will a different board help me in small surf

[prepare]

im 68kg and about 180cm tall. current board is a a 6'3 thats 18 1/4 wide and 2 1/4 thick

I have only been surfing a year or so but im doing quite well. my problem is in smaller fatter waves 1-3' I just can not get any speed. I have to almost nose ride my board just to stand up and then its a matter of pumping the board to try get speed, then if i happen to want to try to turn i need to step back a big distance.

all in all its very frustrating. I know its partly due to technique (maybe mostly ) but I see guys on tiny waves riding small board that have no trouble getting speed.

could a different board shape help? im clueless on board design but would really like a short board for small conditions.

[scroopulis]

Mate, hate to say it but its prolly technique more than anything else. Practise boy practise!
As for board designs, look in the design threads, theres heaps in there on fish etc.

[booter]

Do you have single to double concave? Heaps of rocker? I have found that both of these features make riding a board in small fat waves hell on earth. Great for hollow waves but shyte in small stuff.

A board with a bit more volume and a bit wider nose would definitely help you in the mushy 1 to 3 foot sh*t. Maybe a flat bottom as well.

Having said that though, Not many people can surf all that well in 1 to 3 foot surf dude.

[Nick Carroll]

prepare, you could get a board made wider and flatter-rockered to float and run better in small surf. But scroopy's right, it's gonna come down to technique and wave knowledge.

I see a lot of surfers getting on Fish these days, hoping for a magic bullet. They float along OK, but in the end they're hopelessly undone by lack of technique and wave-reading skills. Then -- when they try to step back up to a wicked little hi-performance board in better waves -- the Fish has its horrible revenge.

Try doing a bit less -- don't fight to try to push the board by hopping up and down and all that ugly crap. Just roll the board from rail to rail with your ankles and knees, and keep your upper body relaxed. As speed comes to you, look for places it can take you on the wave where energy is building -- little bowly bits, hooks, bumps coming out of deeper water and into the shallows. Forget big hacks and carves -- they'll come in time. And if the wave turns to complete crap, flick off! Don't torture yourself.

[prepare]

thanks for the advice guys.

[Jamoe]

Then -- when they try to step back up to a wicked little hi-performance board in better waves -- the Fish has its horrible revenge.

I recently bought a fish,, much to my mates chargrin, they are weening themselves off them saying its totally destroyed their style. it scared me, but christ I had fun on my fish today!

[swift]

Time in the water!!!!
I've been surfing 20 years and i'm still trying to surf better!

[Shaunm]

I'm about the same as you.
Have a T&C 6'3 - prefered the mini mal in anything under shoulder high.
Got from ebay 6'1 x 20" x 2 6/8 " T & C. Different rocker, different rails.
I'm a technique deficient one and only been doing it a couple of years, but a different board worked better.

[buzzy]

Nick Carroll's got way more experience than me in these things but I'm gunna (partly) disagree with him.

If you want to rip it up with the pros then, sure, stick on a standard thruster and practice away. For the rest of us though I reckon diversity is a wonderful thing. If it's tiny beachie I'll pull out my egg, if it's small and fast down the line (Like the Pass, say) I'll pull out the fish, and otherwise I surf a standard thruster (well, actually, a little wider than standard but hey, I'm not a spring chicken anymore and if it's good enough for Martin Potter it's good enough for me).

[Cpt.Caveman]

I have a fish and a high performance board. For me it works wonders!

I definately aggree that the fish can damage your surfing on your high performance board for a while before you get used to changing boards. For me its necessary to have the fish for the days where you really really struggle to get any speed on the waves. Whether its really full, too small, mushy, etc. My fish can carry through all of it apart from 1ft waves. On the days where I wouldn't normally bother, I can still take the fish out and do a few turns. Thats why I like it.

I'm used to swapping between boards now anyway. Its been good swapping because it has taught me to surf the board, not my surfing habit. The sort of surfing skills you could put on any board.

[bro]

Perception really for you guys saying the fish thing works well for you. Not wanting to slight you but i would guess you are average to slightly less in ability? I have to agree with NC here, I own fishes and I love em but they wreck my short board surfing for real, plus i can be in the water on my fish and see very proficient surfers get more out of tiny waves than any guy on a fish or a mal, ripping in tiny waves because they have good technique, are quick to their feet, build speed quickly and know how to milk the power source, frustrates the hell out of me but I love watching them,I will only surf the fish out of desperation now.
I guess it comes down to two things
1) do want to be the best you can be on a short board
or
2) have fun now and not care about your short board surfing

your choice

[buzzy]

Geez mate, no reason to make assumptions on surfing ability.

Having said that, while I'm above average I'm no ripping pro, and don't aspire to be. Sure, when I was 15 or 16 I did, but soon realised that was a pipedream. In saying that I agree with you...if you want to "practice" in the sense of working towards being a pro then stick with a shortboard, but if you just want to have fun then use the best board for the conditions. Which can change depending on mood.

[Johnno]

Just get a mal around 9' for small days, you'll have fun and when you jump back on your short board it will feel like a toy.................

[bro]

ha ha sorry Buzzy knew that would get me into trouble wasn't trying to cast dispersion on your surfing but merely all the guys I know who rip (and i don't mean pro's) never ride fishes and all surf small waves better on their short boards than anyone i've seen on a fish

[buzzy]

I know what you mean. When I bought my fish I felt I surfed better on the standard thruster, even in tiny surf, than on the fish. I still feel that way. But one day I went for a surf on both boards in tiny surf at Wategos (Byron) with a really fast breaking right. And while the thruster *felt* better the fish was actually enabling me to get into the waves with more planing speed, and track across the face mush faster. I could "surf" better on the thruster in the sense the manoevres were more positive etc etc but in simple terms the fish made more waves makeable in those conditions, even though I could do less on them (if that makes sense).

When I say "tiny" btw this was surf the vast majority of surfers take a look and drive back home.

[FishStick]

Mate a different board will do the trick. I'm about the same weight and height as you. I surf a 6'4" x 19 1/4" x 2 7/16

Last weekend in the tiny surf we are having I rode a mates 6'3 x 20 1/2 x 2 1/2. Where usually I would sink or stall from turning too hard this board just kept going. I could lean the board into turns without slowing down too much like on my normal board. I've made my decision and getting myself something like this for the junk surf. So much fun!

[offshore1]

I can't see Nick disagreeing w/ the advantages of having a quiver.

Different boards for different conditions, or even different boards for riding the same conditions in different ways, is one of the features of surfing that make it as addictive as crack...and I don't mean the 'Tan Lines' type of crack that seems so popular of late

Nick wrote:

"Try doing a bit less -- don't fight to try to push the board by hopping up and down and all that ugly crap. Just roll the board from rail to rail with your ankles and knees, and keep your upper body relaxed. As speed comes to you, look for places it can take you on the wave where energy is building -- little bowly bits, hooks, bumps coming out of deeper water and into the shallows. Forget big hacks and carves -- they'll come in time. And if the wave turns to complete crap, flick off! Don't torture yourself."

great advice on any board

[macgreggor]

Seems cut and dried to me. You don't putt with a 3 iron. More volume means more flotation, surf the wave not the board. As for fishes destroying your surfing I't would have to come down to personal perception in fact my feel is it enhances my surfing on my regular boards in good waves.

Till next time

Macgreggor