Any tips for my fishy adventure

[BigBlueBear]

Hey there, this is my first time on surfing waves.

I was wondering if anybody has any tips for me, Iv just ordered a Torq 6'3 Fish board after days of careful research about wave conditions ect and decided it offers the best opportunities for my travels up and down Cornwall.

Iv done lots of time on floaty foam, I used to hire and worked from 9fts down to 7fts but this will be the first board iv ridden that hasn't been bumped about by some little kid, so could anyone give any tips on board care, maintenance and general ownership bits and bobs? All comments welcome

[dtc]

Buy a proper board bag and use it - dont get lazy and chuck the board into the car.

Dont drop the board.... be careful when you are putting the board down on a hard surface, I've seen people pull the board out of the car and go to pop it up next to the car (while they get changed) and just drop the tail onto the concrete ...anyway, pay attention to roads, sign posts when you are walking to the beach, rocks in the water, the gearstick in the car etc etc.

Otherwise boards are pretty sturdy - other than impact damage there isnt much to worry about. Some say you should wash them off after surfing but I hardly ever do that and there is nothing to to rust.

oh, you will obviously need to wax it - pay some attention to getting this right (right type of wax, right method of application) as failure will be very embarrassing (just google how to apply wax or look at one of the wax company websites/youtube)

[BigBlueBear]

Thanks man, I'll be sure to look at wax application and i got a board, fin, wax, bag package so i guess the wax should be the right stuff thanks again!

[dtc]

Wax is water temperature dependent - there are different waxes for cold, temperate and warm/tropicl waters (its all wax, just different ingredients/mix of ingredients). If you get the wrong one its not a disaster (usually) but its not as effective eg warm water wax will be too hard in cold water and you will slip (no grip), cold water wax will be too soft in warm water and it will melt off. Using temperate wax in cold water is usually no problems, its when you use tropical in cold or vice versa that the real issues occur. That said, if there are big variations where you surf (eg water temps fluctuate between summer and winter), it can be worthwhile having a summer wax and a winter wax, stripping off the wax between seasons.

Anyway, hopefully the right wax was provided, but check the water temp where you surf and check the type of wax you were given. Wax is cheap so if you have the wrong stuff or not enough, just buy a few more bars.

Some people put a base coat of wax on as well - I never have but I have noticed that some boards have patches where waxing without a base coat requires a bit more work (its smoother or something - often its over decals). A base coat isnt required but you can put it on if you want.

[dtc]

co incidentially noticed this video about looking after your board - pretty good, although removing the wax every 10 sessions is a bit excessive

[Jripper53]

As others have said, a board bag is huge. I've heard it said that most board damage comes from transportation. That seems true. It's a mental thing too - you want to keep the board nice. So if you're being careful enough to always place your board in a bag when transporting/storing it, you've got the right frame of mind. Avoid placing it on hard surfaces like rock or pavement, try not to bump it into things when carrying it, set it down gently and slowly, wash it off after use, store it indoors if possible. Just be gentle with it at all times except when you're actually up and surfing. Then you manhandle it! You don't have to spend all kinds of money on protective gadgets to keep your surfboard in good shape. Just my 0.02¢