Advice on using my new board vs. Old Board

[Olredjeep]

Guys:

I could use a little direction.  I bought a new board took it out this weekend and spent a lot of time chasing instead of riding.

I am 6-0 225 lbs, I currently ride a 11-6 long by 33 in wide and 4 3/4 in thick board, my new board is 10-6 by 30 in and 5 1/8" thick.  I think the new board is a little small for me given my experience/skill level.  But I fell in love with its looks (famous last words!). I have been SUP/Surf for about 3 months.

So here is my question, should I continue on my bigger board and get more experience and then switch to the new board or just get on the new board and give it hell until it submits !  We typically ride in smaller waves knee to waist high surf.  I bought the new board for the surf.  I will keep my bigger board for the flat trips.

Thanks

[Dwight (DW)]

Width matters more than length when it comes to comfortable stability. If 33 wide was stable, you shouldn't have gone less than 32 wide, regardless of length. Sell it. You could have done 9'6 x 32 and it would have been more comfortable than what you bought.

Of course this is all general rules. There are other factors too. But, in my view you broke the basic rule.

[piece of 8]

 I'd give it a little more time. 5'10 200 lbs. here. I rode an 11 PSH, 30 5/8"wide. I got frustrated after 3 months of experience because I was yearning for a board I could rip on . I wanted something smaller and bought a 9'6" PSH about 29 5/8" wide to ride in chest high or better glassy days. I used this board 5 times and just got so frustrated that I wanted to sell it. Under choppy conditions it was just constant failure. When Leslie showed her face last week I decided to revisit the board and surprisingly, I surfed well with it. You have to be patient because as PDLSFR pointed out to me when he got his new shorter board, you , not your board, can beat you mentally.

I actually caught and ripped my first 10 footer about  150-200 yards on that board in leslie swell. The performance of the board was incredible and my skill set went up a notch. 1 year 2 months of experience now.

[adamrod]

you say "chasing instead of riding". that sounds to me that you were having trouble paddling into the wave, but that you weren't having trouble standing on it.

If you're falling all over the place, I'd agree with DW. But from your comment, it doesn't sound like that's your problem?

sounds like you need to work on your foot placement and takeoff location (try taking off a bit more inside) and maybe some paddle skills. You just need some practice. As long as you're not falling all over the place, the 10'6" should be fine.

if you're not catching the wave, work on shorter paddle strokes, REACHING forward, step forward on the board to get the nose to drop in...

I'd say, keep the board and practice, otherwise you'll keep using the same bad technique on the big board and you won't improve.

[PDLSFR]

hey dont give up so fast, you need to spend more time on the new board to build up your confidence. I transitioned down from an 11 ft 31 in wide board to a 9'7 28 in board and it took  me about a good week of daily flat water sessions getting my balance and "sea legs", then about another week of playing around in knee high waves using that new balance to work on turns and using the rails in the surf, never mind the paddle timing to catch the big waves. As Piece of 8 said, you can't let your frustration get the best of you, it's almost more of a mental game than a physical one. While out last weekend, the stoke that Peices of 8 had when he started rippin on his shorter board was like a switch that went off ...as he went from letting the board work him to him working the board...and trust me....it was like Christmas morning from then on and on every wave just dialing it in better and better.......so get out there and kick that boards ass !!!

[Olredjeep]

Thanks for the advice, let me add some detail.  The conditions were a little choppy. I was able to stand some what but never really got balanced enough to try and catch a wave.  I will say because I only had a short time in the water on Saturday, I went to shore and grabbed my old board and was able to ride waves.  I only tried the board for about 20 minutes, so probably not enough time to determine an outcome.  Just looking for some advise to continue for the rest of the fall.

[Bulky]

I don't think it would be impossible for you to tame it, but there's alot of variables (conditions, your size, your skill, experience).

