I was looking at a foam “black ball beater” fish under 5’ long. I’m about 6’. Forgetting about any volume concerns for the time being . . . if my hands-to-toes length when I am about to pop up is more than the funtional length of the board, I won’t be able to get a good pop, -right???
I (6’ 1") occasionally stand-up on my 5’6" Romo kneeboard and I can tell you I do it but it’s damn tricky. Foot placement and weight distribution have to be dead-on and take-off’s have to be late so the board drops out from under you as opposed to you pushing up. Of course this is just my experience some of the younger(read more agile) guys may have different experiences.
I seen a guy ripping on a bodyboard last summer without fins. don’t think I could pull it myself, but you could surf on anything with the right frame of mind. I would just worry about blackball rules against fiberglass.
once a board starts getting under 5’10’ the surfing style of the rider needs to be very smooth to make the board surf smooth. the turning radius decreases the shorter it gets, so you may find yourserlf sometimes doing choppy pumypy, hacking little turns. nothing worse than seeing a big guy thrashing on a sub 6foot shortboard. nat young and co went too short for the bells contest that year and they learnt the lesson, but it seems to be coming around again.
i saw a programme on extreme kelly slaters pro surfer the other day and machado and frankenretier were riding a seriously small purple board and they were doing ok
Mmmm. How short is too short? There’s a loaded question. I suggest you ask a woman.
machado is the king of smooth, compare his surfing even in small waves to some kid in the volcom videos. thats what i mean if you want to ride those really short boards you gotta have a look if your style is suited to them. if you have a really hacking flapping choppy style, you need to stick to longer boards above 6foot to force a smoother ride. i saw a preview on tv of the latest volcom vid, those kids seem to be sponsored for what they do while off the wave rather than actual riding skills. sick airs but man they dont even have basic trimming skills to go along a wave.
eddie is right on the money. i shaped a 4’10 for my daughter in '87 hoping she would go surfing with dad on the tiny days… no such luck… so i rode it and have kept a micro in my quiver ever since. great fun but smooth is the KEY. after a dozen or so i have found personally the best width is between 20" and 20 1/2" on order to go easily rail to rail with just ankle/knee work (keep the upper body quiet). outline should be fairly parallel for drive/acceleration and i’ve found that i can keep max thickness with thinner rails by shaping a step into the rail like the old CON Deuce twin fin (circa '71). good luck, it’s a fun change of pace. jim dunlop
Jim, you said “i’ve found that i can keep max thickness with thinner rails by shaping a step into the rail like the old CON Deuce twin fin (circa '71).” I’m not familiar with that design but it sounds intersting – where do you put a step in the rail; what sort of shape step, etc? By the way I’ve found that on my 6’ fish, which has a really deep swallowtail, I sometimes put my back foot right into the swallowtail & it slips off. Bummer. Had I made a really short board with a different tail shape I’d probably put a deck pad on it to keep that from happening, since foot placement is super critical on such short boards. But, it just doesn’t seem traditional to put a pad on an old style fish, so I just try to remember where I’m stepping.
I assume you are taller than 4’10", how do you change your technique for getting to your feet? I have tried doing a pop up on the floor without using my feet, just knees and north, but wow thats tough! Any hints?
right on, thats what I figured, thanks. I am pressing Jim Dunlop below for more details, he says he occasionally rides a 4’10!!! Of course, he didn’t divulge his height, but I am curious what he says. Maybe he is Mini Me in disguise!!! 
Like I told him, I tried popping without using my feet (just on the floor). My feet really dragged. So your comment that the board needs to drop under you makes sense. thanks again.
I’m an older bad-back-survivor riding a too short board. Sometimes I stand, sometimes I kneel, and sometimes I don’t get off my stomach. It makes me laugh no matter what I do.
gwood - you should be able to pop up without using your feet. Remember that it will be easier to get your legs under you in the water than it is on land as you will be 1) pushing the board down some as well as yourself up and 2)dropping in on a more steep face than you would with a bigger board and therefore be a bit more ‘weightless’… and 3) on such a small board a good portion of you will be down in the water so your boyancy will play a roll. my findings - and I’m 6’2" and have used boards where my feet were way off the end for much of my surfing life - it’s gotta be one quick movement and get the feet set - just like someone else has said. then you learn to ride the board and put it in the power spots that will keep you from bogging down. This is just the opposite of riding the wave on an longboard where the board travels with just a little wave slope and you don’t need to worry about looking for power to push you. In any case, if you like to turn a short short board can be a blast. I came from skateboarding where if you lean into a turn too much you slide out and eat-it. I loved the fact that the amount of lean & pressue I could put into my turns in surfing was not as limited. If the speed was there the rail could be buried. Too bad it’s 17 degrees here. Eric J
the stepped rail starts about 2 1/2 or 3 inches in from the edge of your planshape and runs parallel, blending(fading) at the nose and tail. i’m having trouble coming up with the words to accurately describe it (sorry) but basically i have a dead flat deck, which drops straight down about half a inch when it gets out to where the shoulder of the rail would start,leaving a distinct edge (a step down). a pain to shape,glass, and sand. i don’t have an answer about the mechanics of getting to a standing position on small boards. i just stand up. it’s getting more difficult as i get older (i’m 46) since the reflexes slow but i got back from costa rica three days ago and one of the boards i rode was a 5’1" true fish (twin keels) with the step deck. in glassy chest high surf they fly. i’m not that small, either. 5’9" and 174 lbs, moderate gut, nothing special. hope that answers some of your questions. jim dunlop
anything under 9 foot. haha http://members.cox.net/austinsurfboards
id buy the board if you want to use it during black ball. just dont fall into the big man on kids board disgusting flapping squirelling mess that i see coming towards me some days when im paddling out.
In any case, if you like to turn a short short board can be a blast. I came >from skateboarding where if you lean into a turn too much you slide out and >eat-it. I loved the fact that the amount of lean & pressue I could put into my >turns in surfing was not as limited. If the speed was there the rail could be >buried.>>>Too bad it’s 17 degrees here. Try snowboarding. You will be amazed how much you can lean into a turn with the right board. regards, Håvard