ROOKIE

[JBirddd]

Hey fellas, this is my first post here and I'm a definite new guy, both to the blog and surfing.

I'm 5'9" 150lbs and after falling in love with surfing on a longboard in Hawaii on a trip, I'm hooked. I live in Los Angeles and have purchased a wetsuit and now I'm in the process of buying a board and a car rack.

So here's my questions (help with anything would be awesome!)

1) surfboard recommendations? I'm definitely a rookie, but have successfully gotten up on a 10' longboard with some consistency. Also, 1 or 3 fins? And epoxy or fiberglass?

2) car rack needed? I drive a ford focus. (Basically a small 4 door car). Any advice here would be excellent.

3) any SoCal riders with some recommendations for surf spots? I'm 15 min from Santa Monica and 30 from Malibu.


Thanks!

[IB_Surfer]

Board: at 150lbs a 10ft board might be overkill. For your weight you could probably go as low as a 9ft, but depends if you want to try for performance or glide.

Car rack: do not go with a factory make, go with a good Thule or Yakima. I lost 2 surfboards using a GM rack on my caddie.

Surf Spots: Malibu if you want to surf with movie stars and some cool crowds, zuma or county line if you want a little less crowd, or take the drive down to seal beach or huntington beach in the other direction.

Good luck, enjoy the stoke

[Aqualife]

Hi there and welcome,

Old school conventional wisdom for beginner boards goes like this: first of all, the bigger, the better, then secondly, an easy to follow rule is to stand, stretch you arm out and you should be able to hold the nose of your board in the hand - that is the shortest you should surf as a beginner.
Basically, the longer and wider the board is, the more stability it has. As for fins, it is generally easier to surf three fins than a single one, again you get more drive and stability with three fins than with only one.

You should really find a boardshop/good shaper and chat to them. Beware of people just wanting to sell you anything. Your gut will help deciding whether the salesperson is a 'used car salesman' type or genuine in listening and wanting to help. The local boardshops will also know the conditions of your 'local' break best and could advise which board would work in those.

It also helps trying out a few boards, if you can to see what works for you (we all have likes/dislikes) rather than buying a brandnew one and than being stuck with it. May be find a cheap secondhand one first and then upgrade. You will buy 'duds' throughout your surfing life and also fall in love with certain boards. It's a journey and you will constantly want to upgrade, change and improve on what you have got. So don't worry if the first one, is not 100%...

I personally dislike epoxy boards, so I am not a great advocate for them. They are too boxy and floaty for me, but they have their value in being indestructible and they generally work better for men and especially for heavier guys, as they tend to stall on the top of the wave on take off and you need quite some body weight to push the nose down.

I got my car fitted with board racks, as I use them almost daily. I googled my car brand and find the racks that fit my model car (THULE racks).

As for surf spots, the Cali guys will help you with that. I only know Orange County and Ventura Spots.

Over to the other experts, hope any of this will help you.

[Jimi]

Plenty of good advice already, but I'll just add that you should get a 9ft+ board if you want to learn the fastest. Plus you can keep it for years as a decent longboard. Funboards will do for learning if you're motivated and keep working at it, but you will want to move up or down in size after a few years.

Epoxy is great for learners too. Much more durable, and you won't notice any difference until you are quite experienced.

[JBirddd]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Much appreciated

[billie_morini]

1) concur with 9 ft long board selection for you and that 10 ft is just too much board. One fin is for classic swoopy turns. Three fins provides more stability and speed. I put beginners on 3-fin 9 ft long board. The small side-bite fins minimize rotation around the board's long access (i.e., make it less tippy). Polyester resin or epoxy resin: poly boards have more flesh and epoxy boards have more float and withstand knocks better. The lack of "feel" in epoxy boards is why most of us select poly boards.

2) concur with Thule or Yakima

3) Surf breaks around LA county often have many surfers. Here are some of the more enjoyable beginner breaks: Zuma, Will Rogers,Venice Rose Ave, Santa Monica Samo 20, and Rat Beach. Treat yourself and go to San O south of San Clemente. It's one of the best beginner breaks in the world and the other surfers are mellow

[stevie]

hi rooks, I'm 45, and when i got thbug a year our so ago i bought a second hand 8,6 nsp, within three months i could catch anything, i regret selling it now as it would be perfect for the real small days, anything around that size and you'll be grand

[stevie]

btw I'm six, two and 215 lbs