Best design for wind affected choppy messy surf

[Freaked_Out]

Nev and friends,
Which design would suit me best? I am 40yrs old, 90kg intermediate.
Already have a 5'8" spud which is great in small clean gutless surf.
Also ride a 6'3" elfuego as my mainly used board. Looking for a board to ride every known and then when the conditions are really poor and want to increase my wave count and have fun with a board that paddles even eaiser than the ones above but does not get out of my control on choppy faces. Still want to try and throw a good turn if the opportunity arises but for the rest of the time, just get tons of waves.
I was thinking of either the 6'10" alternator or the 6'6" or 6'10" advance or a 6'8" potatonator?
What you guys rekon would work the best?
Cheers

[iggy]

How's your paddling?. How do you feel the El Fuego?a bit over buoyant?.Seems like you enjoy ridding boards with a bit extra foam!!
Doesn't the spud cover the really poor spectrum?.Maybe the Addvance is the board you're looking for

[Goanna]

I would have though the Spud would do all that although you may find it easier on a smaller Spud - I am selling my 5'8" spud for this very reason
other than that I guess the Potatonator

[Freaked_Out]

Thanks Iggy, i am an 90kg, 40 year old intermediate so I think my other boards buoyancy is fine, yer I could ride smaller but sure some people of my weight and skill rider larger. Generally the waves I ride would be considered as fat and weak. How much do you weigh iggy? Why do you think the other boards wont be any good?

[Freaked_Out]

Find spuds are great but technically difficult to ride in choppy wind affected waves, too much speed and generally i get out of control. May be good for the advanced riders in these conditions but hard to handle for us the average joe. Love the spud otherwise.

[iggy]

Thanks Iggy, i am an 90kg, 40 year old intermediate so I think my other boards buoyancy is fine, yer I could ride smaller but sure some people of my weight and skill rider larger. Generally the waves I ride would be considered as fat and weak. How much do you weigh iggy? Why do you think the other boards wont be any good?
Is not that I think less of the other boards, simply the Addvance will suit your needs like a glove better than any of the others.
477
The wider nose and flatter rocker will help you catch waves with ease and go over chops like hot knife on butter.

[iggy]

Thanks Iggy, i am an 90kg, 40 year old intermediate so I think my other boards buoyancy is fine, yer I could ride smaller but sure some people of my weight and skill rider larger. Generally the waves I ride would be considered as fat and weak. How much do you weigh iggy? Why do you think the other boards wont be any good?
85Kgs dry at the moment...working on that!!!;)

[buzzy]

I actually think a heavier board works better in particularly windy conditions. If it's super blustery I use a heavier non firewire board.

[Chris]

your first mistake buzzy....

[buzzy]

My bad;).

In truth, I reckon there's an argument to engineer a little extra weight...nothing radical...into a line of boards for bigger blowy days.

[prjwebb]

The step ups have an extra layer of glass I believe. The extra weight that creates isn't a bad thing for bigger surf, that's for sure.

[Freaked_Out]

Funny I put up this post, had a surf friday night just like described. Smart ass kids were standing up and pumping so early into it then dropping into the good sections and doin air reverses every wave. Wish I was 16 again. Hey the 6'10" round alternator looks fun to me, could use it as a kind of bigger wave machine too.

[gringo]

Didn't Taj have extra weight put into some of his boards?
I'm 6ft & 90kgs on a 5'10" dom and while it flies on clean faces i find myself struggling on bumpy days.
I have been wondering if there is a way to add weight on those days ?

[prjwebb]

Theres an ASL interview with Nev on YouTube where he talks about adding weight to one of Tajs boards.

[Chris]

FST Dominator!

[Nev]

Yep!! Surley did add weight to Taj's boards during Bells the year he won in 2007. His boards were too light at 2.250g and were a bit skittery off the top. The team engineered an aluminum capsule about 40mm in dia and I flew down that night, drill and hole saw in hand. Next day we videoed him at bird rock to see the problem, and then I drilled a hole in the deck of his board about 200mm from the nose...Right through with a hole cutter! He was freaking!... Anyway I added slivers of lead until the board weighed 2400g which created extra "swing weight" in the nose of his board eliminating chatter off the top and enhancing hold and directional stability through turns. He was blown away how much better it went and went on to win his first Bell!
So...What does this mean to you? The simplest way to "stabilize" your board in choppy conditions is to "add weight" in the nose area. The best way to do this is go to the local golf shop and buy some lead tape used to weight up shafts and or club heads. Then stick this on in the nose area between about 200 to 400mm from the nose. Even if you gaffa tape over the lead strips to hold it in place. Add between 100 and 200g and you will notice the difference for sure.

[nycnml]

Hi guys,

I had posted this note in a related forum, but thought I'd double up here to see about responses, etc. After all, the board shop is across the street, the waves are up, and, well, I've got the fever.

Here's the re-post, trying to find the right board for weak mushy days (and something that is NOT a longboard):

My specs are: Int / Adv surfer, 50 yrs old, pretty top condition, athletically, and I weigh 153 lbs naked and wet. I'm surfing Long Island waters off of NYC, that means most of the year in some kind of rubber; 3/2 in summer up to 6mm in winter. What's that, an additional 10 lbs?

My calculations from the Volumator seem to suggest the following sizes in the two boards I am perv'ing for:

5'3" Baked Potato
5'2" or 5'4" Sweet Po

I would love to hear what you experienced-with-Firewire-board-owner guys think on this subject. Here's what I'd love from this board —*We get lots of days with sloppy, weak, gutless, unambitious, slothful surf. Still, a guy's got to paddle out, right? I'd like to *catch* these waves, and then, once up, I prefer to make turns close to what resembles a pocket, as opposed to gliding down what looks like a line (hence my interest in the slightly tuned Baked jobbie). The thing I do want to avoid is feeling like I am on something with too much float and a lack of responsiveness.

Here's the current quiver, as FYI:
Bing Dharma / 5'6" (quad, simmons-esque, superfun; loves an actual wave)
Bonzer Octafish / 5'10" (five-fin Campbell bros crazy thing; loves an actual wave AND offshore winds)
Chris Birch Quad Egg / 6'6" (surfs anything, like any good egg will do)
Chris Birch Retro Thruster / 6'2" (MR-style shortboard with tons of float; super in good surf and a hurricane or two)
Ricky Carroll Tuned Rocket Fish / 6'6" (quad / thruster boxes; step-up board for BIG days)

What's missing? A true floaty fish for messing around and catching waves on crappy days.

I am inclining towards the 5'3" Baked Potato ...OR... the 5'4" Sweet Potato. Please opine, and thanks kindly.

[Nev]

Hey mate,

First things
Oh c'mon...Pleeeaaaassseee!! Naked and wet? Kiddies come on this forum you know !!!

hey, You are pretty close to me in weight and age, and you have a damm impressive quiver.

My take is, with the fact that you have so much to choose from and that to a looking to fill a niche, I'd go for the 5'4" Sweet Potato. This board takes you up down and all over the shop when there id "something that resembles a pocket". I ride a 5'2 in the bath. When you are frigid (I am sure your wife accuses you of that) with an extra 10 lbs the 5'4" would be perfect. I have ridden up to the 5'6" which was still insane but obviously not as vertical.

Hope that helps.
Oh, and just to spoil that flow of info...The baked Potato would be just a tad more of a pocket rocket, but I'd still go with the SP due to the boards you already have.