Hello, Just a quick plea for info. and advice on Bonzer type boards. I am 190 lbs. and 6’2" tall and am learning to surf. I have an older 7’0" 19 3/4" wide tri-fin that I have learned on until now. I can stand up and turn down the face of the wave easily and make a few turns while I am up as well. I am looking into buying a newer Campbell Bros. 5 fin bonzer that is 7’2" X 14.5 X 21.5 X 14.5 X 2.75 funshape and wanted to know if this would be a good board for me to continue learning and progressing on. Does the bonzer shape make for a more difficult ride for a person like myself who is relatively new to surfing or would this board be a good investment for me, is it possibly too short etc. By the way I live in NJ so I will mostly be in smaller, mushier surf. Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED…thanks. Jeremy
Hello,>>> Just a quick plea for info. and advice on Bonzer type boards. I am 190 > lbs. and 6’2" tall and am learning to surf. I have an older 7’0" > 19 3/4" wide tri-fin that I have learned on until now. I can stand up > and turn down the face of the wave easily and make a few turns while I am > up as well. I am looking into buying a newer Campbell Bros. 5 fin bonzer > that is 7’2" X 14.5 X 21.5 X 14.5 X 2.75 funshape and wanted to know > if this would be a good board for me to continue learning and progressing > on. Does the bonzer shape make for a more difficult ride for a person like > myself who is relatively new to surfing or would this board be a good > investment for me, is it possibly too short etc. By the way I live in NJ > so I will mostly be in smaller, mushier surf. Any advice would be GREATLY > APPRECIATED…thanks. Jeremy Jeremy, Here is Mike Eatons’ e-mail address : Mike is a professional that should be able to give you all of the answers you are looking for. Going off of memory here but I think he told me that he has shaped over 20K bonzer type boards. Drop him an e-mail, he is a good guy. I believe you can find his web link in the resouces section - or at least get there through Anthonys’ site… My two bits on your question is based on the limited information you provided: I feel that the best thing for a person of average athletic ability, aerobic and anaerobic, paddling etc…is a funboard that has a been set up with an adjustable thruster fin configuration (Red-X comes to mind). The thruster should have forgiving rails and have a fuller foil throughout to facilitate paddeling. A wider tail will aid in paddeling as well. Bottom line the more waves you catch the more fun you will have. There is a lot to be said about the stoke that you can get off of a modern longboard. You should really think about what you want to accomplish and the amount of effort you are willing to expend to accomplish your goals. In other words – everyone would like to be able to surf like Kelly and the rest of the top 125 but truth be told very few have the time, resources, and ability to make that a reality. For what it is worth… Magoo P.S. Frost on the car today and HB was SMALLLLLLLLL!