Surfing Waves

Hi!
It's about time I learned how to surf- I've been living on the Outer Banks for 7 years. I've read up on beginner surf boards and all that, but am having trouble deciding the specifics of what board I want. The main issue is that my brother and I wanted to start off by getting one used board to learn on, and then getting boards of our own once we got the hang of it. Is that a good idea? If so, what would be some good board options?

Funboard, Mini-mal, Longboard, Big fish? (probably not big fish although I've read they're good for mushy waves??? Which we get a lot)

As I'm sure some of you know, the OBX has all sorts of waves depending on the day/week. Sometimes we have nice little barrels, or small/medium ones, lots of mushy days...

By the way, I'm 5'4, 108 lbs, 16 yrs
My brother is 6'1, 130 lbs, 17 yrs (almost 18)

Thank-you thank-you,
Liah

Hi guys and welcome to the forum. I would say go for something in the 7.8 - 8ft region (perhaps longer)..sharing a board is ok for now. You guys will love it. Be prepared to be stoked for many years to come!!

Good luck and keep us updated with your progress.

Great!
There's a lightly used Murray Ross funboard that I found nearby on craigslist... it's 7.11ft.
I've looked at a few, but that one's my favorite. It has a sinlge fin and two "trailer" fins... So three fins, but what are trailer fins?

Thanks again

But... but... what happens when its cranking perfect conditions? Who gets board priority?!

At 5'4 and 6'1, you might find that there isn't a board that suits you both. Something like that 7'11 would be great for you, but your brother might struggle. Its quite likely that you'd end up on the board for six months and then progress, while he stays on it a while longer. Of course, you get to feel really smug then

Trailer fins are smaller fins that add a bit of stability but don't effect the board as much as a full-size fin would, so that board is a single-fin with stabilisers

Hmm... Guess I might end up being smug then.
My brother didn't seem phased by the predicament, soooo I texted the guy and hopefully he's still selling it!! I might have a board before the weekend's out!
It's very pretty, a marbled red color... I'll post a few pictures if we end up getting it!

Thanks for the help guys!

Update:

The board has already been sold, but there's one nearby that's 7'6... I'm guessing that will be too short for my brother??:(

Advice much appreciated.

At 130lb a 7ft6 board might be ok for your brother but not as good as something bigger. If its wide and thick all to the better.

To explain in general terms - there are two variables in boards for beginners - volume (function of length, width and thickness), and higher volume is important for paddling and wave catching; and stability (function of length and width) which is obviously useful for standing up. The shape of the board is also relevant - a wide round nose (like longboards have) is more stable and easier to paddle than a narrow pointy nose (like shortboards have).

So a long board inherently has both volume and stability; as you go shorter you are getting something less stable but it may still have sufficient volume depending on width and thickness. In other words, it might be harder to stand up but be ok for paddling. Or it may not.

So most boards over 8ft will be suitable, as over 8ft they will almost always be longboards/longboard shapes (there are some specialist boards, particularly 'guns', that are not suitable, but these arent common). However, boards under 8ft start having all sorts of shapes and styles and dimensions, so one 7ft6 board might be good and another one might not be. If you have any more details of the board you are looking at, let us know.

That said, given your brother is 18 he is probably going to put on a bit of weight in the next few years (fill out rather than college diet weight). If you plan on surfing a lot then it wont matter (his skill level will rise as he gets bigger); if its only a casual thing then he may struggle a bit. But, hey, you are doing all the work so let him deal with the issue!

I guess any board is better than no board and 7ft6 isnt terrible. However,

Wow, thanks for all the info!
The 7'6 disappeared too, but I found an 8 foot fun board and snagged it! Hopefully that will work well for both of us... should at least be suitable enough for me, as it's almost 3 feet taller than me.

I'm so excited to surf now!

liah wrote:Wow, thanks for all the info!
The 7'6 disappeared too, but I found an 8 foot fun board and snagged it! Hopefully that will work well for both of us... should at least be suitable enough for me, as it's almost 3 feet taller than me.

I'm so excited to surf now!

That is awesome news!!

I am sure it will be fine...just get in the water as much as possible!!

Good choice, should be a great board to learn on.

I just wanted to thank you guys... Got the board on Monday, and took it out the same day. We went yesterday too, and on both days my brother and I were catching waves. It was the coolest thing ever, and I am hooked.(:

How is the sharing going? You are older than my kids, but they cant even share a magazine let alone a surfboard....

My brother and I get along a lot better than we used to! We just took half hour turns with the board.