Surfboard while improving
While improving you need 55 to 68 per cent of your weight in litres: 44 to 54 litres at 176 lb (80 kg). The shape that fits is a mid-length between 6'6" and 8'0", which paddles almost like a softboard but already fits in the wave.
L/kg0.55–0.68
ShapeMid-length
At 176 lb44–54 L
This is the longest level and the worst documented: you already catch green waves, but not all the ones you paddle for, and you are not linking turns yet. Most guides jump from beginner to intermediate and skip precisely the two or three years where most people quit.
The number drops a lot compared with the foam, and that drop is what needs pacing. Taking out twenty litres at once turns a good day into a swimming session.
| weight | Small and soft | A bit of everything | With wall and power | Big and hollow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 lb | 34 L Mid-length | 33 L Mid-length | 31 L Mid-length | 33 L Mid-length |
| 132 lb | 41 L Mid-length | 39 L Mid-length | 37 L Mid-length | 39 L Mid-length |
| 154 lb | 48 L Mid-length | 46 L Mid-length | 44 L Mid-length | 46 L Mid-length |
| 176 lb | 54 L Mid-length | 52 L Mid-length | 50 L Mid-length | 52 L Mid-length |
| 198 lb | 61 L Mid-length | 59 L Mid-length | 56 L Mid-length | 59 L Mid-length |
| 220 lb | 68 L Mid-length | 65 L Mid-length | 62 L Mid-length | 65 L Mid-length |
Each cell is the recommended volume and the shape that goes with that weight in those waves. It comes from the same function that answers in the calculator, at average frequency and age 30.
The typical mistake at this level
Dropping too fast. You take out ten litres because the board felt too big on one good day, and then three weeks of weak surf arrive and you catch nothing. Volume comes down at the end of a good season, not in the middle of a break.
When to move on
Once you make most of the waves you paddle for and want the board to turn where you decide, it is time for a hybrid or a fish. The range then drops to 42-52 per cent of your weight.