I need help choosing a board for small waves=BEGINNER*

[jerseyboarder00]

from like ebay or something?


i dont know like a lot about surfing stuff.. like i wouldn't know what size to get me or like what brands are good..

so i cant just like go to ebay and be like.. oh this board is good.. cuz i have like no idea



Edit: like aren't some boards made of fiberglass and others are made from different things?

[jerseyboarder00]

how much harder is it to turn and cutback and stuff on a funboard than on a shortboard?

[Surfing-Innovation]

JB - may I offer some advice again?? Look at all the previous incarnations of this type of post, ask down at your local surf shop, or generally look around the internet.

You ask 'how much harder it is' to do this that or the other - it all depends.......

Pros can duck dive a longboard, a novice will struggle to duck dive the shortest shortboard. I've seen people throw longboards around better than others can manouvre a shortboard.

I admire your enthusiasm, really I do, but the title says it all - you're a beginner wanting to surf small waves. A shortboard is not the ideal choice for either of those two scenarios....as has already been pointed out.

Buy a second hand mini-mal, preferably a pop-out like a Bic so you don't trash it as easily, learn the basics, have some fun and then see where you go from there.....

Alternatively, buy a custom shortboard, get frustrated, give up and move onto something else.........

[jerseyboarder00]

a mini mal or a funboard?

and what like material? fiberglass, etc

[paulS]

Buy a second hand mini-mal, preferably a pop-out like a Bic so you don't trash it as easily, learn the basics, have some fun and then see where you go from there......

Take that advice and here's some more....

http://www.surfing-waves.com/beginner_surfboard.htm

[Jimi]

Just to add a little of info, regarding turning on a short board vs a funboard...

Don't even worry about turning yet. I know you want to, and I guess you can turn onto the face on your borrowed longboard, but carves etc aren't even worth considering if the waves are small.

Really good surfers can generate their own speed in small waves, and it looks easy, but trust me, it isn't.

As a beginner, you'd be best off with a bigger board, and I'm talking in the +7ft ballpark. As you get better, like after 3 months or so, you'll be able to turn a funboard (and as you learn more wave-awareness you'll get to cutbacks). If you're desperate for a short board-like ride, get something around 7'4-7'6 with thin rails and a flat tail. Up around the 8ft size starts feeling like a longboard, but it'll still turn surprisingly sharply, especially if you put your weight on your back foot.

A short board won't let you ride small surf at all.

[Driftingalong]

Were in NJ are you?

I would suggest going to a few surf shops and asking about used boards for beginners.

If you're looking to be shortboarder I would suggest going with something around 7'4" to 7'8", fairly wide (maybe around 21"+), with a rounder type nose and a thruster or 2+1 fin set-up.


Oh yeah, and if you think it's always small and mushy, then go and check the surf today!

[jerseyboarder00]

im probably going to my local store next weekend


pretty sure im gonna go funboard.. but im gonna see what the guy says first.


thanks everyone


and im located in lavallette, nj

[Ol' DZ]

hey J-B, if you wouldn't happen to be looking for a surf buddy as well, would ya? I mean, assuming you're not like a 16 year old girl or anything cuz then I'd feel kind of creepy and wrong about it. I pretty much always surf alone at Belmar so I could use a buddy. I'm not that good so I always feel funny about trying to make friends with the guys who tear it up down there. Warning- you'd have to not care about walking around with a guy who looks like an @sshole carrying a board that's almost 4 feet taller than him though, cuz I use a 9'6

Oh and my 2 cents as to boards: summer waves here are not going to be well-suited to a shortboard, and if they are (like if there's a tropical storm off the coast) then you, as a beginner, probably won't be able to do anything with them. I could be wrong there because you might pick it up quick. Still, your best bet is to go with something used but not damaged that is at least a foot longer than you are tall, about 22 inches wide and 3 inches thick (ie, funshape). You need something with a lot of foam to start out with because you need the stability and buoyancy to make it that much easier to get used to paddling, going from laying to sitting and vice versa, catching waves, etc. You'll want to be able to get into waves easily so you can boost your learning curve. If it's a big job to catch waves you'll learn a lot slower and probably get a lot more discouraged. But I've only been doing it for like 7 months so I could be wrong.

