transition from a longboard to shortboard?

[SeaCliff]

that or sell the thruster you have and get one a little wider, say 19.25-19.5. a 1/4 inch made a big difference for me.

This is an excellent suggestion....the increase in board width may afford you the stability your looking for, and will undoubtedly make for a more "forgiving" experience - the timing and centering of your popup can be slightly off as you adjust to downsizing, but you'll still have a chance to make the wave.

[sman]

I'm going to borrow a board from a friend tomorrow..its a "hybrid board", these are the dims:

Length: 7"6
Nose: 13"
Mid: 20½"
Tail: 14"
Thickness: 2 7/8"

maybe makes more sense to transition down on something like this.

[jAmmYcAsT]

I'm going to borrow a board from a friend tomorrow..its a "hybrid board", these are the dims:

Length: 7"6
Nose: 13"
Mid: 20½"
Tail: 14"
Thickness: 2 7/8"

maybe makes more sense to transition down on something like this.

hmm...how different is that from your fun fish, in terms of volume? not sure it will really be enough of a change to help.

[sman]

the fun fish ive got is  3 " thick , 22 3/4" wide, 18" nose and 17" tail. definitley alot more volume

[jAmmYcAsT]

buy the 6'6" lost sdii listed in the for sale room. the dims are perfect for you.
the 7'6" will be fun (and easy) for transitioning but if you have the cash the lost will be good in the long run.
and thumb/roundtails are so great!

[marios_basement]

This is an excellent suggestion....the increase in board width may afford you the stability your looking for, and will undoubtedly make for a more "forgiving" experience - the timing and centering of your popup can be slightly off as you adjust to downsizing, but you'll still have a chance to make the wave.

Ohhh man!

Can't wait to see you out on the egg ALL THE TIME once you eat your own words - hahahahaha!!!!

[SeaCliff]

This is an excellent suggestion....the increase in board width may afford you the stability your looking for, and will undoubtedly make for a more "forgiving" experience - the timing and centering of your popup can be slightly off as you adjust to downsizing, but you'll still have a chance to make the wave.

Ohhh man!

Can't wait to see you out on the egg ALL THE TIME once you eat your own words - hahahahaha!!!!

Eat my own words? For the love of god, if the egg doesnt get me into and on mushy crap waves sooner, I'm going to shoot myself!! And I ride mostly a wide-ass "performance fish" most of the friggin time anyway for just the reason I stated - the extra width helps my lazy uncoordinated ass stand up! 

[SeaCliff]

In all seriousness, Mr. Basement, what's your opinion - is a 7'0" egg ultimately going to help or hurt my surfing long term? I know you understand that it's my attempt to level the playing field in the often mush-like competitive conditions where I've traditionally continued to ride a 6'0" when every other competitor is on 7'2"+ boards, leaving myself at a distinct disadvantage - but I'm still not completely sold on this....

(Those in the know realize that Mario's Basement, besides being elegantly decorated and a great place for poker, is perhaps the preeminent repository of surf knowledge in the country!)

[Joe Bama!]

You know it really alot easier the other way around. I went from 6'0 to 9'0. what a difference! I'm hooked on funboards now, somewhere in the middle.

[McFloater]

jammy's advice is spot on! 

[Looseness]

In all seriousness, Mr. Basement, what's your opinion - is a 7'0" egg ultimately going to help or hurt my surfing long term? I know you understand that it's my attempt to level the playing field in the often mush-like competitive conditions where I've traditionally continued to ride a 6'0" when every other competitor is on 7'2"+ boards, leaving myself at a distinct disadvantage - but I'm still not completely sold on this....

(Those in the know realize that Mario's Basement, besides being elegantly decorated and a great place for poker, is perhaps the preeminent repository of surf knowledge in the country!)

excuse me for chiming in but....if Kelly Slater says riding a LONGBOARD  helps smooth out your surfing, I imagine riding a 7 foot egg is not going to hurt your shortboarding. You will be riding more waves for longer, and a shortboard will feel so maneuverable after riding something longer. I paddled out on my 9'0" log this morning since in the predawn light it looked tiny. After surfing for 45 minutes I went back in and grabbed a shortboard and had a field day. So fun.   

[Top Three]

dont buy that 6-6   bad move... too hi performance... i would say u should get somehting in the high 6 foot range... 6-10 or even 7 foot or so...   this will let u take it out in waist hi or so and still be able to catch waves or take it out in bigger surf as well...   i would go to a local shaper and see what he has to say... maybe he will give u what ur lookin for...   i would explore the option or a quad too...   especially in that size range itll make the board more manuverable...

[ez_ed]

Since you're a longboarder, you may want to scrap the thruster altogether and just go quad/twinzer fish(ala "The Black Knight" by Hynson). They have the volume in the nose and tail but are shorter in length than the typical thruster and are speedy and highly maneuverable. I'd ride something like that almost exclusively in NY waves at chest+(although you can grovel with them, but as a longboarder, you'll probably not be too excited with this prospect).
General rule is about your height up to 2" taller so a 5'10"-6' would work for you.

[HydroGlide]

You have to kick harder getting in and once up you have to wiggle your butt alot and shake up and down more to generate your own speed.  I kid but you do need to do alot more work to ride a shortboard.  Keep your friend's board if money's tight and practice your popup repeatedly on an imaginary stringer on land and just keep taking your licks in the water until you figure it out.  There's good advice here and that board may be small and a wider board will be easier but the answer isn't always another board.

[SeaCliff]

In all seriousness, Mr. Basement, what's your opinion - is a 7'0" egg ultimately going to help or hurt my surfing long term? I know you understand that it's my attempt to level the playing field in the often mush-like competitive conditions where I've traditionally continued to ride a 6'0" when every other competitor is on 7'2"+ boards, leaving myself at a distinct disadvantage - but I'm still not completely sold on this....

(Those in the know realize that Mario's Basement, besides being elegantly decorated and a great place for poker, is perhaps the preeminent repository of surf knowledge in the country!)

excuse me for chiming in but....if Kelly Slater says riding a LONGBOARD  helps smooth out your surfing, I imagine riding a 7 foot egg is not going to hurt your shortboarding. You will be riding more waves for longer, and a shortboard will feel so maneuverable after riding something longer. I paddled out on my 9'0" log this morning since in the predawn light it looked tiny. After surfing for 45 minutes I went back in and grabbed a shortboard and had a field day. So fun.   

Sorry if it seemed as if I was taking a shot at longboards, it was actually quite the opposite - I was taking a shot at myself and my relative inability to master one style of surfing without confusing things by introducing another.

Without a doubt, the 7'0" egg will surf much differently than the boards I've been riding for years, even as I was picking it up, the person in the shop was warning me that it might take some time to get it dialed (with the salesman-like caveat, "but once you do, brother...!").

On to the topic at hand, tho.... Ed's words sound like really good advice -

Since you're a longboarder, you may want to scrap the thruster altogether and just go quad/twinzer fish(ala "The Black Knight" by Hynson). They have the volume in the nose and tail but are shorter in length than the typical thruster and are speedy and highly maneuverable. I'd ride something like that almost exclusively in NY waves at chest+(although you can grovel with them, but as a longboarder, you'll probably not be too excited with this prospect).
General rule is about your height up to 2" taller so a 5'10"-6' would work for you.