Surfing Waves

Hey everybody,

I am just about to buy my first board, and am looking for advice. I live on the Gulf coast of Florida where the waves are typically small (1-3 ft), but do get bigger pretty frequently in good conditions (2-5 ft). Occasionally, I'll be looking to hit the east coast where the waves are larger. I've done quite a bit of research and have narrowed it down to either the Bic Mini Mal 7'3 or the Torq Mod Fun 7'2...maybe 7'6. I want something of good quality and have the budget for something new in the $300-400 range.

People have suggested longer boards but I am an athletic guy coming from a skateboarding/snowboarding background and understand board balance well, which is why I think that size would work to learn and catch waves (am I wrong?). I also want to get a board I can progress with because I know as soon as I start catching on I'll want to start trying to carve, maneuver, and get more aggressive. I am 29 years old, 5'10, about 160 lbs. I'd be looking to surf as much as possible, and would actively seek out good conditions. Which of these boards (if any) would you recommend? Any other boards to consider? I need something durable, able to catch smaller waves, and still be able to maneuver and progress on. Also something one can learn on, even if the learning curve is a bit steeper. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Jripper53 wrote:People have suggested longer boards but I am an athletic guy coming from a skateboarding/snowboarding background and understand board balance well, which is why I think that size would work to learn and catch waves (am I wrong?).

You don't need to catch the mountain on your snowboard, but you do need to catch the wave on a surfboard. And you don't have to use your arms/upper body to push your skateboard forward. Agreed, the balance part will probably be easy for you, but surfing is 90% paddling 10% riding. Are you wrong ? I would say so, hearing 100's of newbies thinking the same way you do, and finding out the hard way. But go for it, if the board doesn't work out, keep it for when your ready to move down.

Bic vs Torq - doesn’t really matter

7ft vs something longer - matters. Go at least for the 7’6 and practice paddling and wave reading (key skateboard skills...)

Do you have some experience in the water or are you a new surfer? If you are new, consider renting boards before you buy. Try a 7 footer and some longer ones as well. With a 9 foot board you'll be able to get more waves and practice riding.

I started on a Bic and also have a Torq, get a Torq longboard

pmcaero wrote:I started on a Bic and also have a Torq, get a Torq longboard

Pmcaero why do you suggest Torq over Bic? And why do you think a longboard would be better than a 7'2-7'6?

BoMan wrote:Do you have some experience in the water or are you a new surfer? If you are new, consider renting boards before you buy. Try a 7 footer and some longer ones as well. With a 9 foot board you'll be able to get more waves and practice riding.

I am totally new to surfing. I've just body surfed and boogie boarded as far as wave riding is concerned. They do rent out boards at the local break, so that would be an option. The thing about a 9+ footer is that it just seems like so much hassle to haul around, store, and mostly to maneuver on the wave. Although I do understand getting more waves is more important (and probably more fun).

dtc wrote:Bic vs Torq - doesn’t really matter

7ft vs something longer - matters. Go at least for the 7’6 and practice paddling and wave reading (key skateboard skills...)

Well if brand doesn't matter then Bic is my pick, if for no other reason than price. I will take a look at some of Bics longer offerings, and I know Torq also has 7'6 and 8'0 offerings as well. I really just feel like an 9+ foot longboard would seem huge and unmanueverable once you started to get the hang of it, not to mention tough to store and lug around. Either way, I'll report back once my "skateboard skills" have improved.

waikikikichan wrote:

Jripper53 wrote:People have suggested longer boards but I am an athletic guy coming from a skateboarding/snowboarding background and understand board balance well, which is why I think that size would work to learn and catch waves (am I wrong?).

You don't need to catch the mountain on your snowboard, but you do need to catch the wave on a surfboard. And you don't have to use your arms/upper body to push your skateboard forward. Agreed, the balance part will probably be easy for you, but surfing is 90% paddling 10% riding. Are you wrong ? I would say so, hearing 100's of newbies thinking the same way you do, and finding out the hard way. But go for it, if the board doesn't work out, keep it for when your ready to move down.

This all seems very true, and I understand what you mean by 90% paddling. Do you think a 7'6 or maybe an 8' would be suitable? I just can't imagine lugging around a 9+ foot longboard everywhere, having to store it in my apartment, and most of all, feeling like I couldn't maneuver it on the wave once I started to catch on. But I am determined to learn, catch waves, progress, and get further into the culture of surfing so if you say a longer board is the way to go I'd be pretty apt to take your word for it. I wouldn't want to waste money and learn the hard way, I just want to surf. What lengths would you recommend? Any specific boards you had in mind? Just trying to pick the brain of someone with real experience.

