Traditionally for Average Australian Waves - Not the Large Margaret River Monsters. Sizes for Surfboards are usually gauged at 2 inches above your height.

Give that a go.

Hey Devil-Fish,

Why not look at getting a custom DaLewy board shaped for you. Tell him what you want to do and let him build you something to surf on which will work in the waves without a kite too.

It will be more critical to get a board which paddles well as you can ride anything well on a kite, but not the other way around.

That's my 2 bobs worth, keep the change.

they say two inches longer than you for surfing,
or two inches shorter than you for kitesurfing,
does that mean it should be the same height than you...

Da Lewy

I got one of those rawson 5'10s aswell, good fun and very easy to surf the scarborough mush. bummer is the rails limit the really hard turns. twin fin is great though.

I also bought a more traditional 5'11 JC for 250 bucks and that has lasted 2 years. I'm not a great surfer, 5'11 tall 73kg and cant get enough of this board.

for kiting I found anything longer than 6'4 too big.

airush converse would be a poor choice if you wanted to surf as well.
Something you would surf but glassed a bit stronger is best.

I'll second Tobes' call there.

We get a mushy 3-4 foot wind chop wave here on our not-so-secret island spot here in north Queensland, and I see plenty of crew struggling to catch waves on their 6ft something thrusters.

About 10 years ago I got myself a 7'2" McTavish Carver, round nose, rounded pin thruster / mini-mal hybrid thing, and you can catch any waves over waist high with it, plus as it gets bigger it just gets faster and faster. Easy to ride, doesn't do real snappy turns, but its long powerful carve turns are very nice, and you catch 3-4 times as many waves as everyone else on a board like this - and thats how you learn to surf. Paddling and sitting ain't surfing, after all......

I've ridden it unstrapped with the kite and its fun, but I recently got a 2008 Naish Custom wave Retro Fish 5'5" twin fin, and that is just a totally different kettle of fish (literally). Riding it with straps, it just blasts and bounces its way through the chop, it planes right through 10-12knot lulls, it goes upwind like a rocket, it still jumps and rolls OK, and the thing is just made to turn. Tight slow turns, snaps, fins-out slides, and fast sweeping carves, it can do it all.

We have some gusty 15-18knot days here days lately with big wind holes where it drops out to 10-12 knots for 30 seconds or so (those days that drive you mad on your twin-tip), and the Fish has totally saved the sessions, getting me out off the beach and into the wave zone and planing through the whole thing, while the tt crew sat miserable on the shore.

I'm sure it will be outrageous fun in 25 knots and head high waves, but the fact that it turns crappy wind days into worthwhile sessions has been worth the purchase price alone.

I would try (if can afford) to buy 2 boards, one for surfing & one for kiting.

The difference between a good board for surfing & a good board for kiting is large.

Theres a number of reasons why you should try to get specific boards for kiting & surfing....heres a few.

Like a lot of the guys have already said a small fish like board (kite specific) is awesome for Perth kiting - theyre right!!! Now, your not really going to have alot of joy trying to surf this due to its small volume and considerably heavier weight (for strength).

For surfing, especially when learning you require a board with considerable more volume than you need for kiting (for paddling reasons & ease to catch wave). Surf boards are awesome when nice & light in weight... Now this lightness means its not cut out to be repeatedly bashed around bouncing over chop etc. If you do use your "nice & light" surfboard out there the constant bashing around is going to stuff your board for surfing. It will lose its shape slightly, get pressure dinged & lose its performance.

...Now we're moving into surfing season perhaps concentrate on buying yourself a surfboard ideal for learning to surf.

Save your cash through the winter & towards the kiting season then buy an awesome new kite surfing fish.

Having a board that suits what its designed for really does help, it makes being out there so much more successful (in progressing) & so much more fun!

If you really want a board to kite surf through winter, buy a cheapy to begin with & leave your surfboard just for surfing if possible. Decent surfboards designed for surfing just dont cope well with the thrashing of kite surfing.

Enjoy

Johnt said...

Strapped or unstrapped?

Maybe you should read the initial post. I don't think he's goig to want to:
A) Paddle out lying on straps
B) Surf without a kite stapped to the board.

D

There are different opinions about the length and type of boards and the type different people ride.

Below is what works for me – others might have different opinions:

Only surfing
Perth beach breaks sometimes have powerful dumpers, but also have slow powerless waves and are usually in the 1-5 foot range.

A board with a lot of rocker doesn’t get on the plane very easily and needs a lot of power to keep it there and it runs short lines, so is a good choice for riding fast hollow waves.

A flat board gets on the plane quite easily and doesn’t need a lot of power to keep planing and is a good choice for smallish and flattish waves. In addition to being flat, you would also want a board with a bit more planing area in the tail.
The board with lot of rocker won’t keep you moving very well in flat powerless waves, but the flat wave board will get quite a bit of speed in both flat and hollow waves.

Boards should be about 2” longer than you, but with something a bit wider, you can drop the length a few inches.

There is quite a bit of debate about the rails – some of the guys reckon if you use your board for kiting, the rails can be softer.

Quads generally draw long lines, but are not good for snapping off the top.

My choice for Perth waves is a fish tri-fin without too much rocker and the tail is not much wider than an ordinary squash tail.
I think the really wide fishes (especially the twin fins) are too wide.

Only kiting
The shape and length depends on how you want to kite.
If you ride waves using your kite to power you, you can go shorter and with more rocker. The advantage of more rocker is that you can snap off the top and pivot better than a flat board. The shorter board with more rocker will be too small to use as a surfing board.
In Perth, if you are going to let the power out of your kite and purely ride the waves or unhook, most of the time, because the surf is small, you need a bit more length and flatter board to keep you up and planning.
.
My choice for Perth waves is a fish tri-fin with a flatter rocker, but not too flat. The tail of the fish I use is not much wider than an ordinary squash tail. With this board I can unhook without sinking on fairly small waves, ride unpowered, plus ride powered if need be. The board also goes well on some of the reef breaks around and it has worked up to maybe double overhead without skittering about.

Pop-out or shaped.
You can get a board shaped for you for ~$600 and a kite surf board is almost double that. My philosophy is get a surfboard made for you, ignore the dents and dings you are bound to get, and plan on throwing it away after 2 years. I have bought pop-outs before and they didn’t work for me and with the amount I lost on the resale, it would have been cheaper and more satisfying to have a board shaped and getting something that worked for me first go.

I have heard that there are one or two shapers who are concentrating on the kiting market – what I have said above is what works for me, but I reckon kite surfboard shaping has a bit to go – especially on the rocker and rails.

I agree with the other guys on the thread, plus it is different strokes for different folks - go to a good shaper and tell him what you are looking for and he should be able to advise you.