short to longer

[ffchadbo]

With all the down sizing talk, is anyone looking at up sizing to a longer board?
What are your reasons?
What are the benifits of a longer board compared to a shorter board?
Thanks

[DavidJohn]

I'll be first to throw my hand up.. Last week on Facebook I said that I had just had my best sup surf that I have ever had in my life.. It was true and it was partly because of the glassy, glassy, glassy head high waves and partly because of my new 10'6".5 Nalu.. What an awesome surfing board.. After going from 11'6" to 11'4" to 10'6" (the old one) and then 10' and a couple of 9' boards my new 10'6".5 seemed like taking a step backwards.. but it paddled so well and was so fast on the wave alowing me to surf better than I ever have before doing long roundhouse cut backs and fast down the line sections than I could only dream about before... So I recomend people try these 'new school' type longer boards so you can see for yourself how good they are.. This new 10'6" is so stable at 29 1/2" wide and has vertually no yawing with each paddle stroke.. It surfs like a short board once on the tail and nose rides better than my old mal's.

I took these four pictures that day before hitting the water.. The surf break that I surfed and was fair paddle to get to but this board did it easy.

DJ

[mik911]

The farther I plan to paddle, the longer board I use.  The extra length (and less rockered board) glides better to reach distant surf breaks.
It's a total compromise-shorter board surfs better, but longer board paddles easier (less yaw/more glide).
Porsche vs van

The past 3 days, I paddled/ surfed 3 different boards.
Friday,windy,choppy, Christ high waves-- I paddled out and surfed at same spot on my shortest Mana
Saturday,calmer.  I paddled 1-2 miles before finding a good, empty surf spot on my 11'
Sunday, glassy, knee high waves, I paddled my Competitor 5-6 miles, then caught a few tiny waves, just to get wet.

[tautologies]

With all the down sizing talk, is anyone looking at up sizing to a longer board?
What are your reasons?
What are the benifits of a longer board compared to a shorter board?
Thanks

I tried...didn't work for me. I went short again.

I just missed my 9'0'' hokua too much.

The new boards are nicer for sure, but to me it is just too much hassle to paddle and carry and turn on a wave to worry about a long board....

I think the only reason I could come up with now is if I am attempting waves so big I need a gun...still some time away even if surfing guns are fun.

[firesurf]

DJ thanks for the pictures, beautiful board. Makes me want to run out and buy one... and I like new Naish pads much better.

Recently picked up the new 2012 SB 9.5 X32  Widepoint. Stepped up in size from an old 9' X 29 3/4 Naish Mana.  The SB is much more stable, and has more rocker.
Actually I think the SB was designed for heavier riders, but it sure works great in choppy surf. Intended to sell the Mana but the board is really fun in glassy small surf, although it's no where near as stable as the SB.

[Strand Leper]

I recently ordered two longer boards.  My everyday board is my 7'9" by 26" ... "the Adam."

At Corran's suggestion, (and after having tried his), I ordered two larger boards.  An 8'3" by 25 and an 8'8" by 26. 

Mine aren't ready, but I am riding the prototype in the meantime, using it as an everyday board to find out the limits.

The volume on the 8'3" is very near the volume of the Adam.

When you go a bit longer, you don't have to do any gimmicks to hide volume... like a super wide nose, super thick center, a deck with no dome, etc.  (IMHO a domed deck makes a board SO much more lively that it is incalculable)... and you can shape your board more like a traditional surfboard (be it longboard or shortboard).

I have been on the 8'3" for three sessions straight and have some very definite impressions.  Obviously, these are unique to this particular board but some general impressions can be made.

The VERY narrow nose and longer water line are really helping me get into waves.  Saturday before last at DogPatch (fairly fun sized day) was my first full day on this board.  I was getting into waves that I would have had no chance of getting into on the 7'9".  Easy to PLANT the paddle in just the right spot, and push and flip... repeat... repeat... The "very surfboard-like" shape along with proper fin placement and a rear third rail that can cut diamonds allows this board to truly accelerate through turns... so much so, that I fell on one really good wave because I was anticipating the tail to start sliding... and it didn't... instead, I accelerated... (a little embarrassing... but oh well...)  The next day at windy Church, this was really evident as I was weaving on these big windy mogul fields on the rising swell... and just picking up more speed with each turn.

