Surfing Waves

Hey im new to the community so first id like to say hello =)

Im just curious as to what size board is good for me. I snowboard and am defiantly really good at that so the balance and what not helps. Ive taken a surfing lesson a few years back probably like 2 and the intsructor asked me if i ever surfed before because the first wave i popped up and rode it no problem. This was on a longboard cant remember the size but needless to say i guess i caught on pretty quickly. But then i joined the military & have been in for a year so needless to say i been pretty busy. But now i actually have time to get back into surfing & i want to buy a board. I already bodyboard and figured lets try something new.

Im 6 foot and about 170 - Athletic build. Im stationed in charleston south carolina and the waves here dont get to big i see more small days then big. So my main question is really just what size board is good for me with the little experience i have & my body type. So please help cause its getting close to summer and i want to start ASAP. Thanks!

Not catching waves is the biggest impediment to learning, forget about glide, cutbacks, airs and pump and etc. If you can't first get yourself on a wave, nothing else will matter, and to get on a wave when you are a novice, you need volume (or 'foam').

And, if the waves are small, you need foam.

Snowboarding helps, to the extent it does, only after you are standing up. 80% (maybe 95%) of surfing happens before you stand up. You may have been able to catch your first wave, but then what happened? Can you paddle out through a big set? Can you catch a steep beachy? Can you read the waves, can you paddle for 5 minutes without stopping? How quickly can you pop up? Can you turn? etc etc

All that points to a longboard - as is the case for all beginners. Meaning a board that at minimum is 7ft6 but I reckon at your height and weight you want something 8-9ft. Make sure its wide (22inches+) and thick (2.5inch+).

Remember that surfing is not a sport where you start on the board you end up on. You will improve, you will get to the stage where you can use a shorter board and you may want to get a shorter board. Thats the way it is; if you don't like the way surfing progresses then don't surf. Starting on a short board means you dont catch waves which means you dont learn to surf.

Even if you are a natural and you buy a longboard but decide after 3 months you can get a shorter board, you havent wasted your money. You would not have been able to transition in 3 months with a shorter board. And you can always sell the board, or keep it for fun.

Finally - yes, a 9ft board looks enormous when you are in the shop or on land. But in the water, honestly you dont notice it.

dtc wrote:Not catching waves is the biggest impediment to learning, forget about glide, cutbacks, airs and pump and etc. If you can't first get yourself on a wave, nothing else will matter, and to get on a wave when you are a novice, you need volume (or 'foam').

And, if the waves are small, you need foam.

Snowboarding helps, to the extent it does, only after you are standing up. 80% (maybe 95%) of surfing happens before you stand up. You may have been able to catch your first wave, but then what happened? Can you paddle out through a big set? Can you catch a steep beachy? Can you read the waves, can you paddle for 5 minutes without stopping? How quickly can you pop up? Can you turn? etc etc

All that points to a longboard - as is the case for all beginners. Meaning a board that at minimum is 7ft6 but I reckon at your height and weight you want something 8-9ft. Make sure its wide (22inches+) and thick (2.5inch+).

Remember that surfing is not a sport where you start on the board you end up on. You will improve, you will get to the stage where you can use a shorter board and you may want to get a shorter board. Thats the way it is; if you don't like the way surfing progresses then don't surf. Starting on a short board means you dont catch waves which means you dont learn to surf.

Even if you are a natural and you buy a longboard but decide after 3 months you can get a shorter board, you havent wasted your money. You would not have been able to transition in 3 months with a shorter board. And you can always sell the board, or keep it for fun.

Finally - yes, a 9ft board looks enormous when you are in the shop or on land. But in the water, honestly you dont notice it.

I concur

Okay cool so ive read about longboards and funboards & softboards. Now out of the 3 im going to assume a longboard is the best for me to start up on and actually learn on? & if im clear your saying anything between 8-9 feet tall 22+ inches width and 2.5+ thickness

Yup remember when starting out foam is your friend!

You know any good places to look for an estimate board prices? Im not really trying to burn a hole in my pocket for a longboard =[

Well I always look on craigslist for deals. Just be wary of what you're looking at

Elaborate please =)

Well where are you from? It should give you the option to look for stuff in your general area. Look to make sure it's water right no delam or any other craziness

Getting back to your original question, the bigger the board the easier the learning. There are some great shapers everywhere, just let us know where you live and maybe one of us can get you in touch with one. Here in San Diego I know a few.

Im currently stationed down in Charleston,SC. So i mean if you have a hookup plesae let me know and ill be more than appreciative.

