Surfing Waves

Hi! I’m 5’11 150, very active/strong for my weight but not the strongest swimmer (get tired easily when treading). Brand new to surfing. I was looking at boards around 7ft - 7’6ft based off research. Was wondering if this was accurate or I should consider other options. Also not sure what style of board, I see there are a few. Any help is much appreciated!

Hi Brentious welcome to the world of surfing
It looks like you understand that board sizing is important so I would suggest a slightly longer about eight foot, however you say you are not a strong swimmer, so longer makes paddling easier! You will need to become a stron and capable swimmer as there will be times when you will be separated from your board and have to swim, strong swimming skills also make strong paddle capabilities.
I double stated that as it is so important.

Have you tried a surf school?
I would recommend that just to get an idea before you lay out cash on a board
Next suggestion, if you see a board you nightlife post a picture here, we can review it for you in regard to suitability, quality of the board and anything else.

Oh and I‘m curious what was your research? Where are you most likely to surf!
Cheers and have fun Jaffa

Hi Jaffa,

Thanks for the response and warm welcome! I’ll be surfing at Jax Beach FL as I moved here recently. Super excited to start as I have followed the WSL for a while and got to go the their event in Jax Beach this weekend. I also should have clairified that I can swim decently, I can tread water for about 5 minutes in a pool but much longer in the ocean. Definitely need to improve on technique though. I do have a background in snowboarding for what it’s worth. Based on my weight and research I got recommended 47L (108lbs) as the weight of my board. So I did find this board - NSP Funboard 7’2 49 L. And another version at 7’6 54.4L. I added an attachment. The weight seems to be more important than the length. Would the 7’2 board be good to start with or is the 7’6 clearly the better option.

Volume has become a trend issue, but the estimates of volume for weight are reasonable, often as a surfer gets better they can lessen the volume.
One thing to consider is how you want to surf, you‘ve seen the pros most started surfing in their early teens or younger so length and volume was not an issue then.

I would strongly suggest the 7‘6‘‘ the shape ( fun board) is a good way to go snow boarding is of marginal help at this stage.
Consider these differences. Snow you face down hill and gravity helps surf you have to be able to paddle fast enough to match the speed slightly exceed it to catch the wave snow boarding you are already standing surfing having caught the wave you have to go from paddling to standing with a pop up ( a challenging part there are many requests on how to improve this here) unlike snow , the position and movement of your feet will determine how you turn accelerate or slow down (no bindings)
All these phases we all went through, the younger we were the easier it was.
Really though it is great fun learning, and life changing thing to do!
Share with us as you go!

Great, I appreciate you’re advice. I did find a board on Facebook market place that is 7ft and 52 Liters. It is a lot cheaper than the boards I mentioned above. I may roll the dice with that board, (hope that’s not a bad idea) whichever board I go with, I am excited to get out there.

See if you can look at the FB board and send us a picture, buying second hand or solely off a Face Book Craigs list or Ebay page it could be damaged

The guy says it is water tight and this is the only defect on the board. (Attached the image)

The other option aside from the 7’2 52 L Torq Mod Fish would be a modern love child 7’ 52 L with no noticeable defects on it.

It does not look water tight, and in the worst possible place. Water will strongly effect the foam and the board will be heavier with water in it!
It is repairable but epoxy resin is needed or taking it to a shop for repairs. Hopeful there is no water in it!
A couple of issues with Modern surfboards from GSI there are reports of quality issues these, Torq surfboards are favoured by quite a few guys on the forum and if the nose of the board has not caused too much water entrance Then a repair may be useful.

The Mod fish is a little more advanced with the fish tail however a fun board round tail would be better for your entry level of surfing.
Have a look around for Mod Fun boards in the Torq range