a 6'6" - 6"8" for a few months before heading towards a 6'2" 6-12 months further down the track... IMHO.

EDIT: we just crossed posts! I surfed mine in 1ft beachies to well over head - and some sucky ones at that. Not sure what shape & fin set-up you have, but you will be able to do cut-backs, re-entries and floaters etc on a board like that once you get your skill level up. It's all about foot placement on the board and understanding the opportunities the wave presents... and hitting the timing. It all comes together with practice, practice and MORE practice.

Stick with it newbie. We need more mid-length surfers here so I don't feel so lonely. (8 foot fish noob rider here) It is my long term aim to convert all these mal riders over to mid length boards, and slowly take over the world

Keep posting here about your progress and post pictures and video's too.

Easter is looking good for me, taking the board to Coffs and Sydney on the weekend WWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

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kadilak said...

Stick with it newbie. We need more mid-length surfers here so I don't feel so lonely. (8 foot fish noob rider here) It is my long term aim to convert all these mal riders over to mid length boards, and slowly take over the world

Keep posting here about your progress and post pictures and video's too.

Easter is looking good for me, taking the board to Coffs and Sydney on the weekend WWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

HAHA mate funny,your board is good for you mate but jump on a 901 which is so MUCH more fun,I have a few boards and did not take my HP and Fav' board to slow old Byron,its half board half rider imo.

The UFO will be at snapper fri/sat/sun,its smoking atm

Cool Mac. I am getting more opportunities to surf than I thought I would. In a couple of months I will be hiring some other boards to explore the world of board options. There are so many options.

So many boards to try, so few weekends

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kadilak said...

Cool Mac. I am getting more opportunities to surf than I thought I would. In a couple of months I will be hiring some other boards to explore the world of board options. There are so many options.

So many boards to try, so few weekends

love it

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kadilak said...

Stick with it newbie. We need more mid-length surfers here so I don't feel so lonely. (8 foot fish noob rider here) It is my long term aim to convert all these mal riders over to mid length boards, and slowly take over the world

Keep posting here about your progress and post pictures and video's too.

Easter is looking good for me, taking the board to Coffs and Sydney on the weekend WWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

On the way to Coffs you could try Arrawarra Point, a few kliks north of Woolgooga and Diggers beach, a couple of kliks north of coffs. Actually, the turn off is just across he road from the big Banana

Funny you should say that, plan is to surf Arrawarra on Friday morning!!!

Been looking at the Mojo camp options and thought I might get a preview, have a look around before I commit.

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kadilak said...

Funny you should say that, plan is to surf Arrawarra on Friday morning!!!

Been looking at the Mojo camp options and thought I might get a preview, have a look around before I commit.

Go Hard mate photos and video or you did not GO!

Cheers guys all much appreciated. after reading i'll defo stick with my 7'6, i think i just can't wait to be doing some real moves rather than just straight forward and i thought a different board was somehow going to transform me


I agree that i can definitely learn a lot more on this board, again i think i just needed someone to tell me.

I'll post my progress, let you know how i'm getting on. funnily enough, i was going to ask on here a couple of weeks ago; have any of you just completely hit the wall in the past? i got to the position where i could stand basically everytime and surf the very smaller waves, but all of a sudden i just could not stand up on the board. sometimes i was falling off before i even tried to stand, completely lost the (very little) experience i had. lasted for about a week of going every day.

has this happened to you guys?

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newbie2012 said...
have any of you just completely hit the wall in the past? i got to the position where i could stand

has this happened to you guys?

every morning getting out of bed

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newbie2012 said...

...... lasted for about a week of going every day.

has this happened to you guys?

I generally can make it to the beach once a week, but if I lived close I think the most I would surf would be every second day, not every day. Yes I know, getting old and carrying more kg than I should, but are you pushing too hard maybe?

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every morning getting out of bed

stop toking the spliff man

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but are you pushing too hard maybe?

yes could well be, i was pretty beat by the end of it. the frustration kept me going back down...

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newbie2012 said...

but are you pushing too hard maybe?

yes could well be, i was pretty beat by the end of it. the frustration kept me going back down...

For me, first hour loving it, second hour consistently catching waves, third hour always difficult to stand up at the right time. Next day revovering. Fighting fit on the third day(relatively speaking)

Match fit lads hey3 hours hard and I'm done

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62mac said...

Match fit lads hey3 hours hard and I'm done

lucky i suppose mate calls me the machine,goes all day cop that mac

whack

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62mac said...

whack

time for a few ports

Don't mean to steal your thread newbie, but on a similar topic, would you guys recommend switching to something bigger from a 7.6 instead?

I've been surfing for a little over a year now, trying to ride a couple of different shortboards at first and not that I was not having fun or progress, but just happened to borrow a 7.6 mini-mal of a mate around first week of Jan ("for a day") and to cut the long story short, been having so much fun on this thing I haven't given it back yet and only grabbed the shorty along a couple of times since.

The board originally had a thrusters set-up – now a twin, due to some random fin system and lack of compatible fins in Perth and my dodgy repair skills. But through all this, it has been so much fun, it's ridiculous, well for me anyway . I realise the day will come soon when I'll have to part with it and was thinking at looking for something in the 9ft range. Should I just stick with a mini-mal for now instead do you think?

