Many people ask when to change surfboards. Beginners should start with high volume soft top boards so learning the fundamentals is not hampered by having an advanced surfboard. I suggest beginners start with a high volume board bigger than they would use if they were experienced. I start most teens and adults on 9′ soft tops.
In learning the fundamentals, beginners are pushed into waves a few times and then start catching their own waves. They are learning the pop up sequence during which most make a lot of errors. A bigger board is more tolerant of weight not being placed perfectly. Also, in their inexperience with catching waves, beginners will not head the board straight to the beach and get tossed and pearl frequently (nose under water) from not being on the board correctly.
A larger surfboard often corrects its own direction and is not as easy to pearl. These problems make learning slower and more frustrating. In fact, if a surfer keeps making errors while catching waves, they never get to practice their pop up. As they progress, they only want to change boards to improve maneuverability and handling of bigger challenges.
The Fundamentals of Learning to Surf and Changing Surfboards
If a beginner has mastered the pop up and is landing in the correct stance on the surfboard, I will begin moving them to lower volume soft tops which for most would be an 8′ surfboard. This board requires the pop up to be landed perfectly and the surfer to catch waves without pearling. This board is easier to handle and is more maneuverable. In fact, most people could surf their whole life on this board assuming they are occasional surfers.
The progressive steps for beginners is to paddle out to catch bigger foam waves and begin catching small real waves in the two to three foot size. There are techniques to make this easier such as catching real waves in the corners where they are not as steep and pointing the board towards the pocket after catching it and before popping up.
When a surfer is visiting the water frequently and riding real waves, he might think of moving to a hard board that is a little shorter. At this point the surfer has been riding real waves and can perform maneuvers like bottom turns, cut backs, and perhaps accelerating. These three maneuvers are more easily performed on a hardboard that has thinner rails. Now the surfer is burying on rail into the wave to carve and the boxy rails of the soft top are a hindrance.
Each move to a smaller surfboard also creates more difficulty paddling, catching waves, and riding. The boards become more unstable as they get shorter and sink into the water to become more difficult to paddle. Real waves have to be steeper to power the smaller volume board. If the surfer’s skills are not commensurate with the requirements of the board and the wave, he will become frustrated.
Surfers riding the short boards most people see in the movies have been riding for years and are in the water frequently. The idea of surfing is to have fun and the slower a surfer moves to shorter boards, the longer the fun may last. Of course, surfers can always move to longer and more high volume boards. This makes paddling easier and the surfer can have longer sessions. They also catch waves earlier so the waves don’t have to be as steep during the pop up.
Consider your goals before changing boards. Don’t just do it to look cool. Missing waves and crashing a lot is not cool and people in the line up will start keeping you from catching waves. Don’t change boards until you are catching all the waves coming your way. Don’t change boards until you find you are having difficulty with maneuvers that you are performing properly.
Read Other Posts:
Beginner Surfers Learn on Soft Tops
5 Steps to Improve Surfing Performance
3 Ways to Catch Real Surfing Waves
Training to Ride the Surfing Short Board
Short Board Surfing Techniques
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