Surfing Waves

ok sometime this next week i am buying my first shortboard, because i have just spent like 3 days surfing trying some mates and find i can manage them and progress with them. my 7'3" pop pout mini mal i can do pretty easy now and isn't challenging enough to let me progress as fast as i'd like. Any advice on the new board? should i get a cheaper secondhand board, or pay a bit extra for a nice shiny new one? i'm thinking 6'4", about 18.5" wide? are realm surfbaords good, cause there was some nice ones at an ok price tha i was looking at, and also a 125 quid al merrick board (secondhand) in good condition, but won't that be a performance board and difficult to control? any help mucho appreciated!!!!

Kylie x x x

Hey Welsh_Chick,
I know how you feel, I was exactly the same when I was buying my first shortie.
My advice would be to go with a wide shortboard to start with, mine's a 19 3/4 wide. I came down off of a 7'9'' Minimal, and was advised to keep some of the width, so it wouldn't be such a big shock and disaster!
Mine's 2 1/4 thick, which makes it ideal for learning to duck-dive on, I had it mastered within the first 3 times, unless you can do it already that is!? *falls at the floor to your feet* if you can! My minimal was a bugger to push the nose underwater, let alone all of it!
I got a new custom one made for me, which I dont know wether it was wise (?!) but I had had experience of shortboarding before; and im getting on really well with the custom. I cant really say get a second hand, cause that would make me a bit of a hypocrite?! But what I can tell you is I got on fine with it.
One thing I wouldnt recommend, is that AlMerrick. Thats something you must definitely not do: get a performance board as your first shortie. It'l be a shock-to-the-system and you'l be frustrated your mates are getting waves when you arent!
Anyways, the best thing to do is to get your ass down to a proper surf shop, maybe a shapers (?) and get their expert opinion.
Hope my amateur opinion helped slightly!
What breaks do you surf in Wales by the way? I remember going there as a kid and watching these massive sets roll in from a relatives rooftop! (that was before I surfed!)
Hang Loose

hey, thanks for the advice! yeh i've got the same problem with duckdiving on the mini mal, its sooo hard, but i have got it down on a shortboard in the time i nicked my mates shortboard for a bit, lol. i surf rest bay in porthcawl, im going down today to look at boards in the surf shops, and ive got my eye on the Realm board, 225 quid brand new, 6'4, and i think 18 or so inches wide, i cant remember but it looked wide enough, not too skinny like. man i couldn't sleep last night i was working stuff out in my head, like the prices, and if i'l have enough to buy a bag for it too, and whetehr the 2nd hand board im lookin at is too dinged up and so on an so oN!!! il let you know what i get :)

oh thats me, freaky_welsh_chick if you hadn't guessed