Amish Ed, what happened to your knees? I had my 2nd arthroscopic knee surgery 8 months ago for a kneecap problem (luckily, the meniscus, and ligaments are ok). I thought it may be arthritis, but luckily it was only soft tissue inflammation called chronic synovitis. While it isn't totally back to normal, I'm able to longboard surf with no problem! You should try longboarding instead of shortboarding...much easier on the body! Hopefully, you could get out there soon!