Surfing Waves

Hi - hopeful for a bit of advice here.

I'm 5ft 11 and a bit over 13.5 stone and new to surfing. I'm 40 years old but fit...usually! Can't seem to find what I want second hand so if I end up buying brand new I'll opt for either a 8ft Cortez mini mal or a Take Off 7ft 10. I'm told the Cortez has quite a bit more float (it is over 3 inches thick whilst the Take Off is 2 3/4 thick) but wondered if that will be a problem later down the line when I progress? I imagine it will make things easier at the beginning but when I get better will it hamper me in anyway or should I not be at all worried?

Also - do you reckon I'm looking at the right size of board?

Thanks

I was a bit fan of the 8ft cortez, im slightly taller then u and a bit lighter I certainly found if sat high in the water even with my full weight on it, but then it also picked up even small weedy waves.

I think had it been £40 cheaper i would have gone for it. as for long time progression, thats not for me to say as im new myself.


what i have been told and what i trust, is that at the stage we are at... we need as many waves as possible under our belts and anything that helps us get there , ie a floaty easy board, will be a good thing.

I'm five years younger the same hight and 2 stone lighter and i found it easy to gt up on my 7'10 mal but staying on it was a problem. I'm looking at a longboard now so my nippa can go tandem. looking at the big end of 9' or the small end of 10'

As a learner more float and a bigger board are advantageous, honest.

So Phil, what did you end up buying?

A tricky one this - from past experience I tend to go through sports type gear too fast for my salary and end up upgrading quite quickly... but saying that I found my first lessons very tricky and previous years of skateboarding didn't help too much since I never got to stand up for more than a second! Strangely I liked the fact that this was way trickier than I thought it would be.

I quite like the idea of a longboard of around 9ft but think it might not be the best buy for me if I want to eventually surf in many types of conditions...not really sure. Most folk have said get a mini mal or around 8ft.

greypump wrote:So Phil, what did you end up buying?

A tricky one this - from past experience I tend to go through sports type gear too fast for my salary and end up upgrading quite quickly... but saying that I found my first lessons very tricky and previous years of skateboarding didn't help too much since I never got to stand up for more than a second! Strangely I liked the fact that this was way trickier than I thought it would be.

I quite like the idea of a longboard of around 9ft but think it might not be the best buy for me if I want to eventually surf in many types of conditions...not really sure. Most folk have said get a mini mal or around 8ft.

Pretty good thinking. If you want to surf it maybe easier to start long then go shorter. If your on a budget you could go 8ft. or so and struggle. If you cn afford to move up in a year or so then go long get the basics down then go shorter. Keep the longboard for the smaller days. A great way to start your quiver

suppose I could go midway and get something around 8 5inches? Bit like a short longboard or large mini mal? I would imagine this would give me the float and ability to turn a bit easier?

Well, went longer and got a good second hand deal for a 9ft 2 longboard.

Nice, right choice. You can always learn and go shorter, other way round go shorter and learn, is often harder.

I went for an 8' Pinao. its an off the shelf epoxy, but it surfs great for my ability , tbh, feels a little less "hard plastic" then the cortez (I know its not the same, but i used to work with plastics and i can normally tell between the types that will be firm until shattering/cracking and the types that wil indent and mark but fail in a softer way..if that makes and sense) .

I took my 8'fter out on propper green waves on saturday and initially was bummed that i kept pearling if i saught waves in my usual white water position, but trail and error got me up in the end and i think the 8' legnth definatly helped, i know that technically i was too far back as the nose was waaay out, but i still caught stuff due to the volume.

dont think it would have been so easy on a 7.9

hope that helps? feel free to read my newbies guide for newbies over on the tips part of the forum.

phill

started on a 7'9" which i got on really well with, now have a 9ft4" and a 7', and honestly any wave i'd bring the 7'9 minimal out in I'd rather have the 9'4...
just go longer you'll get way more waves and you'll always have a longboard for those small days..
also might be a bit longer than you think before you really outgrow the longboard. as i'm sure your beginning to realize surfing is a slow learning curve.

"...longboard of around 9ft but think it might not be the best buy for me if I want to eventually surf in many types of conditions..."

Can't figure this out. Why do you think a longboard can't be used in many types of conditions? See the current thread about this very thing ( https://surfing-waves.com/forum/view ... hp?t=12123 ) and watch Endless Summer II