I ride a shortboard

mitchells photos are "fun sized". there's nothing big about those waves...yea, the 20mph wind would suck, but i think people need to work on their paddling skills rather than jump onto a crutch at the first sign of adversity. a higher volumed, wide point forward board of some sort would be perfect for those conditions...get in early & haul ass.

dave, if those are the sort of conditions you're talking about, i still don't see how big long period calls for a log. (mitchell's board also doesn't sound like a log. more of an hplb, but i guess that's splitting hairs).

 

Njsurfer
I agree...wide point forward...solid paddler...paddle your ass off and get the board hauling ass down the line from the minute you start the angled takeoff.

I've tried shaping three 7-0s for those conditions and I think the one I've got now is the best...basically a speed egg.

But I also agree with Dave that under certain long period conditions its just so racy, and requires getting so early to set up the first long fast section, that a 9 footer just feels like the perfect tool for the conditions, at least to me, and yeah in 5 mm rubber, 20 MPH offshores, 40 degree water, and middle age maybe a crutch isn't off the mark. And yeah thats a relatively thin and rockered out long board. Im a small guy and really do only ride it in hollow conditions..

 

eggs are great for hauling ass in a straight line. have you tried a bonzer? lots of hold & fast as hell. great in walled up beach break...i've made sections on mine that i never thought possible. a couple conversations w/ brian wynn have got me seriously considering a twinzer, too...he swears by them.

 

All longboards are not created equal.

I've ridden longboards in big surf... in fact broken several. Some work and some just don't. Mitchell is right about rocker... rocker is key. A good hplb will handle big surf quite well under the feet of a competent surfer. An old school noserider? Good luck.

My current board for the heaviest surf we get is a 7'0 rounded pin built specifically for making those fast, barely makeable East Coast bombs that come with 10'+ @ 10sec+. Natural rocker, wide point at center, vee in the entry, to flat, to deep double concaved vee pushed forward, to vee out the back. Slightly domed deck with medium modern rails. Thruster.

The bonzer concept is valid as well. In fact, even quads work great in big, fast, down-the-line surf, too. Prior to the 7'0 I just mentioned, I did a quad version of the same board, but with subtler concaves. Worked really good until it got destroyed.

 

the only thing australian about the bonzer is its name. the design was created in oxnard, ca.

 

one more thing about longboards in big (ish) waves. I went to el Salvador last month and for the entire 8 days the set waves ranged from head high to well overhead/approaching DOH.

I brought two 6'2"s expecting mostly shoulder high based on the forecasts before we left which undercalled. The 6'2" was all i rode. The points were so perfect and pristine that padding a 6'2" into well overhead waves was way easier than our local beachbreaks woudl have been even a couple feet smaller.

One day after surfing all morning we noticed it was pretty empty out front mid afternoon and paddled out on some longboards that the place we stayed had sitting around. The one i used a big thick 9'4" Yater. What a RUSH paddling a big log down a nice long steep drop and out onto 200 yards of 8 foot+ face. Crazy Fun! Everyone should try it before they decide logs are only for ankle-waist high waves. They are mad fun in the right overhead conditions. At least i think so.

 

I totally agree. A longboard can be incredibly responsive and nimble with the right surfer on big waves.

I don't agree that longboards are a crutch but I understand your argument. If someone is riding one in order to prolong their surfing career are you really gonna be upset with them?

Since golf has been the accepted comparison... are you upset with someone when they switch from steel shafts to graphite?