Perhaps you should look at this before you figure that you will out grow your longboard

Jripper53 wrote:Do you think a 7'6 or maybe an 8' would be suitable? I just can't imagine lugging around a 9+ foot longboard everywhere, having to store it in my apartment, and most of all, feeling like I couldn't maneuver it on the wave once I started to catch on. .

Lugging the board around is an issue, of course, if you are using public transport or maybe walking a distance down to the beach. But, trust me, the extra length seems to disappear very quickly when you are on the water ie no longer is a big board you are lugging around, its a useful manoeuvrable water craft. And on your small mushy Florida waves, the extra float is really useful (have a look at what everyone else is surfing - I am pretty sure there are a lot of 9ft boards).

At 160lbs you probably could go a bit shorter than someone at 185lbs, so an 8ft might be ok. However, the benefits of an 8ft board are outweighed by the benefits of a 9ft board, so unless there is a particular reason why you need an 8ft (eg transport), then may as well get a 9ft. As others have suggested, try renting a board (although - if you are a beginner, you will probably miss waves and fall off almost as much on a 9ft as an 8ft as a 7'6ft - so you may not be able to tell the difference all that much, other than in ease of paddling and maybe stability when sitting on it).

There are plenty of good brands and boards - your Torq or NSP boards are fine (people seem to prefer Torq over NSP) if those are the boards you are looking at

Nothing wrong with getting a wavestorm either, to get you in the water while you are thinking about where to go next

Jripper53 wrote:I am totally new to surfing. I've just body surfed and boogie boarded as far as wave riding is concerned.

Jripper53 wrote: Do you think a 7'6 or maybe an 8' would be suitable? I just can't imagine lugging around a 9+ foot longboard everywhere, having to store it in my apartment, and most of all, feeling like I couldn't maneuver it on the wave once I started to catch on. But I am determined to learn, catch waves, progress, and get further into the culture of surfing so if you say a longer board is the way to go I'd be pretty apt to take your word for it. I wouldn't want to waste money and learn the hard way, I just want to surf. What lengths would you recommend? Any specific boards you had in mind? Just trying to pick the brain of someone with real experience.

With your background in bodysurfing and boogieboarding, you are way way ahead of the game compared to other beginners. You won't be in the white water, body all bent but going straight. You know the motion of the ocean, so that's half the battle. If you don't want to waste money, ( which even if you bought the 7'6" and couldn't ride it, you can ride it a few years down the road, so it's not a waste ) , trying borrowing a 8'0" from a surf buddy. If it's "easy" then get the 7'6".

oldmansurfer wrote:Perhaps you should look at this before you figure that you will out grow your longboard

OK now if I could surf a longboard like that I may never feel the need to step down, at least not for quite some time. It looks so graceful and stylish on the water. That video really illustrates how little the board has to do with it, and how much the rider has to do with it. I've been looking into Bics more and they seem like great starter boards at a good price. They even have an 8'0 mini noserider with tons of volume. It sounds to me like lots of buoyancy, good length, and lots of width are going to be the key factors to surfing on the Gulf coast.

waikikikichan wrote:

Jripper53 wrote:I am totally new to surfing. I've just body surfed and boogie boarded as far as wave riding is concerned.

Jripper53 wrote: Do you think a 7'6 or maybe an 8' would be suitable? I just can't imagine lugging around a 9+ foot longboard everywhere, having to store it in my apartment, and most of all, feeling like I couldn't maneuver it on the wave once I started to catch on. But I am determined to learn, catch waves, progress, and get further into the culture of surfing so if you say a longer board is the way to go I'd be pretty apt to take your word for it. I wouldn't want to waste money and learn the hard way, I just want to surf. What lengths would you recommend? Any specific boards you had in mind? Just trying to pick the brain of someone with real experience.

With your background in bodysurfing and boogieboarding, you are way way ahead of the game compared to other beginners. You won't be in the white water, body all bent but going straight. You know the motion of the ocean, so that's half the battle. If you don't want to waste money, ( which even if you bought the 7'6" and couldn't ride it, you can ride it a few years down the road, so it's not a waste ) , trying borrowing a 8'0" from a surf buddy. If it's "easy" then get the 7'6".

