Advice on my second board to progress

[rallen2919]

Hi everyone, many thanks for reading my questions. I am asking for advice on what should be my second surfboard. I have been surfing for about 2 years now, I surf for about 5 weeks a year in cornwall and north devon. I can paddle, standup most times and just starting to turn. I currently use a NSP 7ft 6. I am about 80kgs and 6ft tall. I would like a lighter board maybe something a little shorter. My main questions is, should I look for a better quality minimal, custom made, or go for a shorter board, around 7ft 2, maybe fish or magic carpet style. I would welcome any advice. I findthe NSP heaver, slow, dificult to turn and very hard to sit / float waiting the waves. kind regards Rallen.

[jiggie]

I would say try and master that one a bit better first ..

[Black]

A custom minimal (second hand is fine) around the same size will give you much more response & room to improve. Good luck.

[r896neo]

definately stick with at least a 7'6 minimal until your comfortably riding down the line and getting in a few trims/turns on most waves you go for. If you go too short you'll slow your progress and get frustrated. If you only plan to keep surfing as much as you are now. I would stick with your nsp or get a longboard, i don't want to seem harsh but you have a long way to go before considering a shortboard.

I had a 7'2 nsp got to the same situation as you and then bought a 7' fat boy flyer shortboard, i then spent an age having a good pop-up but very seldomly would i go anywhere other than along the semi broken whitewater and straight to the beach. A while later frustrated i bought a cheap battered 8'6 and almost immediatly started getting good rides down the line and something clicked. Its much harder to fumble through this stage on a shortboard as a minmal will surf itself for a few feet to let you work out what your doing. On a shortboard your pop-up and timing must be spot on or you lose speed and lose the wave and just ride the foam straight to the beach.

[rallen2919]

cheers guys many thanks for your advice, looks like a custom 7ft 6 could be the way to go, are there any particular makes you could suggest, or just a custom board in good secondhand condition, once again many thanks, do you think 7ft 6 to 7ft 2 would make a great difference to make progress. many thanks rallen

[Jim Birtwisle]

Everyone is different I guess, if you want to go a bit shorter then you will have to take the plunge at some point. However I agree with some of the advice above and would aslo suggest getting yourself to a standard wherby you are 100% confident on a 7ft+ before going below 7ft.
As for going 7'6 down to 7'2 it may not make a lot of difference, a lot would depend on the shape and other dimensions of the board. For example you could have a fairly trimmed down 7'6 and then try out a 7'0 egg or magic carpet that had more float and was just as easy to catch waves in the first place. Ask the local shops if there is anything you could rent/try out for the day.
Personally I would ditch the NSP and look for something custom made, a used mini mal in good condition is perfect. From my experience (and I am aware that not all advice suits everyone) I decided against a pop out after a friend of mine told me to buy anything but for my first board. I went for a 'cherished' custom 7'4 mal and it was an amazing board to learn on. I later tried a bic 7'6 and couldn't believe how bad it felt, both sitting out the back and performing on waves (for some reason it felt like it was constantly trying to roll me off). Some people get on with them ok but I couldn't. As for a good make, it really just comes down to finding a board that's right for you regardless of the shaper and I would definitley advise against buying blind so go have a look at anything you are considering first. Don't be too put off by a board that's had a few small repairs as this is normal for many used mini mals or a board that requires a bit of a touch up as any good repairer should be able to get it looking good again for a small cost (or alternatively learn to repair dings yourself, it's much easier than you might think). Good luck and have fun. I can assure you that buying a nice custom mal will bring you a lot of enjoyment

[rallen2919]

Many thanks excellent really appreciate your time and effort for your reply

[bing]

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=33313

Spot on mate.

Cheap because of a few repaired dings, purely cosmetic. This will be lighter, sharper rails, slightly less volume, and will see you through a good while!

[monkeystyle]

perranporth wrote

A custom minimal (second hand is fine) around the same size will give you much more response & room to improve. Good luck.

Now I may be pedantic, but isn't a custom board a custom board? When I buy my custom board I speak to the shaper before it is made. This does explain something though... did fibreglass boards end up getting called custom in the UK even if they are off the rack???

[Black]

By custom I meant something hand shaped by a skilled individual rather than a far eastern mass produced. It will have been custom shaped for someone.

[Chris F]

did fibreglass boards end up getting called custom in the UK even if they are off the rack???

Rightly, or wrongly, yes. It seems to have slipped into the vernacular rather than saying "a conventionally produced board made by handshaping foam and then covering it in layers of fiberglass".

I started out on a 7ft 8" Roger Cooper "custom" minimal and used it almost exclusively from first steps (I think I hired a foamy twice) to largish waves about 5 years later. I hired an NSP once or twice in this time and found it to be very sluggish and cumbersome by comparison. However I know many people swear by them. I can recoomend Roger Cooper boards, not very wild and exciting, but well produced and well priced. 5 years on I sold it for not much less than I bought it and it is still getting regular use, and apart frim minor dings on noce and tail (mostly from my clumsiness) it's got a couple of minor cracks around the stringer from foam compression.

[monkeystyle]

Fair enough! Just don't call a normal surfboard "custom" in Aus... Maybe because we never had pop outs, so there was nothing to compare it against. A custom here was made for you and you only.

