Beginner Board Advice

silveraris's picture
silveraris started the topic in Friday, 6 Jul 2018 at 5:42pm

I started surfing not long ago on a 7'2 minimal and love it! It didn't take long to get the hang of getting up on a wave and I soon was trying to put some turns together, and struggling to do so.

I assumed this was because of the large chunk of board and found a good deal on gumtree. A rusty 6'0 board - I'm 6'0.

Now it's a pretty narrow board (I think 18.5" wide) and I wonder if I picked too advanced of a board. It's hard to paddle onto the 3 foot waves I feel comfortable with and it feels hyper-responsive underfoot.

Should I keep having a crack with this board until it starts to click or would it be better to get something around the 6'6 mark for this stage of my learning?

Thanks!

dan-burke's picture
dan-burke's picture
dan-burke Saturday, 20 Oct 2018 at 8:07pm

Too narrow. Get a flatter rockered board for paddling. Length in my opinion is debatable. You could paddle a 5 8 fish if its volume ( floatation) is up close to the 7 2 you had. Maybe take it down in volume 5 litres or so. If your are 6 foot tall you would probably want a 6 0 just get a thicker rail and wider volume with flat rocker and some entry rocker.

ojackojacko's picture
ojackojacko's picture
ojackojacko Saturday, 20 Oct 2018 at 11:58pm

some relevant advice on this recent thread. keep the rusty - you’ll ride it later and you can’t have too many boards
https://www.swellnet.com/forums/wax/399065

popwar's picture
popwar's picture
popwar Tuesday, 23 Oct 2018 at 5:30am

agreed with dan-burke's comment - i did most of my learning on a 6'10" egg that was about 21.5" inches wide and that helped me develop a lot by helping me with stability. i kept moving down in length but made sure to not shave too much off the width as i was going down, so there was still that really solid feel and tons of volume. making the jump down in width & length might just be a bit frustrating. but the board still may be worth keeping around for the future of course

goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot's picture
goofyfoot Tuesday, 23 Oct 2018 at 6:22am

If you just started not long ago and you’re now struggling to catch waves it’s going to set your progression back miles.
If you can’t catch waves then you’re not going to improve.
Forget entry rocker, litres and get a chunky 6’8 or similar until you’re positive you can go down in size. You’ll still be able to turn it.
At your stage it’s all about being able to get on to the wave I.m.o

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Tuesday, 23 Oct 2018 at 6:43am

the board is not the problem.

forget the whole ridiculous idea of progressing with board design and learn to surf.

Fliplid's picture
Fliplid's picture
Fliplid Tuesday, 23 Oct 2018 at 7:01am

Amen.

amb's picture
amb's picture
amb Tuesday, 23 Oct 2018 at 8:45am

Id be practising turns on carve type skateboard on a nice slopey road. if you cant turn a skatey you have no chance on a surfboard.

hainanesekook1's picture
hainanesekook1's picture
hainanesekook1 Wednesday, 7 Nov 2018 at 10:15am

yeh too narrow. Try a thicker rail board