Moving from Surfing Soft Top to Hardboard
Most beginners surfers that persist go through process of Moving from Surfing the Soft Top to the Hardboard. Some go to lower volume boards and some to higher volume.
The volume of a surfboard is the length x width x height which creates a number in liters. Over 100 liters is a 9′ x 24″ by 3.5″ board and good for people at 200 pounds and more. It makes paddling and catching foam waves easy if it is a soft top and the same if it is a hardboard.
The Volume of Short Boards Can Make Surfing More Difficult
Short boards might have a volume of 38 liters and they are for advanced surfers. Moving from a soft top to a hardboard is easier if the volume is the same. The board will easily float the surfers body and it will be just as forgiving.
What you give up when moving to lower volume boards is the forgiveness for imperfect popups and stance, harder paddling, and more skill level required to catch waves. This is why the fundamentals need to be mastered on a soft top before moving to lower volume boards.
Moving to Hard Boards Before You Are Ready
I recently taught a marine who was 6’3″ and 180 pounds of leanness and youth. He had started on a soft top on his own and then bought a 7’7″ hard board which is often called a fun board in size. This is a great step down from the soft top if you can surf. He couldn’t surf and the excellent quality board did not make surfing easier.
He was not getting on the board correctly, paddling correctly, did not have a correct pop up and had and incorrect stance on the board. He was trying to catch and ride real waves. I put him on a 9′ soft top and he couldn’t surf.
We went through the basics of how to lie on the board with having the feet always at the tail. We learned how to paddle with short strokes that drive the hands in the water up to the elbows and pull with the forearms. We correct his pop up and stance. Then beginners have to learn timing and rhythm.
The Good Surfer Understands Timing and Rhythm
Timing and rhythm are paddling easy when a foam wave approaches and then hard when it is at the tail of the board for three strokes to get in front of the wave. Sometimes this takes three strokes and sometimes six. The board has to “take off” in the wave before putting hands on the board. This takes most beginners a lot of patience to wait for putting their hands on the board.
Then the surfer executes the right pop up to get into the right stance. It is a sequence that needs each step. It should be smooth rather than fast. Most beginners have to slow down as their mind is racing causing their moves to be too fast.
When the surfer masters the ride to the beach on foam waves he can start paddling out for real waves. He starts with small waves in the two to three foot variety. Its best to paddle parallel to the waves coming in on a sand bar beach and while looking for good foam waves also look for real waves reforming. After the surfer catches small real waves he can move to bigger real waves.
Riding Real Waves on the Soft Top
The surfer should learn to ride the faces of real waves, bottom turn into the pockets, accelerate, and do cut backs. These are the basic maneuvers of riding real waves. When he is competent at these maneuvers he can consider a hard board. The first hard board can be an 8′ board to make the transition easier.
If the surfer is already on an 8′ soft top; a good move is to the 7’6″ fun board that is also 21+” wide and 2 3/4″ thick. Now he is going to execute the same pop up and maneuvers he already learned on the soft top. The transition to more difficult paddling will not be too difficult. He will need more help from the real wave to catch them and must learn this transition.
Moving shorter now should be in small increments. Six inches at a time maintaining the width and thickness makes the move less frustrating and more helpful to improved surfing. The only real advantage to lower volume boards is better carves which won’t be realized if the surfer had not already mastered these maneuvers. You don’t become a better surfer just because your board is shorter. A race car driver that moves to faster cars too soon only learns how to crash.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
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