What Size Longboard

[dudes]

Hi,

I am learning to surf, well actually i have had one lesson. I'm keen to find something to do with my 13 year old who does nothing but skating. So surfing seems like a good idea, we both love the sea and body-boarding.

My son is taking by brothers 7 foot board (malibu style i think). I have been advised to get a 9 foot long board at 75 liters by by brother in law. The guy at the shop said that is too big and i need one of these:

https://www.surfdome.com/maluku_surfboards_-_maluku_genie_3_fin__-_white-252175

he said get the 7.6 foot one as the 9 foot is for old people and girls. I am 37, 80 kg and quite fit.

We will get a few more lessons but would be good to have our own boards for other times

Thanks

Adam

[Millsy82]

Last year I started on an 8ft foamie then I moved onto a 9'2 nsp. It's made everything that little bit easier.

Buy second hand as you can get some good deals.

Get yourself on facebook as I'm guessing your UK based from the link.

Second hand longboards

Pre loved surfboards

Second hand surfboards uk.

[waikikikichan]

1) What length are the lesson boards ? 8'0" 9'0" 10'0" ? ( best to stay around the range of the lesson board )
2) If you ask 10 different people you'll probably get 10 different answers. Do you "trust" the shop salesman ?
( If he says "for old people" or "for girls", I wouldn't )
3) If he recommends a 7'6", and that 9'0" is for old people/girls, how about go in the middle with a 8'2" ?
4) How tall and heavy is your 13 year old ?

The wave knowledge you developed from bodyboarding will help greatly in learning to surf. So you're not as bad off as someone who doesn't know the ocean. But still 7'6" is too small.

[billie_morini]

dudes, I teach most average sized adults (men and woman) and male teenage boys to learn to surf on traditional (e.g., non-foamie) 9 foot long boards. Even my petite, 29 year old female cousin has done exceptionally well learning to surf on a 9 foot epoxy resin board this Spring.

I don't like foamies because: 1) they are heavy as xxxxx to carry, 2) millions of people worldwide learned to surf on traditional boards before foamies were manufactured, and 3) surfers grow out of foamies (e.g., money lost) and into traditional boards (e.g., money well spent). I like epoxy boards for beginners because they are: 1) more durable to impact than polyurethane boards, and 2) corky (e.g., floaty and catch waves easily). To the latter, this creates stoke!

billie

[RobSF]

I actually hadn't heard the argument that soft-tops are money down the drain because surfers soon grow out of them, but it's intriguing, and I almost agree. Soft-tops do eventually get waterlogged (though with someone who can only get out three or four times a year, they'll last a long time).

Only caveat I'd put on the anti–soft-top view is that—where I live, at least—you can't get a new epoxy board for the same price you can get, say, a Costco Wavestorm. Which means for entry level, you're choosing between a new soft-top and a used hard board, either epoxy or fiberglass. And the problem with used boards is that you can't always be sure how buoyant they are. A new soft-top's always going to float really well. Still, I agree most people start hankering for a "real" board fairly quick, so . . .

Anyone who says longboards are for old people and girls, of course, is an idiot. Just go to youtube and look at longboard competitions, etc. For a beginner, all things being equal, 9' is exactly right, and no shorter than 8'. There are all kinds of body sizes and learning curves, but I'd put a 9-footer squarely in the middle of the big bell curve.

[dudes]

To be fair, the guy did say girls or old people or if you want to really get into long boarding. I think he was suggesting that I may want to move to a shorter board eventually so perhaps a shorter board to begin with. Anyway, I have a second had 7 foot board so perhaps I can go big to begin with and move to the 7 foot in the years to come.

I'm going to bantham next week for some more lessons, I can discuss with them too.

Thanks for the Facebook suggestions, I would not have thought to look there. Gumtree does not have much. What do I look for in a second hand board, I suppose signs of damage. I'll google it.

I'm not sure my sons weight and height. I'll weigh him tonight. He is very lean and average height for a thirteen year old, about 5 foot.

Thanks for all the advice

Adam

[RobSF]

I think the main thing to avoid in a used board is dark spots where water has leaked into a crack, and lots of pressure dents. Also make sure the fins are ok. If you want to haggle, suggest the seller throw in a leash for the same price (though I never really haggle . . . too embarrassed).

