hey, i am new here, but need help with info on old school fish, i am 6' 2" 200 lbs, with not a lot of experience this is my second season surfing, and i am still learning board material and how shapes and fins function, 1. i have talked to a local shaper and he talked about different resign and far as pounds, like a four pound on the bottom and 6 lb on the deck, i understand for strength but is it really that big of a deal 2. i am learning how fins work as far as base and depth, but i want a twin, would it be better to look into molded fins or something like fcs, 3. length, i have been told that you can go up to three inches shorter on a fish than your normal short board length, but seeing as how i never have ridden a short board what is a good length thanks for your help, these are just a few questions, i definately have many more, i am looking at josh miller, rozo and clay bennet( but i have just read some bad news on bennet as far oweing people money in jax) any knowledge about these shapers would be cool too
I'm not very experienced myself, but I'll share my thoughts in case they're worth anything. I'm 6'2" and about 200lbs. I ride a 7' thruster that is pretty skinny and was brutal to learn how to surf on. I think fish boards are generally wider towards the nose (and possibly thicker?) so they end up being more buoyant than thrusters/semi - guns and can more easily float someone your size ... the more buoyant the board, the easier it is to catch waves... and with a more buoyant board you can catch smaller waves, too. But then again I've only owned one board and I've only been surfing for a couple of years myself. Maybe someone else can chime in and correct me if I'm wrong? I think you'd be very wise to go with FCS in the way of fins... if for no other reason than fins break... And just to mention that they exist... proteck makes fins with soft edges that could keep you from getting finned and might save you from having to paddle in while bleeding from some 75yds off shore during a great set/day/session (I seem to be pretty prone to this. maybe its just me.) I don't know about resin but my board has 2 sheets of glass on the bottom and 4 on top... I was told you need more support on top to take the beating your feet will give the board (a lot of weight/pressure in a relatively small area) and less on the bottom to save on weight of the board where you don't need the strength because the pressure is more evenly distributed across the board. I have no idea what that translates to for resin tho. Anyway, maybe that helps. Happy hunting.
fishy you are on the right track. i'm a featherweight, at 5'7"-- 158lbs. i ride a 5'10" 7fish. i also ride a 6'0 anacapa glider (when it is shoulder high or bigger). and i could actually ride the same board but a little smaller. this is my puerto rico board, so bigger is usually better. i have a friend that is your height and weight and he rides a walden 5'10" fish. keep in mind an important factor hear is flexability, strength, and agility. someone 6 foot might rip on a 6'2 shortboard, and another 6 foot person with the same build may need a 6'4 or 5 in order to get the ride they are looking for. i've seen people make the mistake of buying a longer board when they would be better off getting a thicker shorter board. a thicker shorter board will give you more of a skateboard feel. and the longer thinner board will allow you to handle bigger waves better without "skating" down the face when you should be "pumping." our gulf coast waves have proven to be fish friendly time and time again. however i suggest you grab as many different boards as you can, so you can find out what you like the best. this is about personal prefference, so buy used boards and borrow friends boards as much as possible. have fun out there, and remember if you are going left, look right. if you see me, stop... peace and good luck.
fishy you are on the right track. i'm a featherweight, at 5'7"-- 158lbs. i ride a 5'10" 7fish. i also ride a 6'0 anacapa glider (when it is shoulder high or bigger). and i could actually ride the same board but a little smaller. this is my puerto rico board, so bigger is usually better. i have a friend that is your height and weight and he rides a walden 5'10" fish. keep in mind an important factor hear is flexability, strength, and agility. someone 6 foot might rip on a 6'2 shortboard, and another 6 foot person with the same build may need a 6'4 or 5 in order to get the ride they are looking for. i've seen people make the mistake of buying a longer board when they would be better off getting a thicker shorter board. a thicker shorter board will give you more of a skateboard feel. and the longer thinner board will allow you to handle bigger waves better without "skating" down the face when you should be "pumping." our gulf coast waves have proven to be fish friendly time and time again. however i suggest you grab as many different boards as you can, so you can find out what you like the best. this is about personal prefference, so buy used boards and borrow friends boards as much as possible. have fun out there, and remember if you are going left, look right. if you see me, stop... peace and good luck.
Fish is the way to go I hadnt rode in quite a while and was looking for something to get me back into it. Im 5'11 and 250, most certainly not a featherweight. I first went with a ...Lost Shark (6'10), which is infact awesome- great speed, easy to paddle, a bit thinker and wider to hold the extra poundage ive aquired. BUT... if you want to increase your wavecount a bit and still get a pretty good rip on, go with the ...Lost Round Nose Fish. I just picked one up a couple weeks ago (also 6'10, but could have went as low as 6'6) and lemme tell you that you can grab just about anywave you want. I went with the tri fin (its also available in quad) because you want it to be a little loose as youre getting back into (or learning in your case.) and the 7s in the fins to get a little more drive. Forget about a twin, and DONT GET GLASSED ON FINS! With the FCS setup on the tri fin RNF you can swap fin sizes (and set ups if you really feel you want to ride a twinnie) and experiment with what suites you best as youre learning. once youve gotten a few waves under you, you can step up to the 5 fin shark- its like having a mini quiver of boards with the different fin set ups you can do- twin, thruster, quad, big single... hell go for all five if you feel like it. Either way, Im stoked with those 2 boards and I use them the most.
Everyone has been pretty much spot on with their responses. I am about 5' 8" and 145lbs and I ride a 6'1" Swallow Tail, and you can rip on that if the surf is right. I also ride my friends 5' 10" fish and it rides exactly like a skateboard. That fish was the board that I learned how to surf on, it was pretty easy and forgiving. My only issue was, with a fish you have to ride pretty far forward and while I was learning, i spent a bit of time nose diving before i figured out the location of where i should lay, and the timing of when i should stop paddling. For a person of your size i would say a fish anywhere from 5'10"-6'2" would be fine. And i highly reccomend the twin fin FCS set up, it rides really smooth,unfortunately you won't be doing too many hard cutbacks, but you will be riding the crap out of the face. If you can find a quad fin fish, those are really interesting too. Alot of fish's come in 100% epoxy resin and those are almost indestructible. So try to find something like that. I wouldn't worry too much about all of those minor details, just buy a board with a bit of knowledge about it, and learn to surf it. Have fun (oh and "jeysinb16" i'm gonna go left and snake the hell out of your wave
i have ridden a 5'4" fish with no trouble and im 6 foot and 145. if ya can do it, go super short with the fish.
very true. he's right, tiny fish are a blast. but for the rookie, go bigger. unless you have a skateboarding back ground... then you may be able to handle it... oh yeah,, element99-- if you surf secret spots in anna you probably already have!!