[jerseyboarder00]

idk about the surf buddy cuz im a fourteen year old boy

[Ol' DZ]

ok never mind then

[waytogofranko]

hey i used to surf a little bit with my friends longboard in new jersey.. you know nj has small waves. but i want my own, and i dont want a longboard becuase its so hard to duck dive..

i have around 500 dollars to spend on one, if i need to spend that much..

maybe the longest shortboard? 6 feet 8 inches right?

im 5 10 and weigh 135...


any suggestions?

DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT buy any shortboard shaped board. it doesn't matter if its 6'8. it will still surf like any other shortboard. that is not what you want.

get a funboard/longboard shaped board- basically anything thing and wide with a FULL round nose, not pointy<- that is one of the most important things. also make sure you get a usedboard, because you will ding it beyond all comprehension and you're going to want to progress to a shortboard eventually right? so i wouldn't go after a new board

anyways take it from me, i learned the hard way. learning on a shortboard is not fun at all. i ended up buying a longboard and never learned anything on the shortboard. - that was 3 yrs ago i shortboard now. take it from someone with experience

[jjchen330ci]

hey J-B, if you wouldn't happen to be looking for a surf buddy as well, would ya? I mean, assuming you're not like a 16 year old girl or anything cuz then I'd feel kind of creepy and wrong about it. I pretty much always surf alone at Belmar so I could use a buddy. I'm not that good so I always feel funny about trying to make friends with the guys who tear it up down there. Warning- you'd have to not care about walking around with a guy who looks like an @sshole carrying a board that's almost 4 feet taller than him though, cuz I use a 9'6

Oh and my 2 cents as to boards: summer waves here are not going to be well-suited to a shortboard, and if they are (like if there's a tropical storm off the coast) then you, as a beginner, probably won't be able to do anything with them. I could be wrong there because you might pick it up quick. Still, your best bet is to go with something used but not damaged that is at least a foot longer than you are tall, about 22 inches wide and 3 inches thick (ie, funshape). You need something with a lot of foam to start out with because you need the stability and buoyancy to make it that much easier to get used to paddling, going from laying to sitting and vice versa, catching waves, etc. You'll want to be able to get into waves easily so you can boost your learning curve. If it's a big job to catch waves you'll learn a lot slower and probably get a lot more discouraged. But I've only been doing it for like 7 months so I could be wrong.

Hi Ol' DZ,

I am beginner as well, I am starting to surf down at Belmar NJ 4 weeks ago. I have two lessons and able to pop up without the problem on the 8'. I need to work on padding and looking for wave on my own. I am looking for surfing body. I totally understand what you mean, I am so new at surfing that I don't even know how to start a conversation with other surfer.

I am planing to be down at Belmar every Sat & Sun morning. the only reason I got 7'6" fun board is because it is the only size that fit in my god damn little civic.

let me know

thanks

[drowningbitbybit]

I am looking for surfing body.

What an enticing offer...

[Johnny B]

I know nothing about the surf in NJ, but if the waves are small trying to surf a shortboard, especially without experience, would be folly.

I don't know why you're worried about being able to duckdive since if the waves are small you shouldn't need to. Turtle rolling should be an adequate method to get bast broken waves.

As for looking like an ass, well, I personally think longboards are cool, especially when surfed well. I'd love a longboard, but since I have to get on a busy train to my local spot with my board I had no hoice but to get summat smaller.

Oh, and I reckon if it's small most the time a shortboard would frustrate the hell out of you. I ride a fish which a super wave catcher and still wish I had a longboard on those small days.

THis is just my opinion anyway (maybe not that reliable since I ain't been surfing that long )

...J...