New to surfing

[Hawkeye26]

Hi all, I’m wanting to get into surfing more often I try a couple of times a year when I’m in Cornwall but I’m hoping to get more serious and determined to surf more, I have some lessons Planned at west wittering whenever things get back to normal and I’m looking to buy a board, if I could check with you all before I spend a small fortune I’m 6’1 I have a bit of weight at the moment which I’m working on I’m roughly at 115 kg, 40yrs old and can’t get up quick enough on smaller boards so I’m looking at a 10ft x 29in long board, would this suit my needs?, I’m not really worried about turns and tricks more just to be able to ride straight and standing Thanks for the help. Pete

[waikikikichan]

That is NOT a surfboard. That is a Stand Up Paddle board were you use a paddle to get on the wave. 29 inches is too wide to paddle with your arms in the prone position. Even a board at 25 inches is monster wide for a surfboard.

That said, in Waikiki we often set up tourist on SUPs if they are on the heavy side and just want to "get up". But remember we are assisting them to get on the wave with a push and the wave is gentle and rolling for a long distance.

[Hawkeye26]

Wow you’re from Hawaii how amazing, I believe aloha and mahalo for your advice, I can only Imagine what it must be like to live in such a beautiful country, you’re culture fascinates me and I love the way surfing is part of that culture hopefully one day I’ll get to experience it for myself you must feel so blessed. I have been doing research on board sizes and I did see that the recommendation is about 23” wide and for my build around 10ft, there are a lot of soft boards for beginners And I have used one before but I’d like to invest in a more traditional longboard that will see me into the future if I look at getting a 23” wide a lot of the boards I can find are around 9’6” long would they be long enough or should I go 10’ or maybe even 11ft?

[waikikikichan]

You should post the same question in the Surf Chat or Surfing Lesson For All forums. You'll get a lot more responses.

[dtc]

9’6 x 23 should be ok, most boards that size will be pretty thick as well (3 inches or so) and will have a lot of volume. Going longer makes some things easier, but other things harder (eg turning, fitting into the wave).

If you want the classic (but expensive) big boy longboard, check out the walden mega magic; but you might find that a local shaper can make you a similar board for less. The walden is very stable and forgiving; you might even consider a 9ft version (although 9’6 would be safer)

Torq makes a (slightly) cheaper board called ‘the Don XL’ which is worth a look.

I’m sure there are others, just don’t know them off the top of my head. In any event, if you look at those two boards and get a similar board, you will be on the right track

Of course it still takes a while/long time to actually learn to surf the damn thing....

[Hawkeye26]

Ok I’ll have a look through them thank you and I do understand it’s gonna take me a while to learn but I’ve always loved surfing/bodyboarding etc and want to spend more time to it, now my boys are getting older I find myself with a lot more free time, I have found a couple of longer wooden boards I’m just curious between the different materials of boards and how they would perform?

[waikikikichan]

I have found a couple of longer wooden boards I’m just curious between the different materials of boards and how they would perform?

Are you talking about full wood chambered balsa boards or just "woody look" with a thin veneer of wood over the EPS core/fiberglass layer ?

"Perform in comparison" to what ? To a sponge board ? To a standard fiberglass PU/PE contruction ? To a Molded Epoxy ? If you just want to go straight without worrying about any turns or tricks, then anything will work.