Riding a board intended for weak surf that is several inches shorter than your good wave board makes little sense. Sure, it is so cool when someone says to you, "That board is so small", especially when someone who actuallysurfs says it. But at some point you should realize that the paddling is just slightly better, and the performance is, for the most part, generally worse than a thruster/quad shortboard, but God bless you, for whatever reason you refuse to go the longboard route.
It gets frustrating reading all the attempts to make a certain length work, by changing every other variable, when WTF is so important about riding a certain length? (Storage issues aside) Because of some non wave riding reason like self image, "I am not too old,,my board is shorter than I am" . The simple fact is; Length added can help you a lot more than short, wide, thick combinations ever will, and those wide tails are the worse trade-off of all.
The inside info is that the big names make what they are asked to make, and the home builders are influenced by their specs, and the models are designed to ride well for guys that are so good that they don't even pay for them. They do not want to change a thing, but will when they have to. If you surf that pro level well, or sort of sometimes can, then I not writing to/about you.
I’m not understanding your post… Are you talking about the difference in riding a 9’0’’ compared to a 6’2’’ or going down from 6’2’’ to 5’11’’ with more width?
I see the point he's trying to make. I think he's trying to point out that some people want to ride a short wide thick board just to say " Yeah, i ride a 5'10" when its small", and also that by going a bit longer/wider/thicker can work good too. I think!!.
I ride a 6'2'' fish, and also a 7'10'' midlength, and i think they both work very well in knee to 1' or so OH. Although, the 7'10'' feels a lot more "loose" when setup as a thruster, and comes off the top much better. The keel fish seems to hang, but so does the midlength when i set it up as a 2+1. My love affair with the fish is starting to wane, so i might be biased. Still surf it but i seem to always try to turn off the back foot after surfing the midlength, which just doesnt work that well.
Riding a board intended for weak surf that is several inches shorter than your good wave board makes little sense
Actually this sentence above makes no sense to me, if you could see the waves I get here except for the low pressures of winter and 10-20 typhoons (avg) a year you would begin thinking about fish n mini simmons if you like to surf anyway. It is difficult enough getting six feet+ of rail majestically up down n back around a 12-24 inch wave that curls for about three to four seconds.
Im definitely not into tankers running aground in 12 inch surf. It just doesn’t feel like surfing to take my longboard in anklebuster beachbreak.
Rider's size and ability, type of surf intended, paddle trade-off volume determined, realistic level of performance targeted, Shaped accordingly. Make it exactly THAT LONG.
Sickdog, length is not the only determining factor is paddling ability. I outpaddle people on a 4’11"-5’ fish. It is 22.5 inches x 2 3/4" thick with a flat deck. the thing has more float than my 5’10", twice the volume to be exact. I definitely screwed up keeping the tail on it 14inches tip to tip.
And that brings me to the point I am aiming to make. Small waves have tighter curves. The curve on a 6"x 18 1/2" board is much much more elongated than the curve on a 5'6"x 20 1/2". the curve on the board and the increase in planning area, make it much more effective in small waves. Flatten the rocker and the board will cruise. Since it has less swing weight, you can throw it around, and the tighter curves in the rail fit in better to the tighter curves of the wave.
I am pretty sick of people riding 6'0" fish and they can't even duck dive it because it just has way too much volume. And while simmons was way ahead of his time, those square tail twin fins that people were riding circa 1970, were left behind for a reason.
Yeah I normally ride performance shorties in the low to mid 6's. All too often the crowd, paddle and glide factor comes into play. So I made a 7'4 x 21.5 x 2.75 four fin compsand this year which I rode today in excellent waves. I specificaly made it for small lined up waves up to head high. Its basically a performance fun board with rocket shape. But its light at 7.5 pounds
This board went richter today. The one compromise is swing weight and vertical. Other than that, its a ton of fun. Today was pretty special and I was screaming down the line maneuvering in the pocket. I could have rode my shortboard but I know I would have missed a lot of waves. It was REAL fun to catch more waves than the longboarders that were around me. It was also very good to paddle back out easier.
One nice thing is that a longer board forces you to smooth out your surfing style. If your surfing style feels squirrely out of control, then a longer board is a good solution.
I dont think I would like my board as much if it was traditionally weighted. I can pump this board, which was a HUGE benefit today. It feels shorter than 7'4.
I like the golf club analogy (I play that too). Sometimes you need a wedge to hit it high and land soft; surfing's equivalent of a short steep curvy faced wave. And sometimes you need to hit it lower and longer; surfing's equivalent to a long lined up wave with soft slope. Pick your best club for the shot. Its all good bros! Stoked!!!
Crafty, You better keep that shit to yourself...and under your hat. Or I'm loading up the Seal Slayer 2000 with my brothers and coming to your neck of the woods for a good ol ass whooping!
Hey Craftee, just wondering what kind of rocker you went with at that length? My most recent is 7-5 x 20-5/8 x 2-3/4. It’s made for a slopey deep water wave, but I ride it at the beach for the same reasons you mention. But da sucka feels stiff. Methinks not enough rocker.
This is exactly why we do events such as the Fish fry (tomorrow at north jetty oceanside) and the AB3. There will be all sorts of fish..from short and fat to longer and sleeker. This way you can find out which suits you better rather than buying something based on someones opinion on the internets. Make an educated purchase. Try it before you buy it. See you there! >)))))>
How dare you!!. I would NEVER run out of beer. Its who i am hahah, well, its most of my beer belly hahaha. Just don't wanna see another good thread go south. I like both midlengths, and short fat wide boards. My fish doesnt fit the "rules" at 6'2'', but hey i like it, which is all that matters to me.
JJR I applaud your efforts, and just saw O'side on Surfline's new High Definition Cam, It looks like fair conditions overall, (as in count your blessings, could be worse.) I hope the wind backs off for the day. I think your old post on location was good, to have it at Trestles. The wind is usually less than most of OC, All tides are surfable, Multiple line-ups. A bit of a focal point for flat days, and lots of channels if it gets big. Parking (walking in), and State park regulations being the downside. I hate to say this, but the chance of the HB event having good test riding conditions could be better, Even if it is peaky, glassy, with favorable tides, lately, It has not been connecting thru to the shore there as good as other nearby areas, although this recent swell might fix that. Hope for the best at both venues!
