Hey Zuz, I am confused. My new board sucks

It happens more often than you think. You get a new board and regret quickly sweeps in.

‍ Hey Zuz, I am confused. My new board sucks

Two weeks ago, I got another surfboard — a 7’4” funboard from Global Surf. So pretty, egg-yolk yellow. I took it out for a spin and I hate it. I don’t get it. I checked all the specs — the volume is right for my weight and height. The reviews were awesome too. I couldn’t catch a single wave on it.

I’ve been so unlucky with my boards. I have five other ones, including a foamie and a custom — different lengths, volumes, and fin set-ups — and none of them are really working for me. I’m having the hardest time catching waves, and when I do, I’m not able to keep riding. I just stop. I honestly don’t know what I am doing wrong here. It’s so frustrating because I know I can surf. I had several lessons in Hawai’i on vacation and I could pop up no problem and ride for ages.

Dear reader!

I feel as if my reply is going to be “Speculation Central,” because without a full list of your equipment, details on your local break, and your experience level, it’s going to be hard to gauge what the actual problem may be. But let’s start with the obvious.

Unless you live in Hawai’i — the slow-rolling-wave capital of the surfing world, which I’m assuming you don’t, since that’s where you went on your vacay — surfing anywhere else will feel, well, harder. I always say: I’m an okay surfer in Waikīkī and I’m a shitty surfer at Venice Breakwater, California.

Another potential issue is that you’re not giving yourself enough time with one board before moving on to the next. It’s a common theory among surfers that every time you get a new board, you have to re-learn how to surf. It’s one of the reasons why so many surfers gave up surfing during the shortboard revolution in the ’60s — it was just too steep a learning curve for some.

So while with each board you learn new skills, it’s a bit like horse riding: the more different horses you ride, the more comfortable and attuned you become to the more spirited or not-yet-trained ones. You’re just building your skill set, if I may.

You mention that you now have six surfboards. This is just a guess, but you either got them for different wave conditions, or you continued to acquire them as you progressed in your surfing journey — and, as is common, downsized along the way. If the former, that’s awesome — you have something to ride in any weather. But if the latter, and seeing so many boards you’re not riding isn’t bringing you joy, you may want to consider trading them in.

Just be careful what you’re trading them for. I once read a story about a dude who went into a surf shop with a cool old-school surfboard and traded it in for a wee modern shortboard. He was back a few days later, admitting he couldn’t ride it — and trading it back for his old one.

And about your custom board — and this is me projecting, since I don’t know all the ins and outs — you might’ve thought, yes, a custom board is going to ride like magic, because it’s made specifically for me. Like a custom-tailored suit from Savile Row (do they do custom suits on Rodeo Drive or is it all off-the-rack? I don’t actually know).

The board would ride beautifully, you dreamed! Most shapers are good people, experienced professionals, so I’m guessing they asked you where you surf, how well, and what boards you’d had success with in the past. Then they made you a board in your favorite color — that still doesn’t ride as you expected. It happens.

I know this may sound like crazy talk, but what if you took a lesson at your local break with a coach? Bring all your boards with you and let them run some diagnostics on your riding style per surfboard.

But honestly, if I had to put a bet on it, I’d bet you might’ve given up too quickly on each board.

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team