Well just hop on the internet and start looking up boards then. You don't really need a hook up just do your research and follow through

Yeah ive found quite a few 7'8 boards but thats too small for me?

It depends on the shape of a board it's not impossible to learn on one but it is harder than on a long board. By shape I mean is it a gun, semi gun, fun board, minimal etc. Generally a wider thicker board it's your friend and well be easier to paddle and catch waves on.

have a look here - you want the 'egg' or 'hybrid' shape. Basically something with a round nose, 3 fins preferably (although on a proper longboard then 1 fin can be ok) and a tail that is slightly rounded but definitely not pointy (see the 'gun' board shapes).

http://www.tactics.com/info/guide-to-surfboard-shapes

7ft8 is not 'too small' - you can definitely surf a board of that length. It just won't be as stable/easy to paddle as a 9ft board. So its just a trade off. If the board is wide and thick and the right shape, its certainly something to consider - I guess not 'ideal' but surfing a 7ft8 is better than looking through craiglist ads!

The key for second hand boards are
1. right shape
2. no bad dings (cracks) - boards are foam covered with fibreglass, if a board gets hit the fibreglass cover will crack/shatter. Now most of the time that can be repaired but a bad crack (where there is a gap right through to the foam) that wasnt repaired properly or in time might mean that water was able to get through into the foam, which is bad. Generally you can see this by discolouration in one spot under the crack (general overall discolouration eg a yellowing board is not a problem, that is natural).
3. boards can actually crack in 1/2 and be repaired. Sometimes quite effectively, but its not ideal. So any cracks or lines that go all the way across the board should make you wary.

Dings are part of surfing and, as mentioned, can be repaired without causing any issues (panelbeating for surfboards). Its just that a board without repaired dings means you have to spend money to repair them (either in a shop or with a repair kit) and there is the potential that the dings have let in water etc.

Dont forget about fins - they cost $35++; so if a board comes with fins then that can be a good saving. And a bag is useful.

I'm sure someone else on the base is a surfer - ask them to check out the board. Just like you might take along a mechanic mate to look at a second hand car.

LongIslandSurfer wrote:Yeah ive found quite a few 7'8 boards but thats to small for me?

Well, it depends how much you want to spend. Longboards are expensive, 7'8 funboards are way less.

If you are in shape and swim then a 7'8 board will be ok as a begginer, I started on an thick wide 8ft funboard, but I was in shape and boogieboarding a lot when I started. If you are borderline couch potato stick to the longboard, more money or not.

themathteacher wrote:

LongIslandSurfer wrote:Yeah ive found quite a few 7'8 boards but thats to small for me?

Well, it depends how much you want to spend. Longboards are expensive, 7'8 funboards are way less.

If you are in shape and swim then a 7'8 board will be ok as a begginer, I started on an thick wide 8ft funboard, but I was in shape and boogieboarding a lot when I started. If you are borderline couch potato stick to the longboard, more money or not.

Yeah see im far from a couch potatoe. Im a good build because being in the military requires excersise constant. Like you mentioned i also boogieboarded alot so i can paddle a bit and i can read the ocean well so i have all of that down. Its just a matter of getting a board that i can learn on well & not become super frustrated. Like i said in my first post when i first learned how to surf like 3 years ago i popped up first time and rode it into shore (straight of course haha) and that board was a soft top like the long blue soft top ones, cant recall the size but yah i think id be able to get a hang of it pretty quick but who knows. I just want the best size for me & i really dont want anything 9+

As everyone here has said, you'll get the hang of it quickest on a 9ft board, but you'll be fine on a 7'8 as long as its got plenty of volume.

But this sentence is important...

LongIslandSurfer wrote: i see more small days then big.

Even experienced surfers get frustrated on small days with a small board, and the longboarders have much more fun, so ultimately you might want to be aiming at longboards anyway.

Just to give you an example of how different boards of the same length can be (and hence why length itself is not the be all and end all), compare the 8ft versions of the following boards:

http://www.surfindustries.com/surfboard ... aMagic.php

http://www.surfindustries.com/surfboard ... carver.php

You will see the first has a volume of 84l and the second (which is actually 1 inch longer) has only 56l. Now volume (ie 'foam') is only one factor with a board, but for beginners (as discussed) its important. So if you are looking at a 7ft8 board, then it might be a reasonable board for a beginner with your type of waves, or it might not be. Admittedly the above examples are a bit extreme, as the walden is a very high volume board (very thick - over 3 inches); but it gives you the idea of what to look for/look out for.

Hmm yeah all very good points im gonna look around for something in the upper 8's and higher volume