Advice for beginner big guy

[wavedrawn]

Hey all, I am 6"3 230 lbs 32 years of age and in fairly good shape. Made a mistake jumped the gun before I did research and bought a 8 footer epoxy fun fish board, 21 3/4 inches width 2 1/4 thickness. Went out for the first time yesterday and it was hard to stay on it, paddled pretty good though but whenever I went to pop up, the board just sunk beneath me.

I have been seeing that foamies are the best to learn on but alot of people disagree too and that poly is the best. I was thinking something maybe like 9 - 9.6 ft, 3inch thickness and 24 inch width does that sound about right? Just wanted some opinions from more knowledgeable folks, glad I found this place Also to give you all an idea of what kind of surf is around, I am from Indian River County, Florida.

[bigcherry]

intersted to hear any replies. I am 6'4" 240 lbs and bought a 9 ft foamy. It seems to hold me out of the water ok, but I have not been able to stand up on it much yet. First time surfing last week at old mans/san onofre.

[wavedrawn]

bump for the big boys! =)

[Surf Hound]

9-6 and 3" thick and 24 wide should do the trick. At our size, foam is the key. I wouldn't even look at what everyone else is riding. Once you are over 235 or so we need our own dimensions. After a year or so of riding you can gradually go smaller as I am now surfing a 7'2" most days but still routinely grab my 8 plus foot boards depending on my mood, size of the waves and how much I want to paddle. You will learn quicker and have more fun if you start out with lots of foam. Besides your wave count would probably be 3 times what it would be with anything else at this point.

[drowningbitbybit]

I have been seeing that foamies are the best to learn on but alot of people disagree too and that poly is the best.

Foamies are only for your first couple of goes. Book yourself in for a couple of lessons on some foamies and learn the basics (the very very basics), but after that a 'real' board is much better to learn on.

And as SurfHound says - the bigger the better.

[wavedrawn]

Awesome, that is about what I was figuring (9'6, 3in & 24in width) appreciate the replies ppl.

[wavedrawn]

Just curious as it is going to take me some time to save for a bigger board & lessons etc...if I keep at it (with the board I have now) do you guys think I could possibly learn on it? I am able to get to the beach everyday...

[jaffa1949]

Ah the big boys are in town, hi wave drawn and big cherry, guys forget the foamy immediately after your first couple of lessons, I'm of a similar weight and not the height just 6ft, but I would seriously recommend that you do not get a first board of your own as foamy your boards need to be at least 9ft another 6 inches would go astray either.
The width 22 23 inches and 3 inches + thick. If you have money follow a known board brand in your area.
Have a really good read through the threads a lot of bigger guys have posted here learn from them,

[wavedrawn]

I appreciate the reply and welcome jaffa1949. Would recommend fiberglass or epoxy for a beginner? Thanks in advance sir...

[jaffa1949]

Just curious as it is going to take me some time to save for a bigger board & lessons etc...if I keep at it (with the board I have now) do you guys think I could possibly learn on it? I am able to get to the beach everyday...

Wavedrawn , you can learn on it just a lot more work and frustration in the learning stages.

Florida is not noted at most times for powerful surf so flotation is your answer the board you have now will probably end up being your shortboard!

Be aware that what you are about to learn is difficult, very few people just come it naturally.

Either or, NSP or surf tech make pretty good epoxies in the range you are thinking of, NSP is a slightly cheaper range but OK.

OH , you are very polite but I ain't no sir.

[bigcherry]

Thanks for the feedback fellas...I am stuck with my 9 ft foamy for a while...I only wish I could get to the waves every day. For me, it's an hour away and I always have to get away from the wife and 3 kids under 6. As soon as I can, I will be bringing my 6 year old and push her into some small waves. She's just a little scared yet.

[IB_Surfer]

Hey all, I am 6"3 230 lbs 32 years of age and in fairly good shape. Made a mistake jumped the gun before I did research and bought a 8 footer epoxy fun fish board, 21 3/4 inches width 2 1/4 thickness.

are you sure about the thickness? Not common to have that thickness with the rest of the dims, would think it 2 3/4, just wondering

[mjames]

Hey guys, I'm new here and a beginner at surfing but thought I'd share my experience:

I started out 6'2" 240lbs on an 8' foamie... It was frustrating but I eventually learned to pop up on the white water with it. I couldn't catch anything else though. I'm pretty sure I developed some bad habits with that board because it was not ideal for my size. The guys at the surf shop wanted me to do the "cool" thing and get a shorter board, so I tried a 7' 10" epoxy and it was very very frustrating experience. My goal in surfing is to enjoy myself and have fun. I don't want to shred or do backflips, I want to pop up on a wave and glide in to shore.Two months later I walked back in the shop and traded for a 9' 2" epoxy which I had better luck on, but still felt like something was wrong.

I am currently 6'2" 215lbs riding a 10ft fiberglass beast. I think it is 23+" wide and it's 2.75 - 3" thick. This thing is a boat! It is forgiving- if I land a little wrong on my pop-up I can reposition my feet quickly, you should see some of the weird positions I've popped up into without bailing... feet right next to each other, both feet on the tail, etc. It's easy to paddle, and I can actually sit on it. I think the experience would have been much better had I started out on a board like this. I'm still trying to get the timing right and end up pearling a few times per session, but last night I caught 5 little waves in an hour.. It was awesome.

My advice: get a big ol' board as soon as you can, it really keeps you enjoying yourself instead of cursing the sport, especially in the beginning.

Now I'm going to change to a single fin setup, looking at the 10" FCS Fatboy... anyone ever tried one?

[bigcherry]

Got an 11 ft Becker boat...Swimming faster, but still not as fast as my wife or other surf buddies. Also dropped 30 lbs in the last 3 months...down to 220 lbs this morning. I should be a lot faster, but I guess practice makes perfect.
I do agree that this long fiberglass board is way more forgiving and fun when I do actually stand up and ride a wave...easy to walk around on a little to get in the right spot.