This has probably been asked before? but what size fish’s are you riding? I’m looking to buy a new fish and at 6’-2” and 230lbs I’m wondering on the size?
It’s kind of strange when you ask on different threads you get much different answers? Thanks for your input!
i’m 6’3’ 225lbs…
mine’s 6’6’‘x 22’ x 3"
don’t be scared to go small
i ride a 5’7"x21"x3" fish and i’m 5’10" and 125lbs its just a little hard to paddle when theres a lot of current
Bigduke, how good of shape are you in? how do you want to surf and in what waves do you want to ride this board in? both are going to affect the type of fish you choose.
skiny, damn i remember when i was your size. I rode much smaller fish and was fine, sat a little deeper than the longboards and snagged more than them. I have ridden the board in up to head(eastcoast) and never had a paddling problem.
5’10" 145lbs board: 5’0" 22" 2 3/4", complete retro styling, deep vee, flat deck wide ass,
new fish(small wave, snub nose, wide tailed groveller) will be 5’4" 19 3/4" 2 3/8"
(my fish dims are put up to show the difference in shape for different styles of surfing)
Well?? Pretty good shape, I think? I could lose another 10lbs? But inst there a point if the board doesn’t float you, no matter how good a surfer your are, It not going to work? Here’s where I’m at:
At 30+ years surfing I’ve been on all kinds of watercraft. In the last 5 years I’ve been riding twins and quads and loving it! I surf a CI skinny keel fish 6-6” 22” 2 9/16 and a CI 6-2” 21.5 2 9/16 thick quad. The 6’ -6” surfs easy, quick to jump up on and off it goes! The 6’-2” has the same kind of feeling, but more pumping to keep it moving (defiantly feels skater) my question is “SHORTER?” better? Would a 6’-0” work or am I just fooling myself?
By the way: when sitting on the boards the water line is between my navel and chest
If I ask the “other form” I would be on a 5’-8” @ 2.5 thick???
Thanks
i think i might have found the reason why it was so hard to paddle… theres a crack in the vent (its a eps board) and the board gained about 4lbs of water from it
damn time to fix it and some how get that water out
Duke, I’m 40 yrs, 6-1, 190lb + 4-5mm wetsuit and am riding a 5-10" x 20.5 x 2-1/2" Twin Keel. When sitting on my board, the water sits right under my chest. I will probably go a bit thicker on my next fish but dont think i would go much longer. I like the front to back control with the shorter board. I also like that I can duck dive pretty easily with it. My recommendation is go shorter and a bit thicker.
i’m 6’2 200lbs. riding a 6’4 x 22 x 2" 7/8. I’m almost done shaping a 6’0 x 21" x 2 3/4. i personally wouldn’t recommend going any bigger than your height. they have more float than you may expect. don’t where you live but i’d consider renting one first, if possible. may save you some dough in the long run.
Duke, you are absolutely right about the fact that regardless of the talents of the rider, once a board hits x dimensions in relation to the body mass and wave the waves energy, the board will be crappy. The point at which that occurs is debatable. Look for a recent thread where this guy is surfing on a plywood piapo. I have paddled a skimboard into a wave and gotten to my feet, and pulled into the shore pound( I will not be repeating that feat if people begin questioning it. I have shat out enough sand to last a lifetime, thank you very much). Because of that I am of the opinion it is an issue of surface area to weight that really matters once into the wave; who among us hasn’t ridden a wave without a board? The only problem is you need to get to your feet and feet don’t have enough surface area, unless you are jesus, to let you stand on water. But if say, you were 6’2" and couldn’t swim 100 yards without being wiped you are going to want a floatier board to compensate for your lack of paddle power. I am nowhere near your size so I can’t even begin to fathom proper dims for your board but the info is typically pretty important for the people who can help.
regards,
Kyle Dexheimer
ps with your water line where described I would say kudos on not succumbing to the siren song of more foam. I love seeing guys past 30 riding shortboards.
