Board advice - Magic Carpet for beginner?

[Smiffy1967]

After years of wanting to learn to surf I finally took the plunge, had a lesson and totally hooked. I have read up on the most suitable boards and most advice states that a minimal in the 8 foot region or longboard would be most suitable being 6' and 15 stone

I must admit that the thought of a longboard frightens the life out of me trying to handle it on the beach let alone in the surf so have been looking for a secondhand minimal...and found that they are like the proverbial hens teeth to get a cheap, well my cheap, one

After scouring the ads I found a secondhand 7'2" Escape Magic Carpet, just under 23" wide and 3" thick at a good price....would this be a suitable??

Can't remember where I read it but someone stated that they encourage a lazy style of surfing which I interpreted as a laid back style which would be right up my street as Im too old (45) to want to do more than cruise

Any advice appreciated

[jaffa1949]

Smiffy1967, why do you think most advice states that a longer board would be suitable???????
Why does a longboard frighten you
They don't weigh much, for some reason you are not listening to reason, at 45 you want cruise, longboard equals cruise, easier learning.
I hate to pull the rug out from under you but the claims for the magic carpet are smoke dreams for you.
Read all the posts here and get an understanding of what you are about to undertake and why the advice is given

[kitesurfer]

After scouring the ads I found a secondhand 7'2" Escape Magic Carpet, just under 23" wide and 3" thick at a good price....would this be a suitable??

Can't remember where I read it but someone stated that they encourage a lazy style of surfing which I interpreted as a laid back style which would be right up my street as Im too old (45) to want to do more than cruise

What did you have your lessons on and what is a good price in your eyes? You will for sure find catching waves on a longboard easier but if your fit enough i see no reason why the magic carpet won't float your boat. I have one/almost 2 now and yes i am a very lazy surfer. Just take off later.

KS

[Smiffy1967]

Thanks for the replies guys

Think it's just the length of the longboard that puts me off, having 3 1/2 foot of board above my head and the practicalities of storage, handling in the water and on the beach even in a light wind as I found the wind was more of a problem than the weight after you had been in the water with aching arms Plus having a board that big on a roof rack whilst hammering down the motorway for 3 hours to the coast

Another factor is the cost as secondhand longboards are £150-200 more and I'm on a very limited budget can't stretch much above £170

Apologies if it sounded as though I was going against long standing advice Jaffa just the media blurb on the MC seemed to offer a good compromise

To be honest KS my fitness isn't what it was after suffering a disc prolapse 18 months ago

Thanks again...food for thought

[jaffa1949]

Hi again Smiffy, I think the biggest problem I would be concerned with is your disc prolapse
Hopefully it is in your lumbar spine and not your neck because they require different approaches to healing and how you engage in surfing!
Just so you know where I'm coming from in my advice, I'm 63 and have been surfing since I was nine gone from long balsa logs down through short and back to long . Currently on 9ft boards and my shorts are 8fts. My healing advice will be based on thirty years working as a Chiropractor ( I'm retired)

Long boards and roof racks no problem I do six hour drives at motorway speeds with two longboards on top, only difference is an increase in fuel consumption! I've found poorly fitted roof racks get wind wafted when a semitrailer hurtles past at high speed especially going in the opposite direction. So my racks are well fitted and the boards tied down with ratchet straps.

With your disc problem and reading between the lines I suspect you are talking about lumbar disc , a sideways twisting wind wrench would be problematic to the injured area.
OH and BTW there is no problem in asking or even going against long standing stuff we are each unique in what we are and how we intend to go about doing what we do!
My advice knowing a few more details covers a few things.
For your back; have the diagnosis check and see about how you are progressing in rehabilitation.
Many of my patients have had prolapsed discs and and were a similar age to you after the initial problem and some time they were able to take up surfing again after physiotherapy.
Pilates is an exercise program that can strengthen deep abdominal muscles that support the spine which can then be almost problem free.
Gentle swimming and learning all sorts of gentle stretches will help, I don't advocate running or jogging, but long walks are good!
A rider here; you need to talk this over fully with your health provider!
What it does mean is that prolonged surfs are not the go as the act of popping up also puts some strain on the low back over the time of the surf.
If the prolapse was in the neck , then the posture of looking while you are paddling is an issue.
If you want talk a little more about this please do so, as there are lots of others with this problem.

