Surfing Waves

I'm a newb to surfing and looking for a board. I was told because of my height I should be looking at a longboard between 9'0" and 10'0". I found a used 9'0" Dean Cleary board online. Dean Cleary is a shaper and it is one of his shop boards. I was wondering if anyone has heard of him? Also if the board is in good shape should I buy it. Like I said, I'm a newb so I am not sure if it matters who the shaper is. Any advice would be appreciated.

Personally I would be wary of buying any surfboard online.

It's one of those things that you need to see before you buy it.

Buy one from a shop, then at least you have some recourse if it is rubbish.

Look for the following when you go to buy:

- Any obvious cracks
- Pressure dings are common and don't really affect performance much so if it's rippled on the top or has a few dents (not cracked) underneath, it's still OK.
- Check the nose area, sometimes people sell boards that have been snapped, they mend them and then put stickers over the join. (Stickers can be used to cover a multitude of sins, so I wouldn't buy a board with any on. - same goes for wax!!)
- Check the rails for damage, they should be smooth!
- Check the tail for cracks or repairs - if repaired properly then it's not a problem.
- LOOK FOR YELLOW FOAM!! - if you see yellow foam anywhere on the board it means that it is letting in water and I would avoid it if possible.

Hope this helps

Sinista