The smaller the better, Theres way too many people riding oversized fishes!
Duke,
I’ve built and ridden fishes at that size and they rode great. But, I’ve found I can ride fishes much shorter than I thought without too much loss of paddling. I’m 5-9 and 175, about to turn 50. None of my current fishes are over 6 feet( although I’ve been thinking of revisiting some longer ones). The guildlines that used to get tossed around here 5 or so years ago were 4-6 inches shorter than your regular short board or up to the middle of your forehead. The shorter boards I make wider. I don’t think you will regret a fish up to your forehead, 5-10 to 6-0. Mike
It’s less board thickness than the water inflow that will affect paddleability.
I took 1/2" out of thickness, dropped nose kick 1" and ended up with an otherwise identical board that paddles into waves better than the thick one, lays over easier and does not paddle all that worse in flat water.
I can still lean forward on steep takeoffs and haven’t buried it more often on top turns (until I snapped off the front 3" last week on a bit of reef, but that’s another story!), so the nose kick reduction appears a worthy tradeoff.
Thanks for the help! I’m thinking 6’-2” keel and 6’-4” quad? Any smaller and Ill be sitting to far inside. Peace
Man, if I were you and had that kind of deal going on your Skinny Fish, I would be very very hesitant to mess very much with what sounds like perfection (?) Stay with that exact shape and quad it.
Hey Bigduke6 I am 6’ 4" 250 lbs and ride a 6’ 4"x 18"x 23 x 17.5 t fish its 3.25" thick and I made it out of a clark 6’9"A it works well for me. I have found big guy’s can ride short but what you loose in length you need to make up for in width and vol. If you are talking about a traditional fish I would consider something like 6’ x 17.5 x 23"x 17" & 3" thick. You got all the leverage you need and I am quite sure you can duck a longboard. Dont get caught up in the gotta go short stuff check out the Bennett 6’6" HTM and build yourself a board!!
I got a twin keel shaped by Steve Lis. I told him that I was thinking of a board in the 5’10" to 6’ range and he said he would recommended a 6’ to 6’2" board for me so suggested 6’. I’m 6’2" and 160lbs.
This is really timely for me. Am just starting to shape my first fish, moving from a long board in a last ditch effort to get onto something shorter! Having read this I’m embarrassed to say that it is 6’4"! I’m 5’10 so maybe it is a bit long. Whatever it’s what I’ve got now.
I don’t wish to hijack the thread but need some advice from the fish experts so please bear with me?
I’m going to put 5 fin positions on it so I can play with combinations and my son can have some fun on it as well.
Question…fin positions? Any suggestions welcome.
Cheers
Rik
Rikds,
I’m not an expert, but I’ll chime in. Don’t be embarrassed. The above are suggestions and guidlines. Some of the go short school of thought is ego and not neccessarily function. One of my best fish riders was a 6-4, splotchy green tint, boxy railed, poorly foiled thing with too thickly foiled keels. Go figure. I’m an inch shorter than you. Age, ability, surf need to go into the equation, too. I can’t help you with five fins. Check some of the photos of ACE’s and Grffin’s fish type boards. They use five and six fins. Mike
I’m 6 2 225lbs (ish) and ride a 6 4 x 21 3/4 x 2 5/8 quad fish…
I find paddling it is hard work - but wave catching is no problem and the thing just flies.
I’m sure I could surf a shorter fish …but in crowded conditions, competing with teenagers who weigh the same as two squirrels…maybe not so many waves eh?
The nightmare scenario is sitting there up to your shoulders in water and not catching anything…balance is key.
I’m 5’10", 155lbs., 50 years old. I ride a 5’9" twin keel shaped by Christenson. It is fairly thick, 2 9/16" I believe. It is a bit tough paddling when there’s a lot of water moving around, but it catches waves real easy and skates all over the wave. I’m really liking it and wouldn’t want to change a thing on it.
For what it’s worth, there ya go.