I need help choosing a new board.. Any ideas?

[iamlareid]

Hey guys, was just wondering if anyone could help. I'm a relative newbie to surfing, can stand up but cant turn yet. My problem is that i'm 5'4 and just under 9 stone, and all of the 'new board?' posts are for six foot men it seems! Does anyone have any advice? I only surf in the holidays, so i wont improve that fast..

[Toj]

how much surfing have you already done? and on what. that might help provide a decent answer

Regards,

Tj

[iamlareid]

Err about 8 weeks (spread out between holidays) in the last two years, and i surfed a 7' foam board for the first week, and a 6'10 fish for the other 7' but i find the fish really hard to surf on, i tried a 6'10 thruster last time i surfed and found it easier, bizarrely! Does that help?

[Toj]

Hi,
sorry for the long wait for a reply. im not great on advising boards, but as you are quite small and light a minimal is great to learn to surf on. maybe a 7' or 7'6" i see a lot of people at the beach with fishes who struggle to stand up on them and get any good surfing time out of them. a minimal is great as it has plenty of float and great balance. this will give you a longer riding time on a singl wave and get you used to it. if you really realy want a fish then go for an retro style one. maybe one from Bilbo down in cornwall. they have some gret 6'6" retro fish boards which are thick and wide which also provide plenty of float which is what you are really after when you are learning.

[esonscar]

iamlareid : I'll build you the board(s) you can enjoy and surf on. I know your issues and limitations of your near future and future future. Post back for more info if you dare