 

i don't really give a crap about golf, so i have no opinion one or another & couldn't even say that i understand the comparison.
if a person is riding a longboard to prolong their surfing career rather than keeping themselves fit, then yes, i have a problem w/ that. my father's 66, just had a total knee replacement, & still rides a shortboard most of the time & out paddle guys more than half his age. that just goes to show that if you keep yourself fit & healthy, you don't need to switch to a longboard as you age unless you choose to. & at that point, it's a crutch. same goes for SUKs, those huge 7S superfish, & the rest of that breed of weekend warrior friendly "design".

let me be absolutely clear: i have absolutely NO beef w/ longboarders. if that's what you want to ride, great. very few people ride one well, particularly when it comes to old-skool noseriders. they are not easy to ride well & i have great respect for those who can & do. but to say that you need one as you age or that it's "the call" in over-head groundswell shows a lack of vision & (to me) a lack of knowledge of board design. w/ all the advances in volume distribution, templating, & foil, the days of the longboard as the only option in small or gutless surf is over, ditto for overhead, heaving winter groundswell. a little searching will turn up countless options.

 

When you're 70 you'll be on a longboard!

 

Why does everyone care what other people ride or if the know how to ride correctly or not. As long as someone is not dropping in on your why do you care what they do? Surfing is not a competition its just a way to enjoy the ocean.

 

well, like you said, thats your problem, not the person who is riding a longboard

I'm 40, when I was in my early 20s, there hardly were (compared to now) any longboards or longboarders around. Lesser-skilled tended to ride bodyboards. I never even rode one until I was 30. My smallest board is a 6 6 and I've had awesome sessions on it within the past year in 8-10 12 sec+ ft tropical stuff right in my backyard. I don't mind mocking of longboarders, I just think its funny reading people in their 20s doing it, knowing I could trade off for their 6 2 elf slipper chip and still own their asses in any conditions.

 

i look at it like this.if u can surf,u can surf.why is everyone so judgmental?sion milosky(rest in paradise) was one of thee best longboarders and big wave surfer in the world.he can ride a shortboard,but he loved his log.totally underground,im sure half of u kooks on here never even heard of him.i surf because its fun,it puts a smile on my face.keeps me in good shape,meet all kinds of people.i have never met a surfer,spnger,or logger in the lineup who acted like a ****,like 90% of u "surfers on here"..i perfer a shortboard like everyone.i ride a 6'2 becker,i dont even think they make them anymore.who cares if its 1 ft or 30 ft.do it because u love it,not because u catch 1 decent wave,post it online,and talk like your **** dont stink.its amazing how any forum iv ever been on its the same ol same ol,everyone talkin smack to each other who im sure.who cares if they are a kook,or a benny,or whatever the kids are calling it nowadays.like i said i have never met a wave rider who acts like this,tryin to put everyone down.iv been fortunate to surf some really epic spots.if u can paddle out at escondido on a 8 ft day,u will surf east coast waves with no fear,just pure happiness.do something because it makes u happy..face it,i see a lot of great up and coming surfers here in nj,and only 1% will actually get sponsored and maybe go pro.talk about bennys and kooks,ROB KELLY ,now one of the best jersey surfers,is originally from pa,hasnt been surfing that long,but the kid rips.id like to see one of u guys call him a benny or kook.or raven lundy,i seen on one of his videos ppl were hatin saying thats not even surfing,because ur being towed.will u sir,are an idiot!be happy,surf waves,smoke crack,shoot smack

 

well said bro!who cares?ill tell ya who,swellinfo forum junkies!

 

yea, i have a problem w/ people who automatically look for the easy way out, rather than put in a little work & dedicate themselves to something. it's that mindset that gave us SUKs & the wavejet.
i've already said that the longboard has its place in the line up & the quiver of the east coast surfer. hell, i own a 9'6" & ride it fairly frequently.

 

I watched a handful of guys last night hopping up and down on their shortboards, trying to eek out rides on a day when the conditions were clearly best suited for a log. At one point I said to my wife, "They'd be having more fun if they weren't on the wrong boards. They'd be getting 50 yard noserides on a longboard."

I went home, pulled out the log, went back, and did just that.

And some loudmouth kook who wouldn't shut up about "how much pu$$y he gets at Bar A" called me "Robert Augustine." Ha! He was a funny guy.

 

I hope you dropped in on him. When I was single one way we used to rate female attractiveness was "is she actually hot or, 'Bar A on a Sunday' hot'?

 

To each his own.