Terrible weather in Sydney, onshore, sloppy and cold wind (25 degrees)!!!

[bombie]

Bin the minimal idea and get a board in a modern shape with the right volume for your weight - volume is more important than length (so you don't need to be concerned about dropping down to a board that is sub 7'). Most of the big manufacturers make a hybrid/groveller shape and they are the go. What's wrong with a minimal? 1. you can't duck dive the things 2. they turn like shit and consequently you can't milk the wave for speed 3. the idea that you have to work progressively down in length when learning is rubbish.

[rallen2919]

Bin the minimal idea and get a board in a modern shape with the right volume for your weight - volume is more important than length (so you don't need to be concerned about dropping down to a board that is sub 7'). Most of the big manufacturers make a hybrid/groveller shape and they are the go. What's wrong with a minimal? 1. you can't duck dive the things 2. they turn like shit and consequently you can't milk the wave for speed 3. the idea that you have to work progressively down in length when learning is rubbish.

many thanks for your advice, I am currently looking at a 7ft flyer , short board style, but still plenty of length and volume, would this be a good move any thoughts.

[bombie]

Yeah, that's the go. If you can you should take it for a spin before handing over the cash. What you are looking for is to ensure it paddles nicely and can be duckdived. If it's too much of a boat then look at getting something shorter but with a sufficient amount of volume so that you float and paddle easily. I've got a firewire dominator and if you look at the firewire site there is a chart that gives and indication of what sort of volume you should be looking for - you can use that info to search for suitable boards. The transition from a much larger board may be a bit of a pain in the arse initially - the trick to getting over it is to paddle hard and pop up fast (keep those hands flat on the deck and don't grab the rails).

[Tony_Flow]

My limited experience has led me from a bic 7'2 to a circle one 6'2 x 2.5 x 21 with a swallow tail. I just tried out some of my friends boards. some i couldnt ride and some that i could and the one i liked the most i brought to my local surf shop, showed the guy the board which was a roger cooper 6'8x20 and it was really thick and then he gave me the 6'2 circle one and i could surf it, he said the width would give me that little bit of float and more stablility.

if you have friends who surf and surf shorter boards than you, i'd try em all out and see which ones you can surf and which ones you cant. you'll have a better idea of what you can do more on. The fact is, time in the water is the most important thing. if you can get out as much as possible you'll get better with most boards. If you can get down the line comfortably i'd say yeah look at other boards but dont just go buy the first thing that you see. you could end up with something thats a cool bedroom ornament but not for you on the waves. some surfshops have test models you could try as well.

Best of luck!

[rallen2919]

cheers guys for taking the time to reply, seen a 7ft 2 Big T Escape, seems in good condition, quad fin set up and a rainbow single fin, £220, any thoughts , also seen a 7ft Hawani Soul Flyer for £199 this is brand new, any thoughts on either these two boards would be really appreciate. Very difficult to decide, some advice to go for a short board style with more length and volume but others saying go for a better quality minimal than my current 7ft 6 minimal.

[Jim Birtwisle]

A lot comes down to how much time you get in the water. Personally I made quite a big transition from a 7'4 down to a 6'1 quad. I was rubbish on it for a bout 5 or 6 sessions but due to the fact I live close to my break and work shifts that give me plenty of time off I was able to surf twice a day over the lighter months and surf just about every day that there was swell. If you're going to get quite a bit of time in the water then go shorter, like the above posts suggest look for something short but with a lot of volume. If you're currently riding a 7'6 then there is no harm having a look at boards that are a foot or more shorter than that, but make sure they have plenty of width (about 20 or 21 inches). When going a lot shorter perseverence is key so it really all depends on whether you can get through the adjustment phase and keep on enjoying yourself enough when you start to really progress. There will certainly be more scope to make you surfing more exciting by going shorter.
However having read that you get to surf for about 5 weeks a year can be a little limiting as you will be at the mercy of the conditions for window, if this is during the summer then it might be more sensible to go for something like an egg in the 6'10 to 7ft range, or even a better quality mni mal (this should hold most of it's value and be a good board to keep for the future in any event). Whatever you choose to do I cannot advise strongly enough that you have a look at the board first, or if you are buying brand new make sure you can return it. You may take delivery and realise it looks and feels a lot different to how you pictured it from the photos.

[rallen2919]

Many thanks great advice I've seen a really nice 7ft 2 black and white quad fish , any thoughts

[Jim Birtwisle]

Many thanks great advice I've seen a really nice 7ft 2 black and white quad fish , any thoughts

This is what I have in a 6'1. It's pretty wide and for me, being 5'10 and 10.5 stone I reckon I could still go a bit shorter so 7'2 may be a little long for you. That said my board is of top quality, wide stringer, brilliant glassing job, and just a great template for just about every different wave I surf up here in the North East. Barring any major previous rebuilding work where the strength of the board might have been comprimised I can ensure you it will last a long time and ride really nicely. Being a quad it will take a little getting used to but once you do you'll have a lot of fun. That said as a 7'2 you should still be able to surf with your front foot with it so nothing too radically different from your mal. It will be a quality board to own and definitley push your serfing a little, however you may be looking to go shorter again in the near future that's all.