Frustrated with my boards; need small wave board

Gordon & Smith makes a great egg; I got one custom made this year 7'10. Go to their site and take a look.
I like mine a lot, had 5 fins put in for variability. One mistake I made....should have had it made as 7'6.

 

Shorter simply because I am accustomed to that size. They have an Egg model, and a Magic model--they used to be separate models/boards. But they do now have a Magic Egg as well, I see.. Many confuse the Magic as an egg, because they to make the Magic with a rounded tail, if requested. I do have one of each--the Magic is great when the waves get larger around here; perfect board for the area. I have owned the Magic for about 12 years now; it is my favorite all time board (I have been surfing since 1961) after all the boards I have owned!! And yes--G&S are not cheap, but you get exactly what you ask for in a custom board. I also have a Competition RT longbaord from G&S. I guess we can say they are my favorite brand.

 

37 old? Sheesh! Guy we witnessed in CR last winter on a 6'4" CI Fred Rubble straight off the rack. 71 year old retired LA county life guard. Dude still swims miles at a time in the ocean. For fun. And he was getting bombs at Ollies Point. There is hope. Had a 7" G&S egg tri fin in the late eighties and it was super fun, think it was the Magic Egg if I'm not mistaken. Flat and soft w/ glass on fins. That shorter Slug is OK but looks to be handful when the surf is thumping though.

 

get a 6-2 full on fish (not hybrid) or a long board

fun shapes and eggs are not really that fun in small surf imho

 

6'4x22x2.75 fish
Bonzer fin set up with a roy stuart center fin & no leash plug.

 

Dude- just pony up and get a longboard.

Your never too young...

I realize that there are those days when it's waist hi and you can have a lot of fun on a small wave board- but for the most part, when it's small in nj it's hard to get it just right for that board.

When it's small and I paddle out on the longboard- I usually catch at least 3 waves to a short boarders 1 wave. And I don't paddle around, I wil give them priority but it's just the way it goes...

Anyways- I'm probably the only one on here who would say that- but I have 10x more fun and waves on a longboard of the waves are tiny.

 

look up a reputable local shaper and tell him this and nothing more. write a check, and walk away. you'll end up with a great board for your local conditions.

 

Agreed. I'm in my late 20's and ride a longboard more often than not. I'm about surfing more often, and catching more waves. I laugh (on the inside of course) at all the dudes groveling on tiny boards in small surf. I hope watching me is fun, cuz that's about all they're doing.

 

As I have gotten older, I have dropped my board length, but upped the liters. I am 43 and I ride a 5'10" with 32 liters. I don't have any problems catching the waves. I do have a 7'6" funboard that I pull out once a year and it's fun

 

Listen to these dudes long time lurker dude, they speak the truth. Longboards are not about age, they are about catching waves and getting long rides on days when short boards really aren't doing it and they are also for the skilled when taking them out on big days as well. You will improve your surfing more riding a long board than anything else you can do I believe. I use to think just like you, and then one day I broke down and got me one, now two, and it's the best decision I ever made. It has made me better at short boarding and it can you too. Don't believe me? Then continue being frustrated in marginal surf. I almost always bring both my SB and LB to the beach so that way i'm never on the wrong equipment. You won't need much more than that in your quiver, everything else is a novelty.

 

As much as it makes sense to us... he doesn't want a longboard. That's OK... there are other options. An old school fish is not a bad idea... nor is a "groveler" style shortboard with some "upped" volume, as Mr. Z said above. Go with EPS/Epoxy for a lively board in small, weak surf... and don't give up on the quad idea, either. If Tommy won't shape you one, keep looking... there's a few guys around who do good work.

 

asking for performance in knee-waist mush is a tall order. I see a few people doing it on shorter boards...but they're at the beach every single day (and have been since they were about 5 years old). Of course, you should optimize your boards features, but I think experience and acclimation/conditioning (surfing every day) in these conditions is more important...don't expect miracles from just your equipment.

I agree with LBCrew, the light weight of EPS is a little easier to paddle and catch waves than poly. You can also throw EPS around easier. Same with quad fins...they're not your problem. As long as you get in the habit of having your rear foot way back over the fin cluster and the board on rail during a turn, quads can turn just as easy as a thruster. Thrusters are a little more draggy than quads...and you need all the help you can get.

The bing Dharma and those types boards (lost Couch Potato, pyzel Rat Skull, vernor mini-sim, etc) are the only possible longboard substitutes in super small and weak conditions. However, I've found these type boards may be even more sensitive to proper sizing and weight than other shapes. Even slightly too big makes them boaty...slightly too small and they sink. Slightly too heavy and they take longer to get in a wave...too light and momentum is more difficult to generate. Get in great surf shape, order one of these in EPS/quad and you've done the best you can.

 

Contact Tom Mahady, great monmouth county shaper and a good guy. http://mahadysurfboards.blogspot.com/

 

I love my baked potato for mush, a ton of volume and can still have lots of fun. I go about 180, ride a 5' 10" and still can't believe what I can catch on it.