I’m a 155 pound mini-mal rider who’s searching for a smaller board that would be as big as possible to catch some waves, yet small enough for learning how to duckdive.
I’ve been looking at two boards:
a fat shortboard 6’6 x 20 x 2 1/2
or
an even fatter funboard 6’8 x 21’ x 3’
I’m sure I’ll catch more waves on the funboard, but am I going to be able to duckdive it?
If your just learning to duckdive that 6’8" at 3"thick is going to be pretty tough to duckdive. The thinner smaller one is a better choice but you give up easier wave catching.
First question I have is - what’s your surfing experience? If you catch plenty waves and are looking to get into shortboarding, go for the short. If you still need the wave count to improve, go for the funboard. As far as needing a shorter board to learn to duckdive… depending on your current ocean comfort levels and skills and such, it may not be necessary. I regularly duckdive my 9’ boards with no problem whatsoever. They average about 2 3/4" thick. And I do mean duckdive, not turtle. I can also reasonably duckdive my 10’ board when I’m riding it a lot. Of course it’s a bit more of a beast to deal with than the 9’s, but it’s still doable. Main thing - it’s all about technique. For funboards and longboards, it’s all about decreasing the surface area of that big wide nose. If you tip the nose of the board sideways at about a 45 degree angle, you’ll find it a lot easier to get underwater than trying to push it straight down like a shortboard. Give it a try - if you like your current board, there may be no need to give it up! Good luck!
you can also try to duckdive your mini mal. i think you should try the 6´8" cause i think you will handle it easier and you can paddle it a lot quicker. it´s hard if you can duckdive but aren´t able to paddle out quick enough. cheers clemens
yep waxfoot said what i was gonna say …i can duck dive a 9’x 24 1/2 x 3 with chunky rails ,sniff sniff , so upset i sold that board , it went real well in ankle high slop…
push one rail down first , so your almost pushing your board in side ways , then flaten it back out once you get it under…
What kind of breaks do you surf? If you usually surf beachbreak closeout windswell where you have to paddle 200 yards out through surf to get to the outside, I’d go with the smaller. Duckdiving more or less continously can be a challenge even for those who are very atletic. You’re pretty lightweight so you should have more than enough board at 6’6" x 20" x 2 1/2". Heck, even I can surf a board of that size in OK waves…
If you usually have some lulls and/or can paddle around most of the breaks, go with the bigger.