What Surf board should I buy?

[406]

I'm 6'2" 198 lbs.

Learned on the 8.5' board pictured below. But it starting to feel slow and water logged.

Mostly surf Scripps in San Diego during the summer and fall months, so 2-6 ft waves. Like making slow turns on the wave and less into toes on the nose.
https://www.surfline.com/surf-report...65fad6a7708839

Something faster more maneuverable going down the wave would be nice. Also paddles well and tip doesn't suck under with a little chop paddling into the wave. Also not a total pita to get past the white wash on the paddle out, but I don't go out when it is big. Local shaper would be nice or suggest a good SD county surf shop.

thanks

[jorion]

Maybe if you’re looking for more speed try a single fin? It’s definitely a different style and you can’t generate speed like you can on a thruster, but if you enjoy making slow long radius turns already it would make sense. I really prefer both watching and surfing single fins.

I lurk a bit on a forum called jamboards and there are a lot of San Diego people on it. People love the v bowls model from Ryan Lovelace, who’s from Santa Barbara not San Diego, but it’s apparently a great board for there.

I think Tyler Warren is from San Diego and his boards sure look sweet. Larry Mabile too but he just retired I think.

[406]

^^^thanks, the v bowl looks awesome.

[406]

v-bowl was impossible to get.

Now thinking a Bing Seeker or Pigformer. Nice thing is they demo boards.

[AlexRoss0908]

The link you've posted? Is it something like a live CCTV?

[406]

The link you've posted? Is it something like a live CCTV?

are you asking about the pier webcam shown on surfline?

[Ottime]

If you can drive up to Huntington, might be worth checking out the Evolved board room. They make a bunch of fat shortboard. Nit really sure what their mid length board selection is like, but I had them shape a skinny B2 5'9" and it was shipped to my door for $350. I would buy from them again. Not my favorite glass job, but as good as any Lost, Channel Islands or other mass produced and glassed board. What I really like about my Evolved boards is that they don't cost so much that I need to over think my purchase.

I like the single fin suggestion. I ride an old Rick which has a massive single skeg. Super fun to ride in slow rolling surf.

If you go the other direction, in generating speed, you may want to look to shorter boards. 7'6" eggs can get out through the wash easier, smooth out chop more, accelerate quicker and feel more dynamic. If going intuit direction, I would try to keep about the same volume, which is not too hard when dropping a foot.

BTW, you could try your current board as a single fin to see if you like the feel. Not sure what its bottom contour looks like, but fro the pic, I don't see any big issues with pulling the side fins for a few sessions.

[skibikeboat]

I would suggest a fish. I am 6' 230 pounds and I paddle a 7'4" fish with a 5/4 wetsuit with no problems.

Check out blair surfboards in Solana Beach, CA, so give Joe a call, he is a good guy, you might have to leave a message he will call back. He makes a bunch of big boy boards that will not break the bank.

[Ottime]

^^^^ sounds more like a Tuna you are riding.

[406]

I still have not purchased a new board, but narrowed it down to two options from Bing surf shop. Pigformer or 8' Seeker.

[m79f59]

I like boards from Tyler Warren and I can reccommend this for you

[Ottime]

Love the name of the Pigformer.

[liv2ski]

Whatever, there is a reason all the top professional surfers are on a thruster. 1 fin sucks compared to 3 or 5. Maybe I would go single on a big ol 10' nose rider. Other than that, it is a 2 + 1 setup for sure.

[jorion]

Thruster surfing is ugly.

To be fair, my single-fin surfing is also ugly but it’s because I suck.

[Ottime]

Lot's of big wave surfers are going back to single fins or quads. They offer more hold on a steep face. Thruster surfing does not need to be ugly, it just often is, because almost everyone is on a thruster including every single newb, kook and wanna be pro (who are often doing the ugliest surfing).

I like my single fin on my longboard and is perfect for it. I rode a single fin Dick Brewer 7'6" circa '74 mini gun for a number of years and it worked there as well. I prefer my thruster on most performance style shortboards I'd surf in beach break or ledge surf, as it is the right tool for the job. I'm not quite good enough on a quad to use it often in the steep fast waves that the quad excels in. Tho I occasionally will set up my 5'9" or thick 6'4" with a quad when we have the right south swell.

AND of course we need to discuss fin shape, flex and design, as there is a lot more to a fin set up than naming how many of them there are. I really enjoy the Solus fin shape with the concave on the inside of the side fins and the mini hatchet trailing fin. So fluid, so fast, so much fun in the smaller head high or less surf.

And bonkers fucking suck, so no more 5 fin talk.

[subtle plague]

Has anyone really surfed 5 fins? And what for? I mean I don't see any benefits compared to a thruster.... I thought it was a joke on people who don't know what to do with thruster/quad fin sets?

As a kook I like quad setups because they're faster than thrusters without being as super loose as twins.

[jorion]

I’d really like to try a Campbell bros bonzer one of these days. Seems like a bit of a cult. Everybody hates knost and I get it but I personally really like his style, and I recall him saying in some interview that their Russ short model is his favorite board ever.

Anyway, the style thing is mostly just my personal preference. Competition surfing is impressive but I don’t find it particularly aesthetically pleasing most of the time.

I like watching really flowy/glidey, old school surfing with quiet body movements that go hand-in-hand with single fins and hull boards.

[Ottime]

Agree with the competition dealio. Impressive but I find it tends toward tweaky style. Way more into fluid surfing. Curren, Occy, Kong all were fluid surfers and on thrusters. Perhaps a difference was they were looking at hero’s like MR and Rabbit and grew up surfing on singles, twins and quads. The thruster set up allows for plenty of fluidity, especially when you (1) know what you are doing and (2) use large, stiff, flat fins with plenty of rake.