What was your first board

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What was your first board

Postby jessicap » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:34 pm

Hi everyone! I'm new to the site and I'm hoping this is the right place to ask for advice regarding a new board.

I'm looking for suggestions on what type of board to use to transition from my 8 foot foamie. I can catch waves and go down the line no problem. I understand that I shouldn't go straight to a short board, but I want to get as short of a board as possible. My location usually has 3-4 foot waves with the occasional 5-8.

What was your first board and did you find it easy to get used to

Thank you! :D
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Re: What was your first board

Postby waikikikichan » Mon Apr 20, 2020 11:55 pm

jessicap wrote: I want to get as short of a board as possible.


And why is that ? Does a long(er) board not fit in your elevator, car or on the train ?
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Re: What was your first board

Postby oldmansurfer » Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:42 am

One thing about boards is one size does not fit all. I learned on a 6'10" single fin board with no leash. I don't recommend you try this although it was fine for me back then when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. What is your height and weight and age?
So what is worse.... dying or regretting it for the rest of my life? Obviously I chose not regretting it.
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Re: What was your first board

Postby billie_morini » Wed Apr 22, 2020 5:44 am

Freeline 9-foot long board shaped by John Mel. It remains my favorite board. Never wanted to surf short board.
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Re: What was your first board

Postby jaffa1949 » Thu Apr 23, 2020 10:59 am

Here is a picture of my first board, my father required me to swim a mile before I was allowed to get it. I was aged 9 in1958
It was a 9ft 6 inch Balsa pig board weighed a ton but I could just carry it and often used a rolled towel to carry it on my head.
It was very thick with just round rails and quite a rocker

The Can Opener.jpeg


My Second board was foam also 9'6'' but in the next photo it was undergoing regular downsizing and replacement of fins as the short board revolution took place.

Sixties surf.jpeg


That's me on the right we were introducing a Japanese exchange student to surfing,
Eventually both boards died and I had my first custom board to go to Hawaii in 1969.
I've taken up troll hunting just for fun, instead of a rifle I'll just use a pun! 冲浪爷爷
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Re: What was your first board

Postby dtc » Thu Apr 23, 2020 2:10 pm

is that second photo at Dee Why Point?

Love the buddy holly glasses on the exchange student, and the lack of anything on the board shorts - dont see that anymore today
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Re: What was your first board

Postby jaffa1949 » Thu Apr 23, 2020 2:35 pm

Well spotted, this was taken for the Manly Daily about our exchange student at Manly Boys’ High.
We all got a day off from School and we chose our home break DeeWhy Point as the choice for the shoot.
Fully posed as you would for a newspaper shot!
Wasn’t the best surf but a day off was good1 :lol:
I've taken up troll hunting just for fun, instead of a rifle I'll just use a pun! 冲浪爷爷
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Re: What was your first board

Postby waikikikichan » Fri Apr 24, 2020 10:03 pm

jessicap wrote:What was your first board and did you find it easy to get used to (?)


Shouldn't your question be re-phrased to say " What was your 2nd board you bought after the first board you learned on ?"

"easy get used to (?)" , Hmmm ...........surfing is not easy to get used to, I learn new things every time I go out, even after surfing for 25 years. Waves / Ocean / Nature is not easy to get used to, it is ever changing and you need to constantly adapt.
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Re: What was your first board

Postby jessicap » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:10 am

oldmansurfer wrote:One thing about boards is one size does not fit all. I learned on a 6'10" single fin board with no leash. I don't recommend you try this although it was fine for me back then when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. What is your height and weight and age?


I am 5'4 and 135 pounds
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Re: What was your first board

Postby jessicap » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:12 am

waikikikichan wrote:
jessicap wrote: I want to get as short of a board as possible.


And why is that ? Does a long(er) board not fit in your elevator, car or on the train ?


I have an old jeep and it's very short so it's tough to fit stuff in there when I don't have the roof off. I could look into getting stuff to put it on top of my car but not sure if the soft top of my roof would have an impact
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Re: What was your first board

Postby jessicap » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:22 am

waikikikichan wrote:
jessicap wrote:What was your first board and did you find it easy to get used to (?)


