I have a dilemna

[nick818]

Okay, so I bought a 6'1 three finned shortboard from a friend over a year ago. I recently decided to start surfing, but the surf in the gulf is relatively small. I would buy a larger board, but I drive a Honda accord and this size barely fits in my car. Is there a cheap option to transport a longer board? If not, should I just give it a go with the short board?

[kitesurfer]

Buy a roof rack for your car and get a longer board. If you really want to start surfing then the longer board will help your style, allow you to progress much more quickly and you will enjoy your time in the surf way more than floundering around on a board that is way too small.

KS

[esonscar]

I agree with KS - a bigger board and a roof rack - end of (keep the shortboard though !).

[billie_morini]

Surfing in the Gulf? Better hurry while the water is clean. I heard there was a big oil spill in the Gulf that is heading toward land.

[twerked]

there's 4 options for transporting a bigger board.

1) hard rack. your typical thule or yakima roof rack. fairly expensive initially, but in the long run, it's definitely worth it. super secure, you can carry all kinds of crap on it; bikes, kayaks, canoes, skis, snowboards, kegs, etc, etc..

2) soft rack. you can usually find them at any surfshop. dakine makes them, fcs does too, and a slew of others. good for short distances/infrequent use.

3) foam blocksxstraps. similar to a soft rack, in that it's not permanent, but less secure. but good for those 'in a pinch' situations.

4) inside the car. since you have an accord, you should be able to lay down the back seats. if you get a small enough longboard (8'4") ish, you'll be able to put it through the trunk and into the passenger cabin. you might have to move the front passenger seat around or lay the back of it completely down, but it works.

either way, get a bigger board. if most of the trips you'll be taking are short and don't involve much highway speeds, a soft rack will be more than suitable. if you're planning on carrying other large objects or long distance travelling with highway speeds, a hard rack will make the most sense. the foam blocks are really a last ditch option. i'd consider how often you're carrying your, and any one else's board, and how many people you'll usually be transporting. because with the seat down, you can really only carry you and your board. you'd be surprised what you can fit in a car. i had an 88 jetta and i could fit an 8'4" board in the front passenger seat. i had to lay the seat the whole way down, but it fit. the back seat didn't lay flat, otherwise i probably could have fit a 9 footer through the trunk.

[nick818]

thanks for everyones input. Oh, and i live close to galveston, and the oil spill isnt projected to hit land here. But who knows. It is going to hit the panhandle of florida i think and i go there every year for vacation :/

[IB_Surfer]

My buddy can fit his 8ft funboard in his accord with the seats reclined back. Buy a bigger board, it should still fit.

[joe1300a]

i drive a vauxhall corsa and took a trip from york to devon (around 500 miles) we carried 2 mini mals (7 foot) and two short boards on a dakine soft rack, doing 70 all the way, super secure no problem at all, can also get ones with steel cable in which lock so you can leave the board to go to shops etc (not advised)

[Brian]

you can buy removable racks, I know creatures of leisure sells em. I use them when I need to pile some boards on my car...Stable and quick to put on/off.. Check em out

http://www.surfstitch.com/index.cfm/seo ... 0/active/1

[Deepwaterdesigns]

you can carry all kinds of crap on it; bikes, kayaks, canoes, skis, snowboards, kegs, etc, etc..

wonder how many kegs you can fit in a honda accord????

[twerked]

^ well i could fit 8 dead hookers in the trunk of my jetta (12-14 if you disassemble). so using the dead hooker to kegs of beer conversion table, that comes out to about 2 in the trunk.

the key difference is you can put kegs on the rack in addition to inside the vehicle without issue. not so easily done with the hookers....