On boards see if you can get a few trial rides on boards between a longboard and a carpet, look at 7S boards and and assorted fun boards in the 8ft range and try a carpet too.

It might take a little time but use the looking time to get fitter, and the board will find itself.
I would be concerned if you hit the surf ,on whatever your new board turns out to be, without doing something towards a fit and protected back

[dtc]

Smiffy

I thought I would chime in, not as an expert, but as someone about your age and a late starter to surfing (and, indeed, who has also suffered a prolapsed disc. Twice. But I wont talk about that).

Anyway, I think there is a 'psychological' issue with board length (sounds Freudian). I surf a 9ft board and am thinking of going down in size after about 5 years of (part time) learning, but when I started looking at boards I thought 7ft6 boards were pretty short and 7ft boards were ridiculous. Keep in mind that most people surf around 6ft. They look like toys to me, I just cant imagine using them. But my experienced surfer friends spend their time telling me that 7ft6 is huge and they couldn’t imagine using a boat of that size to go surfing.

So I think there is an issue resulting from by what you are used to and what your mind tells you is the 'right length'. I do look at long boards on land, even my board, and think 'bloody hell, that’s a huge board'. But when I am out on the water, I never think that (apart from, in the back of my mind, knowing that if I fall there is a big hunk of fibreglass flying around somewhere). In fact, I like having that big surface (especially when the bait fish start jumping and I can pull my whole body onto the board just in case it’s a shark...) . Its not hard to handle in the water - of course you can't duck dive, but that applies to a mini mal as well.

Once you are used to a 9ft board, it will seem fine; probably at the moment its just all a bit new and just seems 'wrong'.

From my research (so internet warrior comments here), the keys to the right board at learner level are volume (how well it floats, thus how easy it is to paddle out and then into waves) and surface area (which determines stability - more surface area, more stability). At our level rails and concaves and the rest is generally a bit further down the track than we need to go (within reason - no pintails, for example).

So a longer board has, inherently, greater volume and greater surface area than a shorter board; hence why longboards are a good idea to learn on.

Another benefit of longboards is that they allow you to catch a wave earlier (before it breaks), which gives you more time to pop up as you are coming to grips with that skill. However, I'm not sure whether this advantage comes mainly from volume or length - maybe one of the experts can give a comment.

The magic carpet does have good volume (its fairly thick and is pretty wide, maybe just a bit less volume than a 'normal' LB), but although its wide the extra inch of width over a 'normal' board doesn’t make up for the lost the surface area you would get with an extra 2ft. So its probably a board that you can paddle on pretty well, but it won't be as stable as a longer board. This may or may not frustrate you.

For what its worth, my comment is that a long board would be better but the magic carpet isn’t a terrible choice and is a much better choice than not having a board and sitting at home and reading the internet...

[jaffa1949]

There's nothing like advice from one who has had one, injury , surfboard or whatever, you've got a combined bonus point of view here,
Smiffy!

[Smiffy1967]

Hi Jaffa and dtc many thanks for your replies and advice/information

Your advice and diagnosis regarding the disc prolapse, yes it was a lumbar disc but can't remember which one, and the mind block regarding the board length is both spot on.

I hadnt really thought about it before but apart from the freudulian mind block of 'you can get a shipping container on that and I have to try to surf it' there may also be a sub conscious thing of protecting my back. I know it is something that I need to overcome.

I will definitely look into Pilates to strengthen my abominable muscles as they have always been weak even though I swam competitively for years, played water polo and rugby/football. My back muscles have always been pretty strong, i used to pull more weight on lat pulls etc than the big guys at the gym even though I only ever went to tone up and cardio stuff. Apparently the combo of weak stomach/strong back was a possibly a contributing factor towards the prolapse. I'll definitely get my back checked before I go any further, unfortunately my Chiropractor has left the practice which is a shame. And need to get back swimming.

Thanks again for your time and advice, very much appreciated, time to get myself fitter, keep scouring the ads and work out what I can sell towards the surfboard fund

[jaffa1949]

Great Smiffy, if the Chiropractor has left the practice have a look around for a sports medicine clinic hopefully with a team that all understand rehab from injury and how surfing works, and a good person to have on that team would be a sports physiologist, who would design an ongoing routine for increasing your muscular health.
It's a pity that the whole layout of skills needed to maintain an athlete was not as available until recently so a lot of older previously athletic people ar trying to over come injuries from unuseful training and playing habits.
Good luck