Shouldn't your question be re-phrased to say " What was your 2nd board you bought after the first board you learned on ?"

"easy get used to (?)" , Hmmm ...........surfing is not easy to get used to, I learn new things every time I go out, even after surfing for 25 years. Waves / Ocean / Nature is not easy to get used to, it is ever changing and you need to constantly adapt.


True! I should have asked second board, my bad!

I understand what you mean. I definitely should have rephrased my whole post. I'm basically looking for an "in-between" board. I have been looking into funboards and some people have suggested a longer fish. Any suggestions? I'm still trying to figure this whole surfing thing out :D
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Re: What was your first board

Postby oldmansurfer » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:47 am

my second board was a 7 foot single glassed in fin diamond tail board (no leash) and it was awesome! It was a very fast board helped me to make many waves that I would have struggled to make on my other boards. It had a very high top speed which made me look good unless it was slow tubing waves, then I would outrace the tube. Back then I was still working on learning to go fast and this was the board for me. After another year or so I was much better at slowing down a fast board to get tubed. I loved that board from the first time I used it. I didn't want to get rid of it even when it was falling apart delaminating
So what is worse.... dying or regretting it for the rest of my life? Obviously I chose not regretting it.
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Re: What was your first board

Postby waikikikichan » Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:56 am

jessicap wrote: I have been looking into funboards and some people have suggested a longer fish. Any suggestions? I'm still trying to figure this whole surfing thing out :D


Sadly you are not going to. Neither me, you or anyone else addicted to this thing called surfing ever will.

People change, skills change, breaks change, and flavor of the month change. We are getting away from the last flavor of "eggs" and now back again to "fishes" ( which was en vogue over 10 years ago last time around ).

Plus like finding your favorite pair of shoes, the damn manufacturer replaces it with something "better" or "improved" and it ain't the same.

Stop trying to search for the perfect arrow and work on the skill of the Indian. This 2nd board will not be your last.

( p.s. I am 5'3" and 125 lbs. )
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Re: What was your first board

Postby IB_Surfer » Mon Apr 27, 2020 2:30 am

8'0 Mike Doyle funboard with an adjustable center fin. I used it daily until I buckled it, twice!
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Re: What was your first board

Postby alex_k » Mon Apr 27, 2020 4:57 pm

My first board after a standard costco wavestorm at 8'0" was a mini performance longboard, 8'2", 22", 2 7/8", 57L. I am 5'10", 150 lbs, male, 34, surf in heavier surf in Northern California. This was a huge step forward in performance, both in staying on my feet in more challenging conditions, and responsiveness in turns. A female friend, similar size and weight to you, picked up one with the same dimensions as mine and found it too challenging to paddle at first.

Going from the wavestorm to any hard board will be a big step in performance. Something in the 8 foot range, with plenty of width for stability (22" or more) is a good idea. If you are fit and a strong paddler, you could select something in the 8 foot and 51L range. This is about the weight to volume ratio that I went to going off the wavestorm. If you want a little more paddle help, you could get something a little fuller in the 60L range. Getting to 70L plus puts you firmly in the longboard range of volume, which could be a good thing also. It is worth considering the waves you will surf -- if you are going to longboarding-type waves regularly and aspire to that style of surfing, then you might want to get a 9 or so foot longboard, which comes with that much more paddle power and stability.

There's a nice article on volumes and board sizing here:
https://surfsimply.com/surf-coaching/vo ... s-updated/

Note also that many online board recommendation systems and volume calculators will suggest you go way way too small for beginners or average surfers (hayden shapes for example). I'm not clear why, as most people who are not yet very, very good surfers (regularly linking turns top to bottom, doing snaps, etc) benefit from going larger. The reason for going short is usually to make quick turns, so this advice seems to be for people already good enough to do off the lips and other such moves regularly.

Good luck!
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