Boards

95% of the time I longboard but when I do switch up I ride a 6'2 quad it has alot of foam and it 22inches wide. I can go from riding my 9'10 and hop on that and it dotn feel weird at all.

best thing to do look threw the used rack at you local surf shop . Buy and try different shapes see what works best for you

 

I'm with Matt on this. Your current longboard can stay in the quiver forever. Your next board, however, most-likely won't. I would sugget getting a step up board in the 7'0 to 7'6 range in order to mantain the stability you're accustomed to. After you ride that for a 4 or 5 months, you may be looking to go smaller.

You didn't mention how much you weigh, but it'll be a major part of the equation when you go smaller. As far as length, you're trying to eventually target a performance board short enough to allow all of your riding with your feet in the relatively same spot (give or take a few inches forward or rearward).

As for your next board, however, you should be looking for something "pod-ish," with a full or beak nose. The tail depends on how well you're doing on the longboard. If you can't trim up and down the entire wave face, you should stick with a wide-tailed "pig" board that will retain the stability, yet allow you to transition (not radically) from rail to rail. I would suggest a single fin, since single fins are designed to use the wave's power for speed and maintain plane without rider input.

If your trimming skills on the longboard are up to par, then you may consider a thruster or quad fun shape. The tails on these are little bit narrower, have "v" and require the rider input of transitioning (back & forth) rail to rail for speed. Going straight down the line on these type of boards will most-likely result in stalling the board.

Just my 2 cents....

 

I think either a fish, or a bigger swallowtail would be good. Sometimes I ride a 6'4" swallowtail funboard, and I love it. Turns a lot better than a longboard and can catch a ripple. It also does fine in larger surf, so its a good all around board to have

 

better than your 9'4" & w/out the frustration that jumping down to a sub-7ft board will bring. take everyone's advice & go w/ a mid-length transition shape. your surfing will progress, you'll get used to the reduced volume & paddling capability, & teach you how to use your rail, not fins, to turn.
ignore this advice & you're setting yourself up for frustration & set-backs. you'll make the classic beginner mistake: thinking you're ready for a high-performance shortboard before you actually are.

 

I'd go with a 7ft to 7'6 fish. They stay in the lip well and you can ride just about any size wave. Very good for transition to and from Longboard on any given day. and I feel they work well together the tricks you do on the fish will teach you how to do the same on the Longboard and vice versa. Especially cutbacks and off the lips and working the wall. Not to mention barrels! Thats what I use. I'm 6'3 and 200pds.

 

if you can find it I would say try a single fin or twin somethng that has the retro shape . They are wide and have some float like a longboard and makes it still easy to catch waves on the smallest days aswell.

As you progress you can try more performance shapes but still by used and as mentioned never get rid of your log!

 

This is a hard question to answer because we don't know your goals. Do you want to ultimately ride a performance shortboard? Or are you just looking for something that you can turn easier? Do want to be able to drop in late, or get in early? These are important factors in making your decision.

Me, personally... I would not suggest a mid-length "fun shape" if you're looking for more performance, and your last question about how a 7'0 "performs" leads me to believe you are. An oversized fish is not the answer, either, I would say... although lots of guys ride them and seem to like them.

I would stick to your original idea... something more like a 6'8 or 6'10 big guy shortboard with plenty of volume. If you already know how to catch waves, you don't need a big, wide nose that funboards and fishes have. If you want "performance," you need a performance shape... just a scaled up version to start. As you get bigger and stronger, you'll actually grow into it (if it lasts that long) and it will ride better and better as your skills and strength develop.

The only other recommendation I would give is a true fish, which is in it's own right a "performance" board. You'll find the volume, width, and rocker of a fish very forgiving, and a great alternative to your log. You could go with a thickly foiled 6'0 or 6'2 and it will be plenty of board. But riding a fish and riding a PSB are two different animals, so you have to consider your goals.

Good luck!

 

You need a goto guy from one of the surf shops. Lock in a surf shop so they know your a true repeat custormer. Get to know someone in the lineup that works at a shop. I'm talking about an owner or manager who can turn you on to what you really need. After 30 some years, I still need help sometimes even when I think I know what I want. Read up on bottom contours, rails, etc. It's good stuff. Goodluck!!!!!!

 

I respectfully disagree. Oversized performance boards in the hands of undersized riders only catch wave marginally easier and then stall unless the waves are super juicy. The reason being: Boards shaped for performance have small tails and concave or "v" that are shaped to facilitate rail to rail transition, not gliding & trimming. As such, they require specific foot placement that must be consistent every time you're up.

A smaller rider on a big-guy performance board, can attempt to surf the board by popping up and standing over the fins until he makes the bottom turn, but after that, it will stall because all of his weight is on the very back 3 feet of the board, which happen to be the thinnest. On an average day (2-3 ft wave height), with an 140lbs rider on a 7'6" big guy performance board, the is will tilt nose up (and sink the tail) enough to effectively hit the brakes.

The intermediate (or above) shortboarder's reaction to this is to pump it, to keep it driving. Unfortunately, the board's angle of attack in the water won't change and it won't plane, so the rider will find himself pumping the entire ride. This is why more experienced shortboarders try to go as short as possible: Their body weight is better dispersed throughout the board without moving their feet.

