Beginner Longboard

[IRtehnewb]

Would a The McTavish Original Long Board Be good for a beginner just starting? Im about 5'11 and weigh bout 145.

I live in South Florida, if that helps.

[jonny]

No - it would be a terrible 1st longboard.

It is a narrow, thin, high performance very progressive almost competition level longboard. Great for a very experienced longboarder wanting a performace stick or great for an experienced shortboarder wanting to move onto something a bit longer.

Bad for a beginner though - you would find it very very frustrating. Hard to paddle, hard to catch waves, unstable & horrible to surf in smaller waves.

If you are looking specifically for a McTavish (superb boards) as your first board then I would recommend the Fireball. Phenominal board - great to learn on and be easy to paddle in smaller waves but also handles the juice too when you want it too. The best all-rounder out there.

Get a proper one rather than a surftech too.

[A GUY WHO REALLY SURFS]

Here's a real board. Had it shaped a week before Clark shut down. A custom 11'0" Clark Foam Nose Rider w/ Double plug & Tail Block. I'm 6'5" 270 & I can knee paddle w/ ease & catch anything. This board is meant to be walked & turns quite well for it's dimensions.

[palmee]

I will get howled down for this but - you cannot go past a Bic 9ft mal as your first longboard. They are tough as nails, paddle nice, surf great, noseride and are very stable and forgiving. And as you improve you can either sell it or do some fin adjustments and hang onto it. They are a really good investment and are great fun. I ride a Mctavish Razar - a very high performance mal, but I still have a 9ft Bic with a 10inch centre fin (removed side fins) and it rocks. What the bic lacks in lacks in performance it certainly makes up for in fun and strength.
Just my opinion of course!

[farside]

Is that "THE" Palmee of the Longboarder's Need Love To post on the Tracks forum?

Man I love my longboard but there was no way in hell I was paddling into that debate with the shortboard crew.