Stepping Down to a Shorter Board- Size & Shape Advice?

General Discussion
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Stepping Down to a Shorter Board- Size & Shape Advice?

 

Hi All,

 

I’m planning on stepping down to a shorter board, and would love some advice on what kind of board to get. (Note, I have nothing against longboards or shortboards—in fact I love both styles. My desire to go shorter is so that I can become a better surfer overall, which to me means being able to have fun on different types of boards and waves.)

 

Currently, I ride an 8’8” longboard with the following dimensions:

·         Board Nose Width 17.5"

·         Board Width 21.75"

·         Board Tail Width 15"

·         Board Thickness 2.88"

·         Board Volume 60 ccm

·         Board Fin System Future  (Single or thruster set up)

·         Board Shaper Johnny Rice

 

It’s a fun little board, with lots of rocker, which makes it a bit slow to paddle sometimes, but a lot of fun on takeoff- light and maneuverable on the face.  I really do love it. J

 

I’ve had the opportunity to surf other long and short boards, and recently had the most fun on a 7 foot , locally shaped “fun board” on a recent trip to Nicaragua. I didn’t have a chance to write down the dimensions, but it seemed to have some good volume, a wider nose, and a slightly narrower tail.  This board caught the steeper breaks well, offered the potential for more turning (when I wasn’t wiping out), but I did notice that it slowed down on some sections.

 

Another board that I’ve had a chance to try out was a 6’5 performance shortboard that my friend lent to me—pointy nose, narrow and very thin. I found that board a little too skatey, and I had a hard time standing up on anything by whitewater. But that could also be that I haven’t spent enough time on it.

 

Because of my experience, I’m currently looking into boards in the 6’10 to 7’3 range, but would love some more thoughts on the right size. I see the sizes above recommended for the long to short step down, but then again, those recommendations often seem geared toward 6’+ big guys . I’m only 5’2 and 119lbs—not a grom, just an athletic wahine.

 

Should I be looking more for volume, rather than length?  Are there any particular shapes or models that you could recommend? I’m looking for more maneuverability and something challenging enough that I could progress on. FYI, I live in New England and get to surf a fickle mix of mush and blown out hurricane. I’m also planning a few more trips to Central America, but those waves will be few and far between. J

 

Anyway, I’d appreciate any advice you would be willing to share! Thanks to everyone for posting and sharing their knowledge and insight! (Have always appreciated the Swaylocks wisdom.)

 

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P.S. Depending on who you go with, the difference in pricing between a custom shaped board vs an off-the-rack might not even amount to $100.    The added value of that shaper taking your situation under specific consideration is a bargain at any price, but at anything less than $200 it’s a downright steal.  

 

You’re a featherweight.  You don’t really need a ton of volume or float; you just need some length and stability and some rocker.    The more mass you’re pushing around the less sensitive the board will be under your feet.  

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Hey Tony,

Sweet! Thanks! The Genius makes some beautiful boards!!!! Would have loved to go custom from him, but I don't think I can afford it at this point. I'll send him a message though! Hopefully he may know a little bit about this one.

I was thisclose to scoring one of his Strawberry Shortcuts but I was outbid a few months back. That would have been a fun one. I appreciate boards with history.

I'm a Bic anti-fan. I can't stand them for the life of me... NSPs too.... Never liked the way they feel or what they stand for. Never surfed a Costco board though...

As for Tufflites, I have to say, my current longboard is one. I know the whole mass produced surfboard situation isn't ideal. But in my case, it had a good shape and was the right price. It's treated me well over the years too, so overall I'm happy with it.

Saving is key... I've definitely been shopping around, and holding off on pulling the trigger. :)

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As a (featherweight) novice surfer coming down off a longboard shape - and considering you’re looking for a daily driver to handle 90% of what you’ll surf - I wouldn’t steer you to a board that’s too much smaller or flatter than a standard funboard at this point.  If you keep going you’ll get to the stage where you’re surfing 5’2" boards in your own time, but that’s later on down the line.  The Kechele board has a wider overall width and tailblock and most likely has a flatter rocker. 

With that said I have no doubt Mr Kechele could build a great board for you on a custom basis.  Just because he has a model doesn’t mean that’s all he sells in that size range.  As well there are plenty of other well-respected east coast shapers who could do right by you, too.  

 

As well, If you’re going to keep your longboard and rock the 2-board quiver then you might as well stick to comparable fin setups, too; so that you only have to learn the one groove for now.    Personally, I think that under the feet of novice and intermediate surfers thrusters are the worst setups for longboards and midlengths.  They’re not at all forgiving with respect to foot placement and you have to actively work the board in order to take advantage of the thruster action.  In my opinion quads and 2+1s are generally more forgiving and do more on their own without as much rider input; especially in weaker conditions.  More point and shoot, if you know what I mean.  