Also, as I can carry a little more speed on the paddle, it is easier to climb the incoming foam...

Yesterday during VERY small conditions at a certain spot under a famous hotel, I got a few ultra low tide zippers and even had the opportunity for a pocket snap... it was the first time that I broke the fins loose on this board... good thing because the fins need to break loose to pull that move... I was very conscious of the extra six inches in front of the board for both the snap, and the recovery spin, and then the pump down the line.  As long as you remember that you have the extra length and adjust your angles accordingly, no worries.

The longer length got me into a few that I am not sure I would have otherwise caught.

At the end of the day I see it like this (for me in comparing the two particular boards):  the Adam is a really good board for frontside speed and tail slides, if it is too top to bottom, it is going to slide a bit and you are going to lose some speed (gonna see if a nubster center fin fixes this)... backside, the Adam is a super fun board for redirecting and hitting the lip, but watch for the fin slide.  The new 8'3" will be the GO TO board for super critical top to bottom conditions, or anywhere that I want to go REALLY fast on my backhand.

A quick story on that:  At [secret NW swell spot] a month or so ago, Corran and I were out and he was on this particular proto and I was on the Adam (this is the day that Corran got freaked by the fish).  We were switching back and forth.  There were some absolute freight train rights coming across the rivermouth.  I had just switched back onto the Adam from the 8'3" proto... I was paddling into a very fast, fairly large right.  I was very, very deep.  I forgot that I was back on the Adam... so I went from low to high to pull under the lip and got destroyed... if I had remembered that I was on the Adam, I would have stayed high and pumped along the upper third of the wave (the Adam doesn't generate its own speed). 

That one wave really describes the difference in these two particular boards, and why I ordered a few immediately at the conclusion of the session... it was THAT good.

I know this thread isn't the "Hey Tim, tell us the difference between your old 7'9" and your new 8'3" thread" but I figured that this little anecdote will give some perspective on what I am up to length and volume wise.

Good luck and have fun.

Tim

[Kiku]

Thanks for your board update Tim.

May I ask, what is the thickness of your new boards? I have an 8'6", but it needs to be "updated". 

Thank you!

[Strand Leper]

Kiku,

When I am doing an aggressive crowned deck, I will go all the way to 3.75, but it gets narrower pretty quickly... with a normal crown, I am going 3.5 to 3.6.

Hope this helps.  By the way, you can always come up and try one of my boards.  Right now I am not riding the Collab because I am a little too heavy.  If you want to borrow it for a spell, no worries.  That one is 3.5 with an aggressive crown, hence my difficulty in floating it at 184 or above.    I Gotta wait for the water to warm up and be rid of the wetsuit weight.

It will blow your mind and might be a cheap way to see where your volume limit is.  The volume on that one is low to mid 80's.

Tim

[bts]

Just to confuse things,

My long board is a 10-4, my short board is a 10-6.

I like SUP "longboarding" more than SUP "shortboarding" and will probably sell the 10-6.

In my mind I'm going longer even though the board measures shorter.

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

I have  been riding a 9'10"  but am now going with a 10'3"  which is the same as my old longboard that i don't ride anymore. The older I get the longer the board!!!

[surfcowboy]

I can see the reasons you might move up. I do miss the glide on my 10'6" when I'm on the shorter board but the feeling is pretty fun.

I'm thinking that a good compromise for me might be a light weight 9'6" or so. Something that doesn't feel so big and heavy (strong epoxy Coreban Core range). The downside? Dings... I don't know if I wanna baby a board.

I will definitely be watching weight when I buy my next board after riding a lighter one. For the record, the Coreban isn't heavy compared to other boards, it's just a lot for a smaller rider like me to toss around.

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

another thought is that sometimes a larger board might have a better shape for surfing . the most simple example of this is  that  when you surf big waves you want length.

[Supperson]

Leper,
I also after many boards tested have settled on the 7'9 x 26.5 and 8'3 x 26 as my two top favorite rides
Maybe next I will try an 8'8 x 25 for places like Puerto Escondido
good looking out

[Supperson]

What fins are you running Leper

[Ucycle]

sorry for going off topic but with those width(25-26.5) do you guys lose balance all the time or as long you dont lose concentration, you dont fall off? I weight 175 and 28 is pretty comfort for me but i do fall off on a choppy day if i lose my concentration.