What issues can I expect for going narrower

I riding a 30.5 wide board at the mo 120 flow ..only when its good offshore weather .,I'm thinking of going for a 29 wide board ,what issues can I expect .? Tippy ?
but it does have good volume 130 litre
maddog 8.11 x29 .naish .
Am i going to regret it and have a hell of of time or is this a good thing .
I also have a 8.10 flow at 31 and a bit ,but I find it too big ,volume is good but doesn't seem to bite the wave .
i do like it ,but it really has to be ridden on the tail all the time .to turn .

hoping the Maddog the one for me .looking for a good bigger all rounder that rips .
and it s yellow .

spot on what Hilly says on two things:
you want the board rails at least in water as it stops it bobbing and being corky. My worldwide always felt corky as rails and deck was out of water, was terrible for stability if choppy or lumpy. My speeed rails are always in water and if im still my feet and it holds the board flat instead of bobbing around.

and stance, haha i try to tell the few local guys i see regularly in water to help but they dont listen. exactly what Hilly says, like they got a bit set of coconuts between their legs, wide paralell stance, feet out near rail, ok for 32" wide boards but go narrower and ur in trouble. I watch them try to paddle onto waves like that and looks so awkward.
Best thing i learnt from pros on internet and watching local guys like Wes and other good cats was front foot in line with stringer slightly offset, heel bout at handle (for sunovas). This controls front/aft movement. Rear foot on 45 degree angle out, toes in line with front foot heel, rear foot heel on stringer. This controls the sideways movement. This is your paddling out, around, standing stance. Then go to semi surf stance to catch waves before stepping back to the tail to slay.

Tardy, if you think the flow does NOT turn well if not on back of board, you may struggle going to a smaller board. Firstly performance boards are designed to be ridden with rear foot back on the tail pad. sure if its fatter you move rear foot forward somewhat and towards rail to bottom turn but get it back and turn properly. Bert designed the flow to enable you to not have to always be right back. Then again maybe it is the width OR thick rails that is making you feel like it wont turn.

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Tardy said..
Thanks guy s ,I am stuck between a rock in a hard place .
i like the 130 to paddle out and have a easy time ,but prefer to surf the 120 flow ,which I find demanding in slop .

is it the volume that makes it easy or the extra width ..

i do have a 8' 8 x 32 which is a rocking chair compared to the 130 flow and it has 10 more litres .and wider ...but it rocks and as you say it's corky ...so the rocker comes into the equation too..

maybe I could end up with a custom flow 8'8 , 30.5 and 127 litres

would be perfect for my 96 kgs .and age

IMO, stability is more about surface area than volume or width. The volume is really just letting you know whether you will be sinking the board or not. Have you considered an 8'8 or 8'10 speeed ? The specs look to suit your 120-130l, <30"width, stable + performance. good luck.

Hi Tardy
I have owned the speeed 8/10 and its a great board but I found it less stable than my infinity 8'5 b-line which is approx 15litres less at my weight 98kg. I personally think it's about shape and how they distribute the litres.

I agree that shape is critical, i have two boards the same volume, one 7.6 x 26 x 4 surf shape, one 6.10 x 26 x 4 square nose sort of minion shape. The 6.10 is slightly more stable, they are both 85 litres and i weigh around 73kegs.....

For me once I narrowed my boards the performance went through the roof, I would much prefer a longer narrower board than a shorter wider board....

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Tardy said..

Loz79 said..
For me once I narrowed my boards the performance went through the roof, I would much prefer a longer narrower board than a shorter wider board....

Interesting loz ,anyone else feel this way ?

because I was thinking go shorter and wider but not to wide ....like a 8.5 .with 30.5 wide .
Rather than 8.11 /29 .

Agree with that. Short wide boards feel wrong to me especially in solid waves.

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Tardy said..

Loz79 said..
For me once I narrowed my boards the performance went through the roof, I would much prefer a longer narrower board than a shorter wider board....

As always, it depends on the kind of waves. On at least head high waves, long and narrow is the best solution, as the length can fit easily in the waves.

But I found that you must take also your height into account. I am short, and I am less efficient with a board over 8', as I have then to move too much on the board for turns. A big guy will have no issue on a 8'6". But there is no question that narrow boards are nearly mandatory in the power if you want to do some vertical surfing.

Also, you can "cheat" a bit in having a board narrow only in the rear part, and keep some width just forwards of the handle, to have both the hollow wave performance and some stability.

Tardy IMHO I think you are over thinking it. Having so many boards already you are confusing yourself. I reckon a two board quiver is the best. One you are comfortable on in any conditions (AKA a bit if width) and one for those days when the waves are pumping (AKA pulled in nose and tail) and challenges you a bit. I reckon the plan shape is what gives you stability. Forget volume and look at the outline. fuller nose and tails will give you better stability with still the performance you want if you don't go too high volume.

For E.G My two board quiver is

Smik Hypster Twin 7'8" x 28 x 95L (fuller nose for stability and small waves performance and super stable)

Smik Custom 8"0" x 27.5 x 94L (fully pulled in nose and tail for when its glassy and pumping. I find this board tippy but ok and it good to challenge oneself.
Either way get out there and enjoy yourself.

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Bender said..
Tardy IMHO I think you are over thinking it. Having so many boards already you are confusing yourself. I reckon a two board quiver is the best. One you are comfortable on in any conditions (AKA a bit if width) and one for those days when the waves are pumping (AKA pulled in nose and tail) and challenges you a bit. I reckon the plan shape is what gives you stability. Forget volume and look at the outline. fuller nose and tails will give you better stability with still the performance you want if you don't go too high volume.