Also need to add, love the idea of nose riding and been kind of managing to do those extended fives a few times (well at least that's what I think I am doing, but who knows) and basically subject to conditions and the actual wave can more or less ride consistently on the face and do little turns/half cutbacks sometimes (again, they could be just in my head and probably are!). I am 176cm / probably 65-70kg or so.

Thanks for your help guys.

^^^
Well - I say stick to what you get the most enjoyment from...

I have been surfing for 30+ years and my last three boards have been 7'6", 7'3" and 7'3"... I'm a little too full in the guts for anything much smaller than this, but I also have an 8fter and a 9'1" LB (which I am surfing more and more on the smaller days).

At your weight you should be catching plenty of waves on a 7'6" board - I'm 40kg heavier and go OK on a fat 7'3".

Not sure how old you are or what type of wave you are surfing, but I got the LB to increase my wave count on the smaller summer days in Perth metro. Once the winter swell hits it'll go back in the shed for 4-5 months...

SB and LB are very different types of surfing - something in the 7ft range kind of sits in the middle (62mac will say it's no man's land ). You get some paddling and glide advantage, but lose it in maneuverability and handling.

i struggled on a 9ft at first with the 8ft it was just easier alround for me. dissagree with obct and mac. 8 is easier to carry,8 is easier to turn. 8 you still got buckets off paddle power. i would not spend coin if you are progressing on what you have,if its a struggle,sure spend the coin and get a new board. fark just buy a new one and post pics for us board perves

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DSB said...

Don't mean to steal your thread newbie, but on a similar topic, would you guys recommend switching to something bigger from a 7.6 instead?

I've been surfing for a little over a year now, trying to ride a couple of different shortboards at first and not that I was not having fun or progress, but just happened to borrow a 7.6 mini-mal of a mate around first week of Jan ("for a day") and to cut the long story short, been having so much fun on this thing I haven't given it back yet and only grabbed the shorty along a couple of times since.

The board originally had a thrusters set-up – now a twin, due to some random fin system and lack of compatible fins in Perth and my dodgy repair skills. But through all this, it has been so much fun, it's ridiculous, well for me anyway . I realise the day will come soon when I'll have to part with it and was thinking at looking for something in the 9ft range. Should I just stick with a mini-mal for now instead do you think?

Also need to add, love the idea of nose riding and been kind of managing to do those extended fives a few times (well at least that's what I think I am doing, but who knows) and basically subject to conditions and the actual wave can more or less ride consistently on the face and do little turns/half cutbacks sometimes (again, they could be just in my head and probably are!). I am 176cm / probably 65-70kg or so.

Thanks for your help guys.

Tis a shame dude, when you finally cross over to the 'grey' side (not the dark side of SUP as Mac pointed out ) looks like we'll be on war paths for waves next time out . Time I learn the art of dropping in on mates

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newbie2012 said...

Cheers guys all much appreciated. after reading i'll defo stick with my 7'6, i think i just can't wait to be doing some real moves rather than just straight forward and i thought a different board was somehow going to transform me


I agree that i can definitely learn a lot more on this board, again i think i just needed someone to tell me.

I'll post my progress, let you know how i'm getting on. funnily enough, i was going to ask on here a couple of weeks ago; have any of you just completely hit the wall in the past? i got to the position where i could stand basically everytime and surf the very smaller waves, but all of a sudden i just could not stand up on the board. sometimes i was falling off before i even tried to stand, completely lost the (very little) experience i had. lasted for about a week of going every day.

has this happened to you guys?

Ohh yeah. story of my life off and on for 40 years of surfing.
Last week in 3-4 ft on a 8 and a half ft 8 ball I just could'nt do a thing right. Pearling the nose in, falling off the back, only made about 3 waves. I thought that night, am I past it? am I not up for it anymore?
Very next day went out and had the best surf in decades. Made every take off and nailed every move. Didnt come in until it got to dark to see the waves.
So I got to thinking What made the difference. The conditions were identical.
Some days if your minds not on it its easy to make little mistakes that make a big difference. My problem was I was a bit lazy getting up and had the feet to close together and knees not bent enough. Bad habit that creeps up on me from time to time. If I'm aware of it its ok. Stance is important.

My first board was 7'6 mal, then i swapped down for a 6'8 pintail. I think i made the transition to early, the 6'8 was less forgiving and far more demanding for my ability at the time.

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obct said...

kadilak said...

Stick with it newbie. We need more mid-length surfers here so I don't feel so lonely. (8 foot fish noob rider here) It is my long term aim to convert all these mal riders over to mid length boards, and slowly take over the world

Keep posting here about your progress and post pictures and video's too.

Easter is looking good for me, taking the board to Coffs and Sydney on the weekend WWWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

On the way to Coffs you could try Arrawarra Point, a few kliks north of Woolgooga and Diggers beach, a couple of kliks north of coffs. Actually, the turn off is just across he road from the big Banana

Hang on, how can the turnoff be near the big banana when we are coming from the north and the banana is in coffs?

The big banana is accross the road from the turn off to Diggers beach, not Arra.

Arra is just north of Woolgoolga.

For the turn off to Arra point you need to go left at the Mullaway turn off.

Then left again just after the school and follow the road out to the point.

kadilak don't worry about Arra its overrated