But, reasonable people disagree on that one.  

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Hey dzroid. Thanks for the input! I can see why the shorter boards work in your case, seeing as you come from a skate background. :) I'd like to be able to surf shorter eventually, but I started out on a longboard and have been surfing that way for years, so I'm going take the step down gradually. I'm in no rush though. Stoke is stoke is stoke.

I'm also looking at a 6'8 Firewire Dominator that I found for sale on CL too. Have heard great things about this board, and it was recommended to me by another friend. I think it's about 3' inch so I'm wondering if it might be too floaty...

http://www.lunch.com/Reviews/d/Johnny_Rice_8_8_Elite_Wahine_by_SurfTech-1381417.html

Check the link above for a review on my board. Like the description says, it's got softer curves all around and a pronounced rocker.. I've found it to be super responsive and a ton of fun. It's definitely a performance board-- feels less stable than a traditional longboard, but once it gets moving, it really gets moving. The only thing I can complain about is the slower paddle, but I'm pretty used to it at this point.

We also have a 9'6 performance Rich Harbour-- It has channels up under the nose, hard rails and is pretty thin. Better for bigger surf.

Good luck shaping your longboard! I'm still debating on whether I should spend the money on a board, or a shaping kit to make one myself... :)

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Jim Phillips is a master in his craft and to your convenience he is a Swaylocks user, I just ordered 2 boards from him. Send him a private message and make reference to this post so he can tell you the history of this board and if it’s right for you or not.

About the Bics and Tufflites, I would stay away from the mass produced crap if I were you although those foam Costco boards can be a lot of fun for beginners and for experienced surfers goofing around in mushy waves. If you can’t find a good used board my advice would be to wait and keep saving money until you find the right one or have enough for a custom.

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I’m similar to your size, 5’5" and like 120-125lbs. Although I usually ride very short boards, 5’4", 5’7", I have a 6’4" old school single fin that I love. It’s 15" nose and tail, diamond tail, I believe 22" wide, by my crude measures 3" thick, flatter rocker. Wide point forward, somewhat similar looking to that. It’s a wave catching machine, especially for very light people. It barely sinks when I sit on it, I sit way out of the water like larger dudes on longboards do. It’s posted in the single fin love thread somewhere. That’s shorter than you seem to want, but it’s probably a bit easier to turn. I could see 6’7" or 6"10 being fine, as others suggested, and if you go skinnier than 22" wide the added length would help make up for it. Might as well go 2+1, so you have the option if you want it. I converted this board from a thruster to a single, it’s tons better as a single. But I believe mine is 70s (maybe 80s?) era styled, I wasn’t alive then so I wouldn’t know firsthand, but it seems that those boards had a decent amount of volume, which is a good thing. So if mine is indeed 70s style, then I like those shapes.

That’s actually the biggest board I"ve ever owned, although I’m looking to shape a longboard. Hooray for short people on big boards. The skatey-ness of small boards takes some time to get used to if you’re used to bigger boards. When I go from the 6’4" to my 5’4" it feels even looser, and I shaped the 5’4" to be excessively loose and slidey to begin with. I come from a skateboarding background with very loose trucks, so it felt natural to me as soon a I got on it. I actually stopped riding the 6’4" because it felt way too long and tight. But then I got better on shorter boards, which helped me get better on longer ones.

It’s funny that I’m in the opposite situation though, trying to design a longboard for myself, more skill on shorter boards than longer ones. So maybe I’ll have to look into the 8’-8"8" range.

 

 

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Thoughts on this board (and vintage 70's boards in general)? Not sure about the condition (can't tell if that's dirt or damage) until I see it in person, but would be nice to have a vintage Jim Phillips... The shape looks about right... single fin.. the price is a song...
[img_assist|nid=1076405|title=7'2 Jim Phillips|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=0|height=0]
1970's jim phillips surfboard w/waveset fin (matunuck surf shop) $125
come check it out 7`-2`` 783- two 5 six 6
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TonyLion- good call on PR. I'll have to add that to my list. I bet it'll be a little easier to get to also! I was thinking El Salvador, Panama and Columbia at some point...  But hell, maybe a winter trip to Puerto Rico would work out just fine. :) Thanks!

 

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Awesome! Thanks guys for some great suggestions! Gdaddy, those dims sound spot on for me. I was definitely thinking of a 2+1 set up for this new board. I generally surf my longboard as a single fin, but do throw on the sides when the surf is a little more agressive. What about 5 fin set ups? I saw a 6'10 Firewire ADDvance on CL that could give me that option. (Would the ADDvance be too wide/thick? What about the Dominator in 6'8?)

