Assistance with board decision..etc

I agree with this to a certain degree. I too feel like fun shapes are lost to me. I like the idea. I'd rather go LB or SB them be caught in the middle

BUT, the OP seems to be having trouble even catching waves at all, which is not an issue with fun shapes. If he was catching waves, then having trouble fitting the face like you mentioned, id agree. But at this point i think trying diffrent shapes would only complicate things. Better to get his chops up and catch waves consistently before trying diffrent boards. Just my opinion.

And everyone who commented on the paddling, chin down or up, yada yada...... you all nailed it 100%. All those posts are quality advice/knowledge.

 

The whole "tail rocker volume...not enough volume" is not whats getting you. If you are popping up on the top of the wave, that's because you aren't paddling into the wave before standing up, you are standing up TOO SOON. its a very common bad habit that I see a lot. Its not the board.

I'll be honest...i didnt really read everything you posted. theres a lot of difference between certain waves in Delaware and Maryland. Indian River (either side) is a very different wave than OC which in turn is a completely different wave than Assateague.

I find that in OC in general, the mid length boards are difficult to handle, unless your one of those guys that surfs big OC on a mid-length board all of the time. It's a very steep drop and wave is very pockety. Mid length boards are hard to fit into that kind of wave on the drop and in the pocket. They tend to pearl.

You're not a big dude and you're fit. Get a shorter board (not tiny short...like mid 6 foot wider in the nose than a typical shortboard) and one with ample rocker (not some sort of hip/retro flat-rockered California board.

If you are surfing as much as you say you are, then you can catch waves on a 6'4" if you can on a 7'6".

This is also all spot-on:

 

VOLUME IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

Seriously, I can ride boards down to 27L-28L but I tend to surf boards in the 31L-33L. Do yourself a favor and grab a thick, wide board with a quad set up. The East Coast is a fickle beast and too many guys ride HPSB's because they haven't read the damn book.

 

Honestly, if you've only been surfing a year you're still learning. Sure part of the problem can be the board, but I think you just need more water time.

It takes quite a while to get proficient, especially if you're learning on the east coast.

Just my opinion. You might be overthinking this a bit.

 

I don't see where the board is sunk into the wave at 3:07. But on pitchy little waves like that it can be tricky getting a 7'6 funboard into them. The extra length can actually hurt more than help; you're not getting into the waves early enough like you would on a 9'6, but if you get into it like a shortboard all that nose can get hung up on the drop.

Those quick pop-ups on a shortboard take a long time to get good at. I think you just need more practice, there's no shortcut to getting that feeling down imo.

 

1) stoked for you that you made some improvements. That's really awesome

2) I'm not to sure, and this is hard to put into words. But ill try my best. We've already discussed the weight forward/back thing. But another part is this... you need to "paddle down the face". I think this might be what your describing as having the tail sunk. Not to sure because when I'm surfing i font know how it looks. All i know is that if I'm in the lip, it usually won't end well. If i paddle down the face, or am taking off just under the lip, I'm good.

3) There are two important parts of this. One is taking an extra paddle or two. Strong paddles. The second is pushing the nose down. Like i said, on a steep drop my weight will be back, but as i initiate my pop up in not just pushing my body up, I'm also pushing the nose down the face. This might be getting a bit technical, but sometimes ill actually have my weight forward while paddling, then as i pop up i push the nose down the face and pull the board forward underneath me, resulting in me popping up further back, yet i still get that forward momentum to get going.

It's hard to put into words. But you'll know when your paddling down the face. You'll feel it, everything will feel smoother. Just keep at it, your making improvements and will get it sooner than later. Keep practicing, keep your weight back, but don't forget to get that nose pushed down the face. If your tail is "sunk" but the nose is sticking out into thin air... you won't have success. You'll be the best judge of what you are or aren't doing. You may need an extra paddle or two, to push the nose down while weights back, or a combination of all of it

 

I'll also add this. As far as that extra paddle or two.... it took me awhile to get this down. On steep waves when your in the lip its instinct to want to get to your feet fast. Training your mind to paddle just a little more to get out of the lip on onto the face will take a conscious effort. It's kinda counter intuitive. But once you get it down and know the feeling of being in the right spot under the lip/on the face vs being in the lip.... It will eventually become instinct.

Just Sunday we had chest high surf with a low tide. On allot of waves I'd paddle and be in the lip, one more paddle and I'm on the face and good to go. If you take that one more paddle and are still I the lip and the waves pitching, just pull out and try for another