6'8" Dom for a big guy

Hi, I just ordered a 6'8" Dom and I think it'll be right for me but wanted to hear opinions. I'm 6'1", 230 lbs, good fitness, and a beginner-ish surfer. I grew up in Hawaii and bodyboarded for about 5-years through high school with minimal surfing. After that I didn't surf for about 10-years since I was on the mainland, but just moved back this year and have been surfing 2-3 times/week on average since I've been back (more like 5x/wk when there's a swell, 1x when there isn't). I've also snowboarded pretty seriously for 8 years, and wakeboarded a bit.

Will this be a good board for me? I live on the south shore of Oahu and in summer I surf mostly 2-5' mushier waves, and surf bigger waves on the north shore in winter. I'm not really comfortable when its bigger than 2' overhead. Right now I'm surfing a 7'4" hybrid with an enormous amount of foam: 704 Big Boy Stinger. This board is so floaty I can't duck-dive too deep, but I'm usually ok until it gets overhead. I'm hoping I'll still keep good paddle power with the Dom for catching waves.

I also picked up some SA-4 quad fins for when the new board gets here. Will those be ok for me as a beginner at 230 lbs/95kgs with this board? Can't wait to try this baby out!

-Chris

P.S. Thanks to all who have contributed to this forum, it made my decision-making a lot easier.

I reckon tge 6'8" would be ideal at your weight and intended use.

PS I'm pretty sure 230 lbs is around 105 kg, not 95. If you're 95kg I'd be suggesting the 6'4".

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Originally Posted by buzzy

I reckon tge 6'8" would be ideal at your weight and intended use.

PS I'm pretty sure 230 lbs is around 105 kg, not 95. If you're 95kg I'd be suggesting the 6'4".

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Whoops, 105kg is correct...my plan for being internationally-friendly backfired.

I may be a little late here, but the 606 Dominator I (unwisely) bought would be perfect for a guy in the 225-250 lb range. It was waaaay too buoyant for my 210 lb self even in mushy waves. It just skipped across the top of the water rather than getting a rail in. My 604 is perfect. There was a HUGE difference between the two boards, even with just 4.5 liters volume and 2" separating the two.

yeaht that's fair. small adjustments can go a long way and it shows how important it is to find those optimal specs!!

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Originally Posted by Herzalot

I may be a little late here, but the 606 Dominator I (unwisely) bought would be perfect for a guy in the 225-250 lb range. It was waaaay too buoyant for my 210 lb self even in mushy waves. It just skipped across the top of the water rather than getting a rail in. My 604 is perfect. There was a HUGE difference between the two boards, even with just 4.5 liters volume and 2" separating the two.

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My 608 came in and I'm actually pretty happy with it. I'm a beginner and this is the smallest board I've ever ridden, so I think the extra paddle power of the 50L is helping me out. I just got back from being gone for 10 days, so I've only had a chance to take it out twice so far. The first time was just messing around in 2-3' surf and I was surprised to find that this board is actually easier to catch waves than my 704! It's harder to paddle, but I found myself catching waves that I wouldn't have made on my longer board. Pretty short session since it's getting dark before 6pm here now.

The 2nd time I took it out was this Saturday in 5-8' surf on the North Shore (Lanikea) and I had a blast. There were only 8 or so guys out there, and plenty of waves. I found that I need WAY more weight on my back foot than I'm used to. Most of my rides were pretty short-lived, but I got a couple of decent ones. Afterwards we went to Ehukai to check out the Pipe Masters and got to see some AMAZING surfing. Great way to end the session.

Oh yeah, and I love having a board that I can duck dive easily! It feels like I can dive it to the bottom of the ocean, which came in handy more than once when I got caught out of position.

My buddy on his 9'6 longboard was giving me shit since he was outpaddling me, only to get crushed and end up 30-yds behind me after an 8' set came through.

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Originally Posted by Herzalot

I may be a little late here, but the 606 Dominator I (unwisely) bought would be perfect for a guy in the 225-250 lb range. It was waaaay too buoyant for my 210 lb self even in mushy waves. It just skipped across the top of the water rather than getting a rail in. My 604 is perfect. There was a HUGE difference between the two boards, even with just 4.5 liters volume and 2" separating the two.

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Could have solved a lot of that problem on the 6'6" with larger and more specifically taller fins.