Thumbs up on the other suggestions too! The Molokai Fun Gun and the Stokver V machine actually look like a board I was considering- Matt Kechele Pug Performer 7'3. http://www.surfscience.com/surfboards/surftech-matt-kechele-pug-performer Anyone ever surf one before?

I'd love to try out the Carver, but I'd probably only snag one if I could find it used. But on the tufflite note, what do you guys think of the Bear Fat Wombat? A hair wider, and thinner than what's been mentioned here...

I've been Craigs List crawling since I don't have too much cash to spend... aside from BICs, these mid-lengthers are a little harder to find. I'll post some more if I spot anything!

Thanks again!!

 

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What was I thinking? Check out the Stoker V machine looks like you could step down somewhat still get paddle power and a really fun Ride. Dead Shaper here on sways is a master of the craft. 

 

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Lots of great suggestions here. I have ridden the McTavish Carver and it is fun a well balanced board with a lot of McTavish secret sauce that makes it much more then a " Fun Board."  In Brand name Boards another one to look at is the Rusty Big Cat.  I see a lot of the CI M13’s for sale on Craigslist Might not be to bad as a place to start without a spending a lot.  

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Aloha! Oh yea, Glen Minami knows how to shape boards!

Some of my best thrusters for good waves I’ve had have been shaped by Minami, I spoke with him on the phone once for a custom and he really took his time to dial it in and shaped just what I needed, great guy and really good aloha spirit!

I had one of those Blue Hawaii Pottz with the flames when I was a grom and I caught my first barrells on that board, good memories.

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http://www.infamysurfboards.com/shop/molokai-fun-gun/

 

cant go wrong

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check out this website for some inspiration they have lots of midlength boards

http://store.mollusksurfshop.com/collections/surfboards

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Good advice from gdaddy on the length. If you felt comfy on South American beach breaks on a 7’, I say go for a 6’10" - 7’ but have the rail thickness dialed to your size. As a general rule, overall width and less rocker will give you planing area for ease of catching waves, especially mushy waves. Considering your size you don’t want to go too wide on the outline plus keep in mind that a curvier outline is easier to turn than a really pararell one. This is all generally speaking and many variables affect how a board perform and to complicate things more, they interact with each others(the variables). Another thing is preference, for example gdaddy recommends 2+1 while I think single fins are the most fun and flowing.

I would say, look around where you live and find an experienced reputable local shaper who has experience shaping boards for petite women.

Surf trips are also great. Living on the East Coast you could go to central and South America in your Summer and come to Puerto Rico when it gets too cold at home. You don’t need a passport to travel to PR as we are US territory and the point breaks in Rincon can get head high and fun in the Winter (it’s not always gnarly barrells and big Tres Palmas). Good Luck!

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You already surfed a 7-0 funboard shape so you know how well that paddles.  For someone your size I wouldn’t see any advantage with going any longer (up to 7-6), and 6-10 or 6-8 would be a little more nimble in small/weak conditions.    A 6-10 x 20" x 2.5" or 2.75" thick would probably do it for you.  15"ish nose, 14.5" tail, moderate rocker and - because you’re a novice - a 2+1 fin setup.    Quads are faster and looser but getting the setup and fin combination right can get tricky for a novice.  

 

McTavish has a really clean design for funboards.  Someone who knows how to surf could easily make a board like this work in overhead conditions.  

http://www.mctavish.com.au/surfboard/carver

 

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... As an aside, I'm considering shaping my own board instead of just buying one. It would be my first, so hope some of the shape and size advice can be useful for this endevour too!

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Thanks everyone for your advice! I was able to score an amazing used board on CL- Harbour Spherical Revolver:

Dims:

Harbour 6'10 Single Fin. Model: Spherical Revolver Dimensions: 6'10, 21 1/2, 2 5/8 Shaped by Tim Stamps This Spherical Revolver is an updated version of the popular 1969 original.
 
Super stoked about this one!
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Hello!

Same basic question! any advice appreciated.

I recently stepped down from a 10'0" epoxy log to a 7'6" Stoker V Machine. I've had some fun with the V machine at the local beach breaks, but I'm thinking of getting something shorter and easier to duck dive because its still sh*t ton of work getting that thing out when its over chest/head high at the beach break. I'm 6'4 and weigh around 220lbs, can't really afford a new board because I spent all my money on the V machine, so I'm defintely scanning craigslist for something used now. I love the V machine because of how easy it is to paddle, but am thinking about a 6'10 craiglist thruster - concerned if I go to far down I'm going to waste my money and not get any waves.