For E.G My two board quiver is

Smik Hypster Twin 7'8" x 28 x 95L (fuller nose for stability and small waves performance and super stable)

Smik Custom 8"0" x 27.5 x 94L (fully pulled in nose and tail for when its glassy and pumping. I find this board tippy but ok and it good to challenge oneself.
Either way get out there and enjoy yourself.

Wow you are on small boards.yeah I don't ride the x32s anymore ,and their up for sale.
i would be happy with one all rounder.
i really think I'm going to go for a custom ...as I think I've narrowed it down to the right width ,volume ,style and shape .
unless I see those numbers I think I would be happy with. 30.25 /125 litres /8'8.
Still big compared to yours ,

will probably be a sunova again .i thought I had my 2 magic boards ...120 &130flows .the 120 's a keeper
the 130 needs trimming down .for me .i will sell the 130 for a custom .

i see your boards are quite close on detentions ,only 1 litre difference ,and very similar size .where mine is a 10 litre difference and wider by inch .and a half.

you obviously know what you like riding ...I'm still searching .but very close to the right quiver .

one more board and I'm done .

One u get to 29 and under the boards surf so much better .. for me it's worth the extra work by a Mile

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Tardy said..
It seems to me that it's unanimous that narrower boards are better to surf ...

and could solve some frustration on reef break waves ..

Yes they are and it should.

Are you talking about this board?

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Tardy said..

Bender said..
Tardy IMHO I think you are over thinking it. Having so many boards already you are confusing yourself. I reckon a two board quiver is the best. One you are comfortable on in any conditions (AKA a bit if width) and one for those days when the waves are pumping (AKA pulled in nose and tail) and challenges you a bit. I reckon the plan shape is what gives you stability. Forget volume and look at the outline. fuller nose and tails will give you better stability with still the performance you want if you don't go too high volume.

For E.G My two board quiver is

Smik Hypster Twin 7'8" x 28 x 95L (fuller nose for stability and small waves performance and super stable)

Smik Custom 8"0" x 27.5 x 94L (fully pulled in nose and tail for when its glassy and pumping. I find this board tippy but ok and it good to challenge oneself.
Either way get out there and enjoy yourself.

Wow you are on small boards.yeah I don't ride the x32s anymore ,and their up for sale.
i would be happy with one all rounder.
i really think I'm going to go for a custom ...as I think I've narrowed it down to the right width ,volume ,style and shape .
unless I see those numbers I think I would be happy with. 30.25 /125 litres /8'8.
Still big compared to yours ,

will probably be a sunova again .i thought I had my 2 magic boards ...120 &130flows .the 120 's a keeper
the 130 needs trimming down .for me .i will sell the 130 for a custom .

i see your boards are quite close on detentions ,only 1 litre difference ,and very similar size .where mine is a 10 litre difference and wider by inch .and a half.

you obviously know what you like riding ...I'm still searching .but very close to the right quiver .

one more board and I'm done .

Tardy yes my boards are similar in volume but IMHO don't focus on the volume look at the outlines as this is where you get performance and or stability from not so much from volume. Find a volume that floats you just and then play around with the plan shape/outline. For eg my last two board quiver was a 8'2" by 28.5 x 105l and a 8"10x 27 x 105L the 8"10 has a much more pulled in nose and tail for quicker rail to rail transitions that the 8'2 and it worked in waves with more push/power

The naish board you looking at looks pretty good but i's recommend speaking to a shaper that can build you a custom, then you can get exactly what you want. They are cheaper too. I'd choose a Smik custom but then I am biased

Hi caution .i'm top to bottom ,I like doing floaters .

I felt I was going backward riding the 130 flow .it was great in straight lines and carving type turns .
just is too big at the lip .i would say 130 litres or the 8.10 size is the biggest I would ever ride .but happier riding less.

i think you could be right ...maybe a fuller nose may solve my stability issues .

i just don't bend as good these days ..my spin ain't that good after ruptures ....the more I fall the less surfing I do ,as it stuffs me .

if I'm at eas with my stability ,I can surf for 2-3 hour .

i don't know any shapers .but feel 120-130 litre boards are my limit .sorry to say .farken old age mate .

i know there's a board out there for me .just finding it ..but I reckon it will be a 125 board .that doesn't rock around .

i was thinking more of a shorter board for the short turns at the lip will give me the looseness ,but maybe still keep a bit of with for stability .Tabou make a 125 /31/8.6 ...maybe a good choice .has quite a bit of nose rocker ,I'm heading west in 3 weeks I'm gonna give it a demo before I buy anything .. .it seems to be the home of smik,sunova ,tabou and starboard over there .

A day at work followed by a 2 sup session.living the dream Gboots.

I would definitely encourage you to go this route.
Something with a "semi-Tomo" nose but pulled in tail. It will be less stable than a full tomo shape, but the pulled in tail will be easier to manage in power. And a somewhat pulled-in Tomo nose paddles much better, and is noticeably less cumbersome in turns.
And get a main width that is just wide enough for confort.

To give you an idea of a semi-tomo nose, it is the one of the Gong Fatal:



The Gong Fatal itself has a quite powerful tail (similar to Slater sci-fi boards), so you may want a smoother tail for more all-around performance, personally I love the classic round pin + V feel.

I like the square/diamond nose because it makes the rails up front more parallel, and thus digging a rail on take off is not a big issue as it does not exerts too much yaw. But I do not like the full wide square nose as you must always take care not to bury them in turns. A somewhat pulled in square nose does not trip you when touching water in turns

The new Jimmy Lewis "Super Frank" is also an example of a wide nosed (but not squared at the tip) but with tail pulled in shape. I I guess you can find a lot of others.