I am 6'1 @ 198 and the only way I could lose 20lbs is to stop going to the gym. However, since the OP said he was a fat ass.... I am guessing you might be right.

Try a Bob Freeman Model

I think Bob rides a 7.0
Let us all know how it works for you.
At Allen's shop or RonJons.


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"The truth is incontrovertible.
malice may attack it,
ignorance may deride it,
but in the end,
there it is." -Sir Winston Churchill

surfboardsbychrisbirch.com

Hah, I go to the gym 5 days a week and run 2-3 . I couldn't loose 20 lbs if I cut off my arm . I guess I meant I was just more out of "surfing shape".

I still plan on going to visit some local shapers, but for now I picked up a Lost Lazyboy off Craigslist bc it was super cheap. 6'x22"x2.75" --- 41. Thats a lot wider and thicker and should float way better than the old shorty. Shall see this weekend.

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The greater the risk, the higher the reward.

I think you made a good choice. Width and thickness have a huge impact on how a board floats. It sounds obvious, but its easy to get intimidated by a shorter length without realizing it will float you fine once you get used to it.

Speaking of losing weight...if you want to lose 20lbs of ugly fat just cut your head off

I always wonder why there is so much attention to thickness and volume. Once you are up on plane then length, width, aspect, rocker, bottom shape, fin placement dictate handling. Heck, a board that is wafer thin but a little wide with a subtle concave or double concave is going to plane earlier and on a mushier wave than a fat but relatively narrow flat or v-bottomed board. As for gym strong. I used to be 215lbs of muscle. I'm now 165-170lbs of muscle. I never go to the gym whereas I used to live in the gym. My surfing is much improved. I paddle, run, and stretch. If I feel like I need to get stronger I do short intervals on the SUP.

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There's a little truth to that. I'm personally sick of people asking "how man liters does it have?"..... or "I'm looking for a board with X liters"

I'm the opposite, I go slightly longer and less volume. Flex is what makes the board work in my opinion. A thick 5'10" or a trimmed down 6'0"? I'll take the fillet knife over the butter knife any day.

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I was right.

Guess it depends on your build. Last time I was 165 was when I was a sophomore in high school and looked like a Kenyan marathon runner. I don't bodybuild, I just have a certain amount of functional strength I like to maintain. I can get down to 185 or so but I run out of energy fast and generally feel like shit since i am sitting at about 2% body fat. Not to mention it really doesn't look all that great when you can even see veins in your abs. 195 is a lean mean weight for me, best combo of stamina, appearance, and strength. 170.... I would have to stop exercising all together AND go all Cast Away on a deserted island for 6 months.

YES, there's a nugget of truth in this. If two boards have the same amount of overall volume, the thinner longer one will paddle better almost everytime (aside from silly amounts of rocker). But given our often "less than stellar" (SHIT) waves, a little nugget will fit in the pocket easier. I've FINALLY got a a fat lil 5-7 fish and have been having fun, but it's way more beefed up over my normal 6-0 type boards in order to paddle the same.... but I got a modified Lost RNF retro (5-7 with 5-5 dims) and it's been a blast in the soft stuff.

Edited: 09/21/2018 at 08:12 AM by Plan B

This/these- for me is now in my less than used to be powerful upper body strength dictating paddle power, "thee" most important aspect of Surf'in. I/we already know how to rock&roll eVERYthing once we've got our ol'asses UP on feets however, even here in So. Brevard Flo ri da, considering our consistent good wave shape (even compared to SoCal) is soft and slopey, rarely making late take offs critical steep air drops that eliminates any underpowered last strok'n requirement. Bottom line- folks who dun made it this late in life -surf'n-, still perform'n to a level we ride home STOKED how frick'n hard, smooth, and radical we just seshed -still- only happen's because we gots in the wave "Early". Not enough vol. and everything else said above isn't attainable. fyi- longboard'n don't count none o'this. yeEw! yehgitem, yehgotem!! Getsum! Mucho~

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ola ~

And height. I'm only 5'9".

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Yeah for sure.

Edited: 09/21/2018 at 09:33 AM by miker

I bought an epoxy Flying Floaty Fish from Tom Nielsen a few years back. It's a 6'0". I showed him my current short board, told him what I liked about it, what I didn't like, what kind of surfer I was (the equivalent of a weekend golfer), types of waves I usually surfed etc. Once I got it, I got rid of my fun shape, and I ride my long board much less often.

It is floaty.....I can duck dive it, but not for long, and not too deep. Overall very happy with it.