Tofino Surfing - Surfboards
Learn about the different types of surfboards, when to use what and what works
for surfing Tofino beaches.
Surfboards come in all shapes and sizes. The shape,
size and weight of a board affects it’s performance when in the water and riding waves. It’s
important to know what is the right surfboard for you and for the wave conditions
in order to make the most of your surfing experience. Here’s a quick summary
of the basic essentials of surfboard design.
Longboards
Longboards are wide boards ranging from about 7’2” upwards in length,
with rounded noses and usually a single fin in the back. Longboards are perfect
learning boards: they float well, making them stable when standing up and riding
waves, and they paddle faster, making them an easier board to catch waves with,
especially small and slow waves. If you’re new to surfing, then renting
a soft-top longboard is a great way to learn fast and develop a smooth surfing
style. These boards are the blue and red boards seen all over the Tofino shore
break The soft top does two things: it provides a cushion for preventing any
surf-related injuries for you, and other surfers around you and it does away
with waxing. A longboard will make small days super fun.
So, if you’re new to surfing and would like a stable board that floats
well or if the day is showing small waves a longboard is a good choice.
Our
longboard: affectionately called Brutus.
Shortboards
Shortboards are high performance boards that are around 5’8” to 6’10” in
length, and have pointed noses, thinner rails, and more rocker (the bend in the
length of the board). Intermediate and advanced surfers like these boards because
they are more responsive for turns, and power moves. They are, however, less
buoyant than longboards, meaning they will be slower to paddle, making them more
difficult to catch waves with and maintain speed once you’re riding the
wave. This makes the shortboard a challenge for any beginner surfer.
You’ll see a lot of surfers in Tofino using shortboards. On bigger days,
a shortboard makes it easier to duck dive under incoming waves and get to the
outside of where the waves are breaking. Some beaches, like Cox Beach,
will create heavy surf with little or no breaks between the sets. Only a shorter
board, or very experienced longboarder, will be able to penetrate this surf to
reach outside sets of waves. As duck diving plays a huge role in a surfer’s
ability to feel comfortable and in control in the ocean, a shortboard becomes
a great asset to experienced surfers.
So, if you’ve got a few rides under your belt and would like to make
it easier on yourself to get outside try a shorter board. You don’t have
to go crazy short at first, take your time, rent a couple of different boards,
and find the right length for you.
Friend's shortboard, the cleanest board we could find.
Fishes
Fishes are shortboards that are very short, thick and wide. They range in size
from 4’8” to 6’0” in length, are about 2-4 inches thick,
and from about 18-22” wide in the middle! Fish shapes give easy
paddling, and are very responsive. They are seen occasionally in Tofino in medium
surf, however they have the ability to catch waves easier than a shortboard and
shred any Tofino wave that isn’t strictly a small, longboard wave.
Funboards
Funboards are shorter board, about 7'3"-7'8",
that have a much wider, rounded nose, giving them the volume for easy paddling,
but unlike their longboard sisters they come with three fins and edges that are
a little sharper to cut in to waves and turn more efficiently. This makes
for a board that will catch waves easily like a longboard, while giving you a
bit more performance to manoeuvre like a smaller board. It’s no
surprise how they got their name!
Eggs
Eggs, like funboards are a
wide board, shaped almost like the name suggests. The size of eggs typically
range from 6’4” to
7’2” in length and have a small “V” shaped tail
equipped with a single fin. These boards are easy to paddle and stay afloat
fairly well giving you added help to catch surf, especially small or weak surf.
Hybrids
Similar to a funboard, a
hybrid is in between a longboard and a shortboard with more volume in the nose,
right on down to the tail. These boards come with a three-fin system for easier
turning capabilities, and provide good boards for the more experienced beginners.
The GoTofino hybrid board.
Guns
Guns are big-wave surfboards designed strictly
for huge surf. They are designed like shortboards, but range anywhere from 7’2” to
12” and up
in length! These boards are buoyant and paddle fast for catching those massive
Hawaiian reef breaks, but manoeuvrable once you’re up and riding. You
won’t see a lot of guns in Tofino. Our surf doesn’t get quite that
big thankfully. Have you seen Waimea Bay in Hawaii?? Scary stuff for most normal
humans.
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