Most mini guns I see off the rack don’t go up over 19.25" center.I’m looking at ordering a 6’8" x 2.50 and am wondering if 19.25 is the “magic” width,not too short not too wide.I’m not huge,165lbs ,surf with a 5mm .I like to surf bigger waves but have a 7’0" for the bigger days.I need lotts of paddle power! Should I keep it 19.25 or under? I don’t really wan’t to go thicker cuz I like to turn in the pocket. What your opinion? Thanks!
i guess it depends on what type of outline you want,keeping it narrow for better speed and handling, or push it out for a little more curve.
to get into the wave early, and for that you don’t need to be too narrow. Lots of the old-time major boards were 22 inches wide, maybe until Barry Kanaiaupuni came along with much thinner, narrower boards. I remember narrow sticks had their day in the 70s - a pal had one 7’6" x 14-1/2 wide. Made every section but didn’t turn well. During last summer’s big swell in Town (Honolulu) I was at Castle’s on the largest day with my 8’6" x 22" Fun Gun. In the late afternoon there were fifteen foot faces - I know, I was caught inside. Good thing it’s a deep water break. The board rode better than I expected; I had been out on small but windier choppy days when I couldn’t get anywhere near a takeoff. Since then I made a 9’3" x 22" round pin single fin for those days. I’m 6’6" myself, 230 pounds, not a hellman, won’t be out at big sunset or Waimea, just wanted the paddling ease, and I’ll tell you it glides mighty nice. Took it out on a smooth little-more-than-overhead day at Browns and really eased in nicely.
Back when I weighed what you weigh (165lbs then - 190lbs now), I always went 18 3/4 center width on my 6-8 semi-guns and 2 9/16" thick. A lot of guys were going 18 1/4, but I could catch anything and never felt the board was too wide or too narrow. For me, on a powerful wave going 19" or less width has a good feel, although I do go wider on my full blown guns (over 7-6) just because I want as much paddling power as I can get for the huge days. But as you go narrower your outline straightens out and the board will start to feel stiffer in the turns, so factor performance into your decision. If you plan to surf thumping beach barrells, narrow and gunny works great. For long point waves, go wider and curvy so you can carve the long walls. If you don’t know the difference, then it doesn’t matter and stick with the 19.25 measurement.