Im looking for a new second board. So im surfing for a year now on a 7,4. 21, 2 3/4 evolution board .i can go left and right catching most of the waves i go for. I tried a lost short round for 3 days (6,2. 38,4 ltr). Its thikker than my minimal. The thing is that i had some problems with my paddling and most of all with my pop up as the board felt very unstable and narrow as i tried to stand up. I was trying to find my stance racing down the line. Once i had my feet right i really liked it as i was able to move it up and down a bit and go down the line .
I know that moving from a minimal to a shortboard will be difficult. So whats a good option Should i give it more time, should i get the short round in a bigger size or will a pod mod be more suitable for me or should i go for a more groveller type like the lost puddle jumper? Im really confused !!
Stick with it. If you’re getting to your feet you’re doing something right. With practice you’ll get better.
I would however make one recommendation and that would be not to chase the ‘shorter is better’ thing to it’s illogical extreme. At some point, it’s diminishing returns.
I posted recently in regards to Rolf Aurness winning the 1970 World Surfing Championship in Australia on a longer board than the other competitors… Here’s a cut/paste of a review:
Aurness was the first overseas competitor to arrive in Victoria, Australia, for the 1970 World Championships. Nearly all of the heavily favored Australian surfers, including Wayne Lynch and 1966 world champion Nat Young, were using experimental sub-six-foot boards. Aurness, riding a streamlined 6’ 10", stood out immediately as the contest’s most polished and precise surfer, and in the six-man final, held in beautiful overhead waves at a rural surf break called Johanna, he won easily. “Rolf was going twice as fast as we were,” finalist Nat Young recalled, “and covering twice the ground.”
Yeah im getting on my feet but not as often as i whould like . Its like 3/10 waves . I know its early. Maybe should have 10 more sessions for a better judgement. I dont want to go to smaller boards as im really tall but some say that grov because they are nose wide will be more stable for the pop up. But again im just learning about boards so … Many questions…
Really you need to experience the spectrum of what is available out there, and find what works for you. A wide variety of shapes and sizes can be fun, and eventually you will probably acquire a quiver of boards you tried and liked enough to keep. I think its always a good idea to give a new board a fair shake, even if you set it aside for awhile, come back and give it another go another day. Try some different fins or fin setups or adjustments, whatever you can play with, to see how it affects the ride. Its a journey that never ends, because you’re always finding a new challenge or a new avenue to explore. Surfing is special, and those of us blessed enough to enjoy it have that one extra thing on our list when we count our blessings!
…hello; if you want to have one big board and one shorter; discard that hybrid that you have there and get an egg in 7 4 x 22 1/8 x 3 1/8, 50/50 rails, single fin with box; modern rocker:
the shorter board like this one with concave deck to grab well the back foot and do not have problems when paddle, step deck (less wider in some cases like here; depends on what your discuss with your shaper); tucked edged rail all the way to hard; WP down; more tail area; rounded nose and rounded tail tips to prevent personal damage; curved outline approach; more tail rocker in the last 1/3; thinner thickness in nose area; less nose area; 2+1 fin set up (check what fin) 6 4 x 3 1/2
