so im form st cloud florida and have been makin an hour drive every weekend to a no wave atlantic ocean finally this weekend paid off. there were constant knee to thigh high waves with an occasional chest high set every 20 minutes or so. spanish house was packed n i ended up at whiteys fish camp today but the worst thing about the weekend was my board. i'm about 5'10 anmd weigh 160 i ride a 6'1 spectrum with very thin rails somewhere around 1'1/2 to 1'3/4 inches thick. I could get hardly any drive in such small waves and was considering buyin a lost rnf quad but i am unsure of wat specs to get or if there is a better board out there someone please help
buy a longboard (9ft+)!! it will pay off, those knee to waist waves will become pretty fun... a 6'1 with thin rails is not made for those waves, its meant for real waves, which we don't get too often in florida... i spent a few minutes at that spot sunday, realized its not worth being out with all those kooks, including you ;-)...you will find that there are good sandbars around with noone out, and you will catch all the waves you want on the LB, you just have to go search for them.... best of luck
The LB suggestion is great, but I'd recommend a really fat twin/quad fin for typical Florida days... it'd be more like what you want when you're shortboarding, anyways. You'll lose a fair amount of top-to-bottom surfing, (for me) but we don't get those days too often anyways. What you'll gain is control, speed and the ability to surf small waves without as much flailing and stomping. I've got a 5'10 (almost too long, but still a good challenge) twin fin fish, retro tail, 2 1/2 thick, almost 21 wide. You don't have to go that extreme in width and thickness to reap the benefits. Although I can't shred like Slater on it, I can definitely still conquer all the basic shortboard turns (cept for the airs). Cutbacks, top turns, floaters and simple moves are all that most of our 'sluggish-kinda ridable' waves allow for anyway. The twin fin setup lets you get lose on the turns, feels really skateboardish, you can let go of tail alot easier... which I think I have more fun doing than most. Unless you line up the turn right, as soon as you go for the roundhouse- you can slide around. I get a kick out of it, because I can't come close to doing anything like that on the thruster. The board itself is really floaty, and gets into waves nice and early to setup the turn. Limits can be pushed with those things too... don't let me lead ya to believe anything else. Just look at what Donnie and Rasta do on those types of boards. Find something you enjoy, but also that is usable in the type of surf you usually drive for.
I'm your size and in Delaware ( = mushy summer waves ) i've owned several twinnie fishes and ...Lost round nose fish type boards. The RNF i'm riding this summer is the best so far and is 5'11" x 20.5" x 2 3/8" Much more fun than the longboard if you want to throw spray in 2 foot waves and not just glide
i agree with all that these two guys (swell lover & mitchell) have said....the longboard is a cool cruise, but a nice fish will be much more similar to a shortboard....i am 5'8, 165, and if i'm gonna ride a fish, it's either a retro twin fin 5'6 x 21 x 2 1/4 WRV, or a Rusty Pirhana 5'10 x 20 x 2 1/4....the rusty is a thruster set up, but can still ride well as a twin fin (although i usually ride it with the thruster set up)....both are good for small waves, but the WRV is better when the waves are real mushy, and the rusty really excels when the wave is a bit more walled up i recommended the LB just because I have been learning to ride one (just got a 9'2 Allen White in late May and love it!) its an easy ride, and when the waves are either really, really, really, REALLY small, but still rideable, or small and inconsitent, that is my weapon of choice.... i'm 21 and pretty fit, so i can manage both kinds of boards....either way you go (LB or fish), you really can't go wrong...search CRAIGLIST and find yourself a good board for a reasonable price. i do not see the need to go buy a new board unless you really know what dimensions work for you if you have any other questions, please ask, there are many people on here willing to share what they know (or, in my case, what they think they know)
buy a board from MAYO, cost a pretty penny but will last much longer then those other brandname boards and will probably surf better. plus you can tell him what you want and will shape a board that fits your body and style. www.mayosurfboards.com
yes if you do end up going to buy a new or custom board, make sure it is from a local shaper! mayo is great, also check out tom neilson (http://www.tomneilsonshapes.com), cannibal surfboards by AJ Finan (http://www.cannibalsurf.com), Balsa Bill for a great custom longboard(http://www.balsabill.com/boards.html)....there are so many great local shapers out there, its impossible to name them all here. if you contact any of them, give them your info (hght, weight, ability) and what you are looking for in a board, they will shape a great board for ya! and definitely DON'T BUY A SH*T POPOUT made in china (like 7S)!!!!!!
