Surfing Waves

Hi all, I am just a mom with no surfing experience trying to buy my son's first hardboard for his 10th birthday. We went to 12-15 shops today and rec'd differing opinions on what we shoudl buy. Here's the scoop. He is 48" tall and obout 90 lbs. He is a great skateboarder and snowboarder. He has surfed about 20 times in addition to some surf camps where he did very well from the getgo. Today he surfed on his first hardboard, a 6'2" fish with a swallowtail (Bioboard by Tom Nielson). Waves were quite small. It was 2 5/8" thick and 21 1/2" wide at the midpoint. I had four fins (if that matters). Today we were directed to anything from a 6'4" Fish by IslandSurf to a 5'6" Fish by NSP. Typically I got the feeling that most were trying to sell me whatever they had in the shop rather than what my son needed. What can you all recommend?

Go to a local shaper? If your buying a board from a shaper the'll make one thats right if there any good.

IMO fish dont make a great starter board but then a 10 yo grom isnt a normal starter surfer.

Usualy look at something 1-2ft taller with reasonable float, so something 6ft ish would be ok, go for a surftec/tufflite I think over a foam/glass board, avoid Bic and NSP.

Make sure he can carry it and its not too wide to paddle and its not built for anything extreem.

I don't have anything against pop outs (factory boards), but go to a local shaper and have he/she interview you or your son. Keep in mind how many times a week or month he surfs, does he want to pursue carving or just riding waves etc.

Wait, what are you doing on the internet? Get back in the kitchen.

I keed.

I would recommend finding a good used board.

where are you located?

Personally, I would go for a standard shortboard thruster. If he's gotten up on the 6-2 fish without a problem, and he's 4 foot, and he's got good balance (skate and snowboarder) I might venture a 5-10 ish shortboard.

If I knew where you were, I could recommend craigslist, local guys who repair/sell used boards, or other outlets.

And I'll have a think on the dimensions depending on more info about his surf experience to date.

I just wrote loads on a board for your son and deleted it because if I were providing the board he would ride my trial ones first so he could choose the type that suited him best, and we would go from there - so I ain’t gonna waffle on (I’m about to start a bespoke scratch built custom surfboard business where I spend loads of time making little profit – I hold no stock – It’s all fresh including the resins – Okay so I waffled a little bit !)


One point I can say for definite is to keep the width under 20” wide because he will be sitting astride it soonish while waiting for the waves .

I wouldn’t recommend a fish as a first board.


Blindly I would say 6’2” max, 19 – 19 ¾” wide, under 2.5” thick, trifin arrangement – tail shape not too important really – ultimately squash for mush, rounded for steeper faces.

Not an ultra light competition board weight either – it’s gonna get a pounding (in the car park!) so you want something a little more robust.

See what fits this criteria, and don’t be afraid to consider locally hand built ‘off the shelf customs’ either – they can be realllllyyyy excellent.

Have a look what other kids are riding too.

Hope this helps

tail shape not too important really

i beg to differ.

in answer to original poster Surf shops often dont give very good advice thats why if you find one that does steer your business that way. I strongly reccomend a custom board so search out a local shaper and spend some time with them chatting about his requirements.

I'm with esonscar (or he's agreeing with me, that is).

Tail shape isn't going to be too important for a first board, because he's still on the learning curve. Squash or even a small swallow tail. But squash would probably be a good all-around choice.

Also, for a first board, why would someone go out and get one custom shaped? He doesn't know his requirements.

And you don't want to get him a brand new board because he's going to beat on it a lot and figure out what he *really* wants.

Given that he's got some skill, you *do not* want to go with a BIC, NSP, foam, pop-out or other newbie/kook board.

So, I'm back to a decent used 5'10" - 6' board with the general measurements esconscar gave. a nice thruster with some nice rocker to it. You shouldn't look to spend too much on the first board.. probably half as much as a decent new board would cost at the most. Because he's going to want to get a new board after a few months on any board you get him (even if it's a high-priced custom job you get him).

I started surfing when i was his age on a 5' 6''. I think that will be more than enough board for him. I would say 5'6'' 17'' wide and 1.75'' thick. he is probably going to want a smaller board after a few months if you get him something around 6'0''