Hi all,
i´ve been surfing a year now on a 8´6" minimal softboard, and i want to upgrade to something better. I am having a nightmare with the inabilty to duckdive this battleship so i would ideally like to drop down a size or two. I am however 6´6" so where is the best next step for me, get a better longish board, or go short like 90% of the surfers here in Barcelona (who are alot shorter than me it has to be said)
Update:Thanks for the answers. I live in bacelona so the best we get is 4-6 ft on a nasty winters day. Most of the time its 2-4ft in the winter and 0ft in the summer. The killer is that when it does come in big, there is very little space between the sets. Duckdiving is necessary, and turtle is too slow. Thanks for the info though. I´ll look up this board you mentioned. Rich
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
At 6'6", I can only assume that your weight is proportionate. How tall you are really doesn't make any difference. Your weight/buoyancy ratio is what that counts. You need board that floats you well enough to paddle and take off on a wave.
I think I was born weighing over 200 lbs (90 kilos). I surfed on a 6'4' made on a nice thick blank for years and years. Now, I weigh around 230 lbs (104.5 kilos) and my smallest board is a 7'8". I have three different style 7'8" boards: a nice fat twin fin fish, a fun board (mini-mal) and a 'big guy' performance board.
You need to go to a good surf shop. I know there are some good quality shops in Spain. The folks in the shop will help you match the right board for your weight, skill level and local waves. In a shop, you can discuss options with them, you can't do that on a computer.
Don't get caught up in buying a mass produced junk "popout." There are lots of great European shapers, and the big US manufacturers all sell boards in Europe ( and all of the big manufacturers have 'big guy' models of the performance boards).http://www.mckevlins.com/nopopstory.htm
I have been surfing since 1966, and I take all of my surfboard purchase questions to good shops in the places where I surf. Good luck!
You don't need to worry about duckdiving if the waves are 4 feet tall. Keep a long board but not a "softboard". I am 5' 11 and used a 9' 3" board and was able to catch every wave no matter what the surf..
I agree with the previous answer. Being a big guy you either want to keep the height of a board or the thickness.
But another option is a board called the fat burner, a chunker version of the afterburner, the beauty of this board is you can go that little shorter so its easier to duck dive...without compremising the stablity of the board being a bigger guy because of the thickness and width it maintains. Its an easy paddling, easy riding board. most (fish) boards are better for smaller waves but the fat burner is shaped to the degree it is stable and suprizely good for big waves.
hey ok ive worked local shapers around my town and for its tough cuase your a big guy (not to be werid) anyways here is what i would do i would drop the size down between 7'0 an 7'5'' alond with going shorter i would look around your local surf shop or ask a local shaper for a board that had a bit wider deck this will help with your center of gravity givng you better balance the shorter board will help you duck dive a bit easier then having to turtle your larger board well thats my advice but your best bet is to go to a shop an talk to people who have had lots of experience
In general surfers who shortboard ride shortboards a few inches close to their height. If your end goal is a shortboard, You'd probably do well getting a 6'6-6'8. However that might be a big jump from your 6'8. I'd suggest asking a shaper and letting him know your goals.