just dumped my shortboard

Wave count will go up as well as the fun factor...rounder cut backs and smoother style is what you have to look forward to...stoked for ya!

 

Never owned a true fish....gotta get one. They do up your wave count. Rode one last summer in thigh high glass and had a blast.

Sick air brush on that one!

 

wasn't that 6'6" was too big for you anyway? I had a 6'4" sting fish and traded it for a 6'0"

 

Getting old does suck... and it doesn't.

I just picked up a used Pavel Rainbow Fish from a friend who stopped riding it years ago. Basically new, with a couple of pressure dents. It's 6'2, and it was an impulse buy one day as I was suiting up, thinking I just can't do the 6'0 in a 5 mil anymore. Just can't do it. The spirit is willing, but at 53, the body is not.

Keep fit, brother. Do whatever it takes to slow the pace of decline. Because the decline is inevitable.

Even the most elite athletes peak. Fortunately, in surfing, your peak is much later in life than most other athletic endeavors.

 

are you a high performance surfer? I agree with the foam is your friend theory and more wave count but you wont do the same roundhouse cutties you did before on that fish. Nor will you get as vertical on your snaps. But if you like to cruise then that's your baby

 

You are certainly preaching to the choir here. I am 65 on this wednesday. Last time I surfed?? Last week (Thursday, I believe); it was 4-5 ft, 35*F air, 42*F water temp. I surfed with a 7'8 G&S Magic RP; had just as much fun as I did in the past with a 6 ft board. I thought of getting a fish for shortness, but I never did like the way they handle on take off.
My point is--age is irrelevant to having fun. Adjusting board size for me has been strictly a matter of ease of paddling. I still work with weights, mountain bikes, take long walks, etc to stay in shape for surfing. I have been surfing since 1961....also raced sailboats for 15 years....been a lot of fun.
Nobody should give up simply because of age.

 

5'7"x20.5"x kinda thick but kinda not self shape. Ugly but it works. Me: 6'2"x195lbs. If nothing else I learned a lot about shaping and glassing on this. And also realized that it's not as intimidating as I thought it would be

 

When I was 20 visiting the rents in CA, the neighbor let me borrow a fish similar to the pics on here. It took a bit to get used to, but once I did, it was a lot of fun. I do not have one in the quiver but I have been thinking about adding one. Nice lookin boards fellers!

 

1st, sweet board, should be a blast to ride. 2nd, at your size this board will still be small enough to toss around some, no worries, have fun!

 

Can't say you are giving up "shortboards". IMHO a 6'6" fish is totally a shortboard, relatively speaking under a big ole boy. A fish is a shortboard, correct? You can surf in an ESA shortboard heat with a board under 8' if I'm not mistaken. Shred on homes- surf tonight maybe?

 

^^^ What he said

 

I have seen plenty of boys get vert, air, tube rides and every other "performance" surf riding w/ fishy shapes under them. Don't need a ferrari to go fast, I'm more impressed w/ minivan burnouts and drifting station wagons than the smallness of their stick. Seen a lot more people on boards too small for them get in late and never get back up on the wave face than not. Those are the dudes I'll sit on in a crowd.

 

When you get old. You just change your approach.

 

Getting old does in deed suck! I probably ride this or my Sweet Potato 70 percent of the time. It can pick up almost any wave a longboarder can get into. I LOVE IT!! She's seen a lot of water time and I'm probably going to have to replace her soon (that one is a 5'10 and I want my next one to be 5'7 or 5'8) but I'll always have a twin fin in the quiver. You should look into like a 5'8 Sweet Potato (I don't care how big you are) for those onshore waist high Wrightsville summer days. I really enjoy my twin fin on those glassy days.