I am looking into getting a fish, but i had some questions i thought i would ask before i start. Right now i am 6,3 - 235/40 lbs i ride a 9,1 long and a 7,3 funshape and my skill is intermediate.
my question is how short could i go give my size and weight? and what would i be looking into as far as dimensions go?
appreciate any help in advance!
Jay, you don’t say where u are at, US, west coast, east, etc…
but anyway, I am going to put in my 2C…
The question is not size, but how skilled are you in terms of
pop-ups and drop-ins. If you are getting up quick on your 7footer
I would say an old school fish in the 6’2-3 x 3" range with modern
bottoms and quad/speedialer fin set-ups would do you fine. It will
be an adjustment however you go. Wider is better as u will be able
to duck anything in this length. I’m 175 and almost 60 and can duck
a 6’2 x 23 x 3in Cali surf. Fish are down the line creatures so just
be aware of the limits of this type of design. Fins are a big deal.
Again, just my 2C…
Why?
If all you’ve ridden is a longboard and a fun shape, a fish is going to be a major adjustment. Given the description of your skill level, I’d say it will lead to lots of frustration.
I am on the east coast surfing in south florida where we get more windchop mush then anything decent as far as linage goes. as for popups and dropins im pretty good the only problem i noticed is my funshape doesn’t have much buoyancy which probably due to some delam and lotsa cracks but it was my second starting point. i appreciate your input though and will def look into something with alot of volume to it
i mainly wanted to start having a bit more progression is why i was lookin into it its just a possibility i wanted to try not so much the end all be all
I agree with surfteach… keep it short, but keep it thick. Maybe not 3" thick, but close to it. I’d say 6’3 x 22 x 2 7/8 if you’re reasonably fit and a good paddler should be plenty of board.
I disagree that it will be a hard transition. I had Tim Stamps make me a 6-10 x 18 x 23 x 17 x 3.25 and I was coming off longboards and a 7-6 Stamps OverEasy (also very fat dims). Board was set up as a quad. First time out I had a blast, turning like never before, fast, took good drops. Was about a head high day and it was no issue (Not that I rode it well, by any means, but I sure had a lot of fun). Stamps knows how to make these for big guys - i know from personal experience that there aren’t a lot of shapers that can do that if you don’t ask for specific dims. I am 6-1+ and 225 lbs and intermediate with a torn rotator cuff and disk issues. It turned out, after a few sessions, to be too much board (amazingly) and I had him make me a double bump fish with a narrower nose. I have also, thanks to Tim’s boards helping me, been able to transition down to a 6-6 McCoy.
I am also in south Florida. I actually have a 7-2 McCoy for sale - brand new and big dims. I waxed it but, well, we’ve been flat as you know, so it hasn’t been in the water. I am on smaller equipment for the most part so I am willing to let this go for less than I paid. Not a fish but McCoys can be fish killers. I’m on them pretty much exclusively right now. You are welcome to check out my Stamps fish as well as all my McCoys if you want. I am in Jupiter. Just PM me.
im pretty fit i workout doing cardio and swimming about 5 days a week and on my off days i do alot of stretching just to keep active. only thing that gets me is the paddling sometimes but mainly cause my 7,3 doesn’t float the best anymore
i am in delray beach so not that far off from you been while since i been up that way use to go to ft peirce as a weekend warrior till got laid off while back.
If that’s all you’re “good” at, you are still a beginner. Can you do a series of legimate turns? Can you do a full cutback and rebound off the foam back onto the open face? If you can’t, you’re truly a beginner.
Not likely. Delams and cracks have very little effect on floatation. Maybe you were slimmer and in better shape when you first got it?
id say about 10 to 15lbs lighter
You already said your 7-3 is a little light on float. That right there tells you where your limits are in terms of volume.
That 7-2 McCoy mentioned above probably has quite a bit more float to it than your average 7-3 funboard. It’s surely more versatile than a fish with comparable volume. Who knows? That could be your answer.
Jay,
Fish don’t work well in sloppy, wind swell mush. They work well in clean lined up waves. At least what I consider a fish. 10 to 15 pounds heavier is a lot of weight. Is that lean muscle or flab? I’m in agreement with Sammy A on your question. I’d get a fun board with more volume, mini longboard, something like that. Mike
im the one on far right if that gives ya an idea rooster
not fat but not toothpick skinny either…
i heard fish also work well in mush but guess it depends on the person and there style of surf
Hey Jay,
Yah all some big mo fo’s fo sho. The board Big Boy in the middle is holding looks like a good board for what you have described. Or, the mini longboard. If you just want something different, go for the fish. Better yet, make your own. Make a couple of them in different sizes, etc. Plenty of good help here. And, get some sun screen on those tats, white boy! Mike
hahah yeah that board he is holding is one of mine i got a 70 nomad single fin i learned on got the funshape he is holding i got a mctavish 9,1 and then i have a custom one i had made few years back when i was alot slender just not enough volume for guy like me
Go for the fish… make it your goal to ride it well. I’m 46 years old, 6’1, 190lbs, and I ride a 6’1 retro twin keel fish in thigh high junk and love it. Make it EPS.