Surf Industry News - - WaveJet DOA

im 50 in a week and still using 6'2"s but they are getting wider and thicker

 

He also got very in to fitness (competing in Ironman's) which probably helped a lot.

 

That--I won't do!! I do work with weights, cycle a lot (season permitting), and paddle 2 miles on flat days. Cannot run anymore (scoped both knees), but I do take long walks. Yesterday morning was really cold but I went anyway; will go again this afternoon. Not easy once a person gets older--energy vanishes slowly but surely. I figure I am good into my early 70,s....hopefully!

 

Just out of curiousity, how do you know you are custom fitting to your needs if you havent explored adapting to aging by retaining/adding volume while staying shorter length? Its an option that i find almost all of the older guys i surf with a lot are for some reason opposed to and they are all riding 7'4"s and such. Its all good! i'm just curious...

I'm in my early 50's and find that while using a 7 foot board in the winter makes getting a lot of waves easy, the stoke just isnt there riding boards that long except when its big and in winter rubber. Other than that, i'm way more excited about staying in the 5'10" range for summer boards and 6'2" - 6'6" range for winter 5 mm conditions by adjusting volume/nose width/planshape. EPS/Epoxy is also something i'm liking because you can increase the volume/windth etc. and stay light. When its big, i'm fine with the longer boards.

Also...+1 on Jon Ashton's boards. I've been getting customs from him for 20 years now, and he totally gets it when it comes to shapes that work for older guys...he's still surfing all condtions all year and is around 60 himself.

 

yall when u get old just get a boat fk its that easy then move to san fran and surf ob with your boat in 20ft waves.

 

yall see that spring fin system tats pretty cool, i still wish all mine were glassed on.

 

Firstly, I never went down to 5"8. My smallest boards were in 6/4. The fish I bought had more volume, had for a couple of years, and found that I did not like that fatter board. I prefer the sleeker boards and how they perform. It is no different than trying on a pair of shoes.
Secondly, I am not a fan of epoxy, they ride differently , imho. Last Decenber when in PR, I rented an epoxy board and it was fine for waves up to shoulder high. Once the waves got larger, nixed it, and went back to rent a heavier board.
Bottom line - for me, waves decide which board for which day, and at age 64, I no longer have patience to paddle ad nauseum to get to the same point I can glide to with a board a bit longer.
I am glad you have a shaper you like. That can make a difference.

 

Believe me...i know! They absolutely ride differently. I only rode poly boards until about 10 years ago. Then just to try something new, I got a couple of hand shaped EPS/epoxy boards and really REALLY disliked them. The flex and the buoyancy both felt awful. Corky and stiff.

Then i shaped one myself that for some reason i really liked, got a couple more over the last few years and all of a sudden realized i wasnt disliking them, appreciated the lightness, and now i'm kind of sold on eps/epoxy for smaller boards for waves under chest high.

 

43 in a couple months and I ride either a 5'10" or a 6'1" and yes, the width helps. Not to rush it, but happy early birthday pump!

 

boards changed a lot over the last 2 decades.everybody used to ride them longer and thicker,now everything is shorter and thinner.i still like the old boards tho,u go watch some old footage of slater,curren or occy and it looks like to me(could be wrong) but the bigger boards have so much more drive and power,when they turn they throw spray 30 ft in the air.iv seen slaters cutbacks from the 90s and his today,I think he threw more spray back in the day.these little boards are just for speed to do airs which is the new thing nowadays.nobody cares about power surfing anymore.i watched an old occy video before and it re stoked me with the power surfing.his rail game was retarded,u see how far that rail is dug in the water and u can see why he throws so much spray.always been more of a fan of the cutbacks than airs.unless its some ridiculous huge air like matt meaola or jjf