Strange - it seems that fish are ok, shortboards are cool - longboards too…
BUT
nobody wants a mid - length board …“it doesn’t fit the wave”, “too long and too short - a bad comprimise”…
So - Is this right? Can surfboards only be 5’ 5" to 7’ and then 9’ to 11" - is there a no man’s land ?
OR
Do you have evidence/opinions/theory to the contrary?
Although I have been riding longboards for 6 or 7 years now, I still like boards in the 7’-2" to 8’ range. They can be fun boards, or mini-longboards as long as the are shaped right they should ride right.
The following is a repost of mine from the One Board Quiver thread. I’ve had good success with boards in the 7’8" to 8’2" range and don’t subscribe to the idea that they won’t fit into the pocket. Boloney! or Bologna, take your pick.
“The best all around, one board quiver that I’ve had was a 7’8” double ender, w/glass on tri-fin setup made by Pat Ryan at ET Surfboards in Hermosa Bch. It paddled like a dream, I could ride waist high beach breaks and the next morning DOH reefs. I honestly have never had such a comfortable board to ride in such a wide variety of conditions. I’m stoked that I took the time to make a template and dimensions while I still had it. I’ve since made a 7’ version with a 2 +1 setup that has a very similar feel, not the same mind you, but nonetheless very similar and incredibly fun."
BTW, I made an 8’ single fin version for my brother in law (who is a very good short boarder) and he loves it. In the future I’d make it a tri or a quad just to kick things up a notch.
I’ve made a whole lot of boards that are 7’2", 7’4", 7’6", 7’10", 8’0", 8’2", 8’4", 8’6", etc etc. They all work great.
So, in my opinion it’s only 7 and 8 foot boards plus an odd number of inches that don’t work.
I definately dont hate mid lengths, i think they are great. I had a 7’6’’ minimal, it was magic, rode it til it died. Have a 7’3’’ big fish shape ( 7S xl ) now, which is not as good ( too flat i think ), but still a great all round board. They paddle great, catch small waves, and handle big waves ( not that i surf big big waves ) quite well. I would love to have another minimal, but i know it wouldn’t be as good as my old one. Still want one though!. Been toying with making one, but would like a quad next. Im almost finished a short single, so maybe i should go the midlength.
Cheers
P.S There was someone here who not long ago made a midlength for their daughter, It had smiley faces on the rails from memory, and a sweet little diamond tail. Was an awesome looking board, i think it was 7’ something. If that person reads this, can you please post another pic???.
well there is a whole range of mini guns and semi guns in that range…
Ive wondered about this myself.
I think some theories are in order.
My Mid-Theory is this: bigger guys who want to surf off the tail like a shortie do best on them.
Mid-Theory #2: fin setup is critical because youre somewhere between the glide and rapid pump. So a more powerfull and efficient fin setup might make an avg board really good.
My bud who is 230lb rides an 8’0. He went down from years riding 9-10’ longboards. Basically he was looking for more performance. Initially, he was very disappointed with the board but after I reworked his fin setup he’s doing stuff he hasnt done in years. The guy is super stoked.
We know Resinhead likes the mids. I made one for me…a high tech compsand but the lower swingweight is a drag for me. Im short all the way.
that’s great 
of course, I’ve got a 7’ 1.5"board that has been my main board for over a year. just imagine what I could do with another half inch.
pat.
You mean this one…7-6. I think boards in the 7-8’ range are extremely valid, especially for people who want a “practical fun easy to ride” surfboard. Nothing wrong with that. 
She can surf too.
Beerfan,
This is a 7’6", 2 + 1, mini mal I made for wife a few years back. She did the artwork. Is this what you were thinking of?
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I personally feel, how the board is perceived, is determined by why the person is riding it. Are they coming down from performance longboards and looking for more performance and knowing the paddling is going to be sacrificed?. Are they a shortboarder who has gotten too big/old for their equipment?