At your weight (I'm 240), I do think 32" is a pretty good width--and there's lots of shapes out there where you can do some ripping.  Like DW says, a shorter, wider board can have a pretty curvy rail that can help with turns.  Sure if you get in hurricane swell, a narrower board will do all kinds of things, but if that's not your usual conditions, trying to catch small waves is tougher on a skinny board.

With 3months experience, I don't think I could have made such a switch.  Mind you, I'm a firm believer in buying a board that requires you to work a bit before you master it, but to a point.  If I'm going to be spending too much time fighting equipment than having fun, then it's time to reconsider things.  There's also a point where I'm working too hard to stay up on a board that I start screwing up my technique.  Bad habits are hard to undo.

Things might change, but I'm not interested in going much narrower than 32 (I'm on a 10'5").  I may go a foot shorter, but probably not narrower.

[piece of 8]

     Adamrod makes some good points. Another thing, when I was making the transition to the smaller board, i was standing too far back.
      I'm used to seeing a certain length of board in front of me with the 11'. I could place my feet on my 11 where they need to go visually without looking at the hand hold as my center point. Based on this habit, a was placing my feet too far back, creating instability and lack of good glide to get into the wave. Once my feet were straddling the center point or slight back, my glide and balance noticeably improved. You can always go feet forward to get down the face,and feet further back once you're in, but its best to be centered midpoint while you learn the handling characteristics of your new board. Good Luck!

[punasurf]

A timely thread.  I just went out today on my 2nd paddle.  I'm on a 10-4, 32.5" wide board.  Today was open ocean, not the protected harbor.  It was kicking my ass.  Winds were light but still some light chop.  My board is very loose, so I added a 5.25" center fin to my quad setup.  That helped with tracking but pivoting put my in the water almost every time.

 After an hour I was just about spent.  I had already surfed about 90 minutes earlier.  I still felt good considering it was day two, but was also getting a little frustrated.  I really wanted to catch a wave but it didn't look good.  Then this funnel cloud started to form just up wind.  It started to fall apart and as it crossed overhead the rains fell hard and I was headed into the boat ramp when I managed to catch this little 1/2 footer on the inside.  I had to call it a day out of exhaustion, but I was really stoked to have caught that ankle snapper on my way in.  It turned a day of semi-frustration into a little stoke.  This old guy out in the water was very encouraging but he did suggest that I may try a bigger board for a while first, but financially that's not really a option.

I can see that this is going to take me a while, but as long as I can see a little progress with every session, I am determined to get my sup into the surf.  I'm in no position to give any advise, but I'd say keep trying your new board as long as you can stand on it and paddle.

[Ucycle]

i would leave your old board at home and only take the new board, that would force you to only use the new board and you are not tempted to switch board mid session.  Also give yourself a good laugh everytime you fall in which better than getting fustrated at yourself.

[piece of 8]

 You can use your paddle to help stabilize yourself if you are falling alot as well. i stick my paddle in the water, flat side up while I'm waiting for a wave. Suppose you are leaning towards the paddle in the water on your right side,about to fall to that side. Lift up your paddle under the water with a quick movement and this should stop the momentum towards falling and keep you upright. if your paddle is still on the right and you are falling left, a quick movement down should stop momentun to that side. This summer I learned to use my paddle in many ways to stay upright. If I see others struggling to stay upright I tell them to utilize the paddle more and later on they'll usually thank me.  Keep that paddle in the water!

[stoneaxe]

I'm with give it more time. Time on water is the cure for most stability issues. Push yourself to go out in choppy conditions and before long you'll wonder what the fuss was about.

[piece of 8]

OOPS! Was just PMed. My paddle technique above was written opposite to what it actually is. Falling right, paddle on right handside? Stroke downward. Falling left paddle on rightside? Stroke upward. Really. Try it if you haven't.

[dingfix]

I'd put more time in to the new board.  Just made a very simiar move myself, but first convinced myself that if the new board was immediately stable, it was too much like the old (larger) board.   Great advice above on using the paddle as a support.