Just starting out...looking for some advice

[gd6]

Hi, I'm just starting out, and was looking for some advice. I took a lesson with a friend and had no issue standing up on a big longboard and took to it pretty easily.

So I made probably not the smartest choice, and got a proctor rascal II 5'9" fishtail (used, spent $230 and it had nice ks 2.1 fins in thruster position). I'm 5'11 and 170 lbs.

I just spent my 3rd day surfing (2nd day with my fishtail), and I've been going to the Santa Monica Pier out of convenience. The waves didn't seem that good today, but I'm feeling good about my pop up and did manage to stand up a few times. Didn't really stand up for very long, but definitely progress, and I am getting a little better at reading waves.

I don't want to spend much more money, but I can't help but wonder if I should buy a longboard or something with more float. I'm happy that I at least stood up today, but I can tell that this board is like a million times more sensitive to weight shifts than the huge 10.5' longboard that I first tried. My goal at this point is just to have fun surfing smaller waves (like 8ft or less), and I saw some videos for the rascal II and thats how I ended up wanting one.

Any reccomendations? I'm guessing that people would say to get something bigger, but I'm hesitant to spend much more money. If my goal is to be able to use a shortboard like the one I have on smaller waves, do you think I would get there much faster learning on a bigger board at this point? If so, what size/type would you reccomend?

Thanks for any help, its appreciated!

[Lebowski]

You already know the answer.....

That board is way too small for a beginner. At your weight you'd be much better off with something around 7'6 - 8ft+. If you stick with it you'll get frustrated I think and spend the next few months at least flailing around missing waves.

I had a 5'9 fish last year and I'm a similar weight to you (although taller) but with 5+yrs of surfing very regularly.

[gd6]

Would it be better just to look for an 8' longboard or would it be reasonable to go for a 7'6 funboard with good float?

Also, are the cheap softtop wavestorm learning boards useful at all? I see a lot of them for ~$100, or should I just spend a bit more on an older board?

[Dantastic1985]

Get what's cheap mate. Your going to crash and bang the sh*t out of it. The main thing is your standing up, then you trim, then you turn. Look on gumtree, EBay, forums etc for something 7'4 upwards. If you can try as many boards as you can.

Good luck. Stay stoked!

[cbouza3]

I can't speak about the "right" board since I'm a beginner myself, but all I can say is Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist. There are new boards up there every 20 minutes (trust me, I check that often). You can buy a used board and flip in in a few months for probably the same price if you take decent care of it. I bought a 10' board last month and am already looking to re-sell it and move down to 9'...just to get something a bit easier to deal with out of the water (read: I don't think I'm out-performing the 10'). I expect I can sell my 10' for what i bought it for.

[gd6]

I'll be keeping my eye on craigslist, I'm thinking I still want to try to get one thats maybe 8' as it would fit inside my vehicle still and I wouldn't have to strap it on the roof. It would be nice to catch more waves.

[gd6]

Thought I would give an update. I ended up getting a used board in ok condition, an 8' rusty thats shaped just like the board below (only $85, and still has some life in it for sure). It fits in my vehicle nicely, so no having to mess around with roof racks.

Rusty-Desert-Island-Surfboard.jpg (15.2 KiB) Viewed 876 times

I took it out, my 4th time ever (1st with this board), and there were some surprisingly big waves (5ft, some seemed a little bigger than that). Definitely had some 'fun' getting out to the break, by fun I mean I got hammered and exhausted, but was very happy that I caught and rode some very nice waves, even got to work on a little turning and surfing down the line of a wave. The board felt great, plenty of float for me and I felt like I had good control. There was a surf instructor just enjoying himself in the water and he gave me some free tips which helped (moved me further up on the board, and made sure my feet were together).

Really glad I listened to everybody's advice and got a bigger board. I'm going to be watching the surf reports, as I really am not interested in waves any bigger than the ones I was on...it was pretty intimidating and I'm just glad it turned out it in my favor this time. I was kinda expecting to pearl and wipe out in these waves, hoping it wasn't just beginners luck! Will be back out tomorrow, and they say its going to be good conditions too.