This is a 7’4" that I’m really stoked on and can be ridden as a 4 or five fin, so much so the Fish hasn’t seen the water since I picked this board up. I have only been riding the LB when it’s thigh high and very weak. I can do anything on this board that I could do on my Fish. The plus is this board paddles well to help battle drift and gets in to waves much easier and quicker than the Fish. Because of this I find my drops less critical than on the Fish, and myself beating sections I would get behind, making for longer rides. This board surfs very well off the tail. I also have a 7’0" Egg with a 5 fin Bonzer bottom/fin setup but it doesn’t get into waves nearly as easy as this board.
7’0"
Mate that;s the one im thinking/dreaming/drooling about!!. Care to share the dims???. Looks like it’s under some very capable feet too!. Is that a supercharghed thruster setup i see??
Seing all these midlengths is starting to plant a seed in my brain. Might bust out the grid paper and get sketchin!!!
Sr Pato, that’s not it, but can you post dims also???
I made myself an 8’ mini-mal single fin last summer.
It was a great board, lots of fun to ride. I did notice that, contrary to what I had thought, that as far as paddling goes it was simply like a slightly bigger funboard. (what I and a couple of friends were used to riding)
I sold it over the winter and have made myself a quiver. A full sized 9’6" longboard, a 6’6" fish, a 7’ fun-gun step-up board and a 6’6" semi-fish with a griff style 5-fin setup.
I think that my bases should be covered for the surfing seasons.
I have been riding 6’8”-7’6” eggs for some time. I like them because I can ride them in most conditions, they are easy to ride, and I can fit them in my truck easily. I also believe they have the potential to be ridden very well. The only holdback is they make wide radius turns, but if you can maintain your speed and momentum through the turns and out of the turns without bogging down, they would make a great board because you could go out in small junk surf and have a great time without having to contend with all crowds. Once in a while somebody makes a positive comment about my board or my surfing. On the other hand I also ride a fish and even though the fish doesn’t surf as well as the egg to me, I get comments about my fish and my surfing much more often. I think fish have a better rep than the eggs because some guys really rip on fishes. Back in the day fish were THE performance board. I think fun boards don’t have that good of a reputation because not many people ride them very well. I hope some day I’ll be able to ride mine good enough to elevate my self into a higher state of conciousness
I made this 8-0 x 22 x 3 as a “fun gun” or “mush gun” to surf OH to DOH at a particular spot, but now I ride it a lot when it’s small too. It’s really fun. I surfed this past Saturday on a 6-3 chip and kept surfing behind sections. I took this out on Sunday, same kind of waves, and had a blast. There are a lot of days when I see good surfers on their chips cursing in frustration because they can’t catch waves or can’t connect to the inside, and I shake my head and think, “Wrong tool for the job.” There are probably lots of days when mid length board is the right tool for the job.
‘‘Care to share the dims???.’’
Will do. In another discussion I am involved in, “what should I be riding?”, after stating some of my surfing experience someone responded that instead of my being told what to ride I should be telling them what to ride . Well the problem I have is that I really feel this type of board could benefit a whole lot of surfers in a wide variety of conditions. This board is the same design I have been using for a few years now. My board is longer. I have a hard time convincing people that for for the “average recreational surfer”, which we all are unless you are making money at it, the hyper rockered wafer thin “pro” shortboard MAY NOT BE THEIR FRIEND. There seems to be an attitude that “the shorter the board the better the surfer”. I have spent too many years in this to buy into that. I see way to many surfers who would actually be doing more on a wave and getting longer rides with a little bigger board. Thats just how it looks to me…Send dimension tomorrow.
Oh my GOD, I’ve been adrift on the sea of “NO MANS” for the past 15 years.
I had no idea I was wrong all this time, maybe it was because I was having so fricking much fun.
Thanks mate, i’ll check the thread out. Minimals/midlength boards here in aus are looked at as kook boards. I mean, i never got hassled with my minimal, and i never do when im on my 7’3’', but the young groms and hardcore shortboarders just assume you’re a kook. I think they get a bad rap because a lot of beginners use them. Anyway, the more i look at this thread, the more keen i am to do one!.
I’ve had more MAGIC BOARDS in the 7’ 10’’ to 8’ 2’’ range, than any other size range. Also one board quiver candidates.