Solid advice. I think renting an 8'0 would be my best bet. Just to see if it (and I) will catch waves in the smaller surf we have here. Bic makes an 8'0 mini noserider with tons of buoyancy that looks like a pretty sweet deal as well. For now though, I think I need to rent a board, get out and test the waters (literally) before dropping hundos on a fresh stick. Just need to see what I'm capable of standing up on a wave.

dtc wrote:

Jripper53 wrote:Do you think a 7'6 or maybe an 8' would be suitable? I just can't imagine lugging around a 9+ foot longboard everywhere, having to store it in my apartment, and most of all, feeling like I couldn't maneuver it on the wave once I started to catch on. .

Lugging the board around is an issue, of course, if you are using public transport or maybe walking a distance down to the beach. But, trust me, the extra length seems to disappear very quickly when you are on the water ie no longer is a big board you are lugging around, its a useful manoeuvrable water craft. And on your small mushy Florida waves, the extra float is really useful (have a look at what everyone else is surfing - I am pretty sure there are a lot of 9ft boards).

At 160lbs you probably could go a bit shorter than someone at 185lbs, so an 8ft might be ok. However, the benefits of an 8ft board are outweighed by the benefits of a 9ft board, so unless there is a particular reason why you need an 8ft (eg transport), then may as well get a 9ft. As others have suggested, try renting a board (although - if you are a beginner, you will probably miss waves and fall off almost as much on a 9ft as an 8ft as a 7'6ft - so you may not be able to tell the difference all that much, other than in ease of paddling and maybe stability when sitting on it).

There are plenty of good brands and boards - your Torq or NSP boards are fine (people seem to prefer Torq over NSP) if those are the boards you are looking at

Nothing wrong with getting a wavestorm either, to get you in the water while you are thinking about where to go next

Alright, I really tuned into your description of how a huge board seems like a hassle until you're out on the water, where it becomes a useful, maneuverable watercraft. That makes a lot of sense to me. I am really starting to feel like an 8'0 board is the way to go for my size and weight but you're right, I should really test something out first before pulling the trigger. Probably a foamie. Just see what catches waves the best and what length I feel comfortable on. I think surfing would be a sensation unlike any other, which is great but makes it difficult to judge which board is right for you without having experience. I think first step is to rent a large foam board and get out on the water. I can judge lengths better from there. But for small Florida mush I may need something a bit longer than I had hoped for, at least if I want to surf as often as possible.

So we had an east wind today. There was a small storm front rolling in, as often happens here during the summer months. I've attached some pics of the resulting waves and can honestly say I was itching to get out in the water. Maybe these pics will help to foster some suggestions for boards that would be suitable. I am that crazy guy that would paddle out into stuff like this while everyone is watching from the beach. What kind of a board would paddle through this, get out to the breaking point, and smooth out that chop? I know I'd need to start on calmer waters but eventually I'd like to join the other surfers at the Jetty on afternoons like this.

Jripper53 wrote: Maybe these pics will help to foster some suggestions for boards that would be suitable.

For that particular time and wave ............... a boogieboard.

I wouldn't even go out in that condition.

When I surf, I surf in those conditions from time to time. I basically go out in any conditions. I use all custom made boards but I don't often chose a board for the conditions. Sure you can get a board that will work better for certain conditions but for most boards and most conditions you can learn to use almost any board in almost any conditions. I want to be familiar with my board when I am in potentially dangerous conditions so I don't want to switch boards and will use whatever board I have previously in whatever surf is there when I go to the beach. Part of how to surf junk surf is learning to read the waves first from the shoreline. From the shoreline pick out waves that look rideable or better then get an approximate shoreline reference or lineup so you can find that place in the ocean when you get into the water. I look for the best bet on getting some waves to ride but will have alternative spots picked out as well if it turns out those waves are too difficult or dangerous. Once you find those waves in the ocean then make a more accurate lineup from the ocean. Then it's a matter of figuring out what it takes to ride those waves. I have a variety of things to try such as slightly changing the lineup taking off deeper or shallower and further out or closer to the shoreline, paddling harder, turning faster or slower, angling more or less on takeoff, setting the rail at the top or waiting till the bottom turn etc. It's a lot of time in the ocean to learn it all but then what the heck it's better than sitting at home wishing you were surfing...... well at least for me it is. I think just get a board that works for you and learn to use it.

Definitely rent a couple of boards over a couple/few sessions first. I would rent a 9 ft. board, then if that goes well try an 8' board- or whatever you prefer. You can even rent a shortboard for kicks if you want. But no matter what, actually trying some boards will give you the best feedback on what you can handle for your first board.

Also remember that the best way to learn and progress is to ride a board you can actually paddle into and ride waves on. I see beginners who think they want to start on a short board because they think they will get up to speed faster (trial by fire), but all they end up doing is flailing around in the water and learning very little.