Thoughts on Bigger Shortboards

Like a couple already said check out a local shaper but if you want something off the rack you might want to look at the CI Warp.It sounds like that's right up hour alley.They are in the 6'4-6'7 range with a descent amount of volume.

 

Austin Surfboards in Va Beach
Skip the big box boys and go check him out, great boards he's very reasonable and knowledgeable

 

Before I even finished reading your post I thought 6'4 to 6'6". How old are you? You won't see much of a difference between a 7'4 and 6'10. Forget a 6'8 to 6'10 unless you plan on charging bigger surf.
Don't be afraid to go shorter if the board you get has the proper volume in width and thickness. To me you only need extra length if you plan on surfing bigger (Overhead). A short board today is vastly different than it was 10-15 year ago. For standard waist to head high waves nobody should be on a shortboard more than 2-3" taller than them, if not much shorter than them for more experienced surfers.
I would go with a 6'6" about 20W x 2 3/8T, with some volume throughout the board. 2 1/2T maybe if you are over 30 years old . Once you get a feel for the board you will be going shorter and shorter each year.

 

Keep in mind that the average guy is 5'10. So that, "between 6' and 7' is no-man's land" statement needs to be kept in context. You're 6'3 for Pete's sake! Scaled up to your height, the "average guy" rule would put you on a 6'4. Now... I'm not big on rules, because there's way to many variables. A good conversation with an experienced and trusted local shaper, with what you're currently riding in hand, will be the best shot at getting what you're after.

Somebody here suggested an egg. I'm not big on the traditional eggs, which are relatively simple shapes, with relatively low performance abilities. However... I've had great success and positive feedback with more modern versions of the design. One guy texted me just this week, saying... "I can't ride any other stick!" Must have been a good session... Anyway, check out the FC Huevo Ranchero. You'll get an idea of what a modernized version of the egg is capable of being. And by modernized I mean, specifically, modern single-to-double concave bottom contours, hpsb rail shape/volume, a more delicate foil (helps duckdiving and improves flex), and multi-fin setup. I did a thruster/quad convertible for the guy I just mentioned. He started out with it set up as a quad and it was just too much of a departure from his funboard. He switched it back to a thruster to get a handle on the responsiveness and performance, then once he got got the board wired, started playing around with it as a quad.

For the record, I'm 6'1, 190lbs, and turned 49 today. My 3 shortboards are a 6'6 hpsb in good surf, a 6'0 twin keeled fish, and a 6'4 battail quad (groveler). All are around the 2 9/16 thick mark. Don't get too caught up in length... volume and foil are key design elements in the duckdiveability of any board.

 

Hey Grant, since everyone else is chiming in I figure I should too. It sounds to me like you're looking to go smaller to make the paddle out/duck diving easier, and I feel you on that one. I rode a 7'0 for a long time and it sucked. I couldn't duck dive it for the life of me. I'm 6'0 and 180, but was probably closer to 170 back then. Everyone else is saying don't go too small but I think it depends on your duck diving abilities as well. I'm not a small guy but there's no way I can get a 6'8 to duck dive properly. I'm also only an intermediate surfer at best, but if I can't make the paddle out then I'm not getting ANY waves, so duck diving is almost as important as the ride to me. That said, I made the transition from the 7'0 to a 5'8 Hobie quad fin two summers ago. It was tough at first but I love it now. I also just bought a locally shaped thruster at 5'10 to serve as a bit of step up when it gets closer to head high and up. I So despite what most people are saying, don't be afraid to go a little smaller. It might be a steeper learning curve but there are some payoffs to going smaller

 

Can't go wrong with a Rawson
http://www.realwatersports.com/used-rawson-impala-6-4

 

Epoxy refers to the resin... the "glue" that holds the structural fiberglass cloth to the foam core. The alternative is polyester resin. While you can use epoxy resin on both common foam types (polyurethane, which is traditional, or polystyrene, which is relatively newer and less common, but becoming more popular with time) polyester resin is used exclusively on polyurethane foam... traditional PU/PE, "foam and fiberglass" construction. So if your friend is working with epoxy, the real question is what kind of foam is he using? Is it epoxy/polystyrene, or epoxy/polyurethane?

Epoxy/polystyrene (usually the expanded variety, called "EPS") gives a distinct advantage in that the foam is so light and strong that you can use heavier, stronger fiberglass cloth, and end up with a board that is considerably more durable, but the same weight as traditional PU/PE. Or... you can glass it the same as PU/PE and end up with a much lighter board, but no stronger. If you just compare the two resins, unreinforced with fiberglass, the best surfboard-specific epoxies are slightly lighter and stronger than polyester. You can also get different formulas of epoxy for flex, strength, etc., and you can't with polyester. I always opt for the stronger instead of the lighter board.

The down side to EPS/epoxy is that they're generally more expensive to produce, and if you glass them for the strength advantage (rather than weight advantage), you make the board stiffer. Some people don't like the added stiffness. To compensate, you can go thinner, or go with a different stringer construction... stringerless, a different stringer material, or parabolic stringers. All of these are options to get added flex, along with added strength, and no compromise in weight.

For the record, all my shortboards are EPS/epoxy. My log and my "gun" for big waves are PU/PE, where the added weight and traditional feel are important to me.

As for the price on the FC Huevo Ranchero, I was suggesting that as a design type. The price is out of reach for many of us. But it's an idea to discuss with your shaper.

 

hey man I'm 5'10" 205lbs late 40"s just got the Lost sub scorcher 2, 6'6" 21w x 2 3/4 works real well in wide variety of waves I'm liking boards in the 38- 40 liter of volume area and we are similar in weight. that is your best bet find the volume that works well and stay with it regardless of board lenghth...firewire has a volume sugestion model on their web site you can try for a base line..good luck..