The alternate procedure is to, after the bottome turn, walk towards the nose. Now, you are on the wide part of the board and can't effectively transition from rail to rail fast enough to gain proper speed. As a matter of fact, the board will feel extremely "tight" and you'll find yourself relatively commited to the line you chose on the face of the wave. Guys that walk their boards, usually want a little wider nose. This allows them to walk forward without pearling. Likewise, this style of surfing is better served with a single fin, reducing the increased drag of toed-in fins traveling a straight line.

Waves with more juice can handycap either situation, helping the rider to overcome the misuse of design. In weaker waves (like VA), however, average waves will quickly exploit a board's design that doesn't match a surfer's style. I'm not a fan of funboards, but I see the merits of their design as a step-up board, assuming the ultimate goal is to eventually surf a performance board.

Walker, if you would like to try a big guy tri, I have a 7'6" Rusty Desert Island (shaped by Rusty, himself) in exceptional condition, that you can give a shot. I'm 215 lbs and arrived at my above input through it's use over the course of several years. If you like it, you can buy it. I don't use it.

Sorry for the rant, but a believe my reason for disagreeing deserved an explanation. Again...this my humble opinion.

 

Ray.. rant on, brother... that's what we're all here for.

You make a few good points, and I get your line of logic. Here's what I'm thinking...

If I was this guy, I'd be looking for an M13 type board in the 6'8-6'10 range. A scaled up performance board that paddles well and can be ridden in small to good sized surf. You're right about him being very light for big guy tri, but he's already six feet tall! and only 15 years old. He's growing fast, and will be packing on pounds every month. Also, I've seen a lot of kids go from beginner to proficient very quickly at that age (and not just in surfing... in other sports, too), and a midlength will only hold back his progression.

But, if he's just looking for trim and glide, coming off a longboard, and just wants a "shorter longboard," by all means, go for a midlength.

 

At the risk of sounding argumentive, the funshape isn't neccessarily a "shorter longboard." If all things (outline, rocker, "v", etc) are the same, but shorter, than yes. But properly shaped funshapes slightly tighten the tail (not by a lot) and introduce a small amount of "v". This is what I was referring to when I said they had their so-called "merit" as a step up board.

Because the middle-of-the-road design of the funshape is usually considered to do nothing extremely well, more experienced surfers often dislike them. In transitioning from longboard to shortboard, however, they provide a familiar stability and glide of a longboard while introducing the ability to go rail to rail like a performance board.

Whether an M13 or a funshape, his next board will most-likely be up for sale in a year when he gets a 6'4". Cheers.

 

used.

blah blah blah...like someone said earlier, by used. trade it in a couple times until you find something that works. it's all guess work at the start. don't waste time with a transition board. do you want a short board? then go get one. that simple.

 

the Lost Plank

The lost plank would be the best transition board on the market, paddles into waves and catches waves like a mini longboard but performs like a short board, thing is so fun espicially in small surf. GO check it out on Lost website. Almost any shaper could replicate one of these, might not perfrm as well as Mayhems shape but something similar and you can keep it as a small wave groveller forever

 

I'm in agreement with OB to a certain extent...buy it used and sell it for what you bought and keep moving on. It will benefit you to transition. When I returned back to surfing after a long hiatus...I went from a 9'0" HP LB to a 6'6" retro fish, and continued to move from that point down. The transition was a bit rough at first, but I eventually got the hang of it. At the time, I was surfing around once a week or every other week...year round. If you don't have that option...I would get something that would float more for when you jump back in the spring (nt., you'll likely have gained a ton of weight by then). When it comes down to it the transition route was healthy for me...but it took a while. My personal perspective would be to get a fish...they have a healthy amount of bulk, but have the ability to move it around...you never know...you could be the next Rastovich in the making. Find what you like and what you don't and keep going...

I did a quick search on craigslist...not sure where your located but this was a quick search in...you have a ton of options...

Delaware:
http://delaware.craigslist.org/spo/1950713028.html
http://delaware.craigslist.org/spo/1983677966.html

NJ:
http://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/spo/1976015884.html
http://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/spo/1987231646.html

Get it used...enjoy it for a while and move on...my$.02

 

yeah man, surfers (as in - not kooks) either ride short boards or long boards- pick one (or rip on both like matt johnson). Plain and simple. Funboards are for newbies.

...AND funboards having merit as step-ups!? Funboards are slow, big waves are fast. Try again. God help you if your thinking about taking a late drop on anything sizable on a funboard. A step-up is taking your short board and stretching it from both ends taking the same / similar volume over a longer, narrower area. Nothing more, nothing less. A funboard is nothing like a shortboard, even stretched. But hey, as long as you stay out of my way, i dont care what you try to ride.

Like dude said, get a short board. If you dont ride it well, dont just sell it back... man up and keep trying until you figure it out. THEN your surfing.

 

there are totally hot mid-length,transitional,mini-mal,fun shape boards,egg,disc,wayne lynch,nat young,1969 style,single fin,harbour spherical revolver,bing good karma,serve a definite purpose on certain smaller days for those of us who really don't want to ride longboards,those 1-1 1/2 foot days where a longboarder would be stoked and a shortboarder would grovel,i only go longboard if it's a ripple on a puddle,i shortboard any kind of real swell,i fish a certain small day,but the In The Eye egg is the perfect board for certain conditions,he can shape,i am not talking about some popout funshape.

egg mid-length works great,better than other shapes in certain small conditions,as do fish,but a twin fish wave is a little different than a single fin egg wave.

if you never rode a properly shaped custom 'fun shape,' you wouldn't understand.