I got my best board right at the beach from a guy who let me try it out first. This happens rarely. The hardest part of buying a board, especially a used board, is not knowing until you're in the water and have paid your money, whether you've gotten the right surfboard.

[Big H]

Watch out for obvious discolorations that indicate a snap or crease, deliaberate paint cover ups in those suspect areas on top of the glass, weight - if the board is heavy walk away. Balance- hold under your arm and if the nose or tail is heavy it isn't going to surf that good. Dings aren't a big deal though deck cave ins the size of a knee might mean the board is glassed lightly. Aforementioned discoloration from water damage, pay particular attention to brown seepage around the stringer as damage near the stringer will soak into the wood then release brownish fluid into the surrounding foam, potentially rotting that wood and foam and making the board pretty useless and quite weak. Above all, stay away from heavy repaint jobs on top of glass....anyone's guess what is underneath and from my experience it is not good what you do find.

Smaller issues to check are around the nose and especially the tail for cracks, around the finboxes for stress cracks in the glass or actual boxes, test the threads in the finboxes to see if stripped, deck plug for watertightness or need of replacement and the general condition of the glassing overall.

[dtc]

I'll hijack this thread but with a relevant question

Saw this board on our local 'for sale' site - what would have caused the scattered/pin pricking dark spots all over the bottom right of the board? It looks like water damage but I cant figure out how it could have happened in so many places. Its an old board based on the seller's description (20yrs+) but knowing the shaper its likely well glassed (6+4 or 6+6 probably). Anyway, I'm not buying it (the pin pricking dark spots is the least of the issues with the board!), just curious

$_20.JPG (23.11 KiB) Viewed 1197 times

[oldmansurfer]

Maybe since it is old the resin is brittle and easily damaged and someone used the board in that condition then put it back in storage? Maybe someone put the board down on a gravel driveway and stood on it? Target practice for a airsoft gun? I can think of lots of ways it might have happened

[Tudeo]

what would have caused the scattered/pin pricking dark spots all over the bottom right of the board?

Sea urchin. It's exactely how my foot looked once..

[dtc]

Target practice for a airsoft gun?

No guns in Australia!

(ok, airsoft are legal but you need a firearms licence, which means you need to convince the police you have a legitimate reason to own it. Not sure shooting a surfboard counts...)

[jaffa1949]

More likely a fungal infection, pin sand throughs and minute water soakage providing moisture to nourish fungus, probably aided by being kept in the bottom of a dark shed with only one side getting a little light.
A sad demise

[dtc]

Fungal infection makes sense - to quote Tudeo 'thats how my foot looked once'...

(ok, not really!)

[oldmansurfer]

Target practice for a airsoft gun?

No guns in Australia!

(ok, airsoft are legal but you need a firearms licence, which means you need to convince the police you have a legitimate reason to own it. Not sure shooting a surfboard counts...)

Illegal airsoft gun in Australia. Only law abiding citizens don't have guns but then again Australia was originally colonized by a bunch of criminals so????

[dtc]

Australians dont need guns, we have spiders!

[jaffa1949]

The Australian Funeral Web Spider

Even snakes are scared of our spiders

widowsnake6.jpg (35.47 KiB) Viewed 1157 times

This is a redback spider

[dudes]

Hi,

I went to banthum, had a great time. I, perhaps a bit hastily, picked up a new longboard from a local shop.

http://www.trioceansurf.co.uk/surf-shop/surfboards/triocean-surf-96-longboard-blue/

It was fun to surf, but much harder than the big foam board I used in the lessons. It was easier to catch the unbroken waves but more unstable and strangely seemed slower once I was up on it. The guys at the surf school said to just persevere, sound like good advice to me.

The bottom of the board is quite convex and in hind sight I may have preferred a flatter one more like the foam boards.

Thanks for all the help.







Can't wait to get back out.

[jaffa1949]

I know Nigel Semmens shaping , and that will be a good board , it will a go to board for a long time.
The rocker is fine,( that's the nose and tail upwards curve) pretty much standard for good all round longboard. Foam boards are flat in front of the white water specialists, you have chosen well , you just will need to work to begin to realise the standard of riding beyond a foamy.

Your positioning and pop up will need to be a little different and you will hit the water a lot as you fine tune your skills.
Keep enjoying , you are out of the kindergarten