Surf Doctor : Lesson One, Choosing your first board.

Choosing your first board as a beginner can be an exciting and daunting thing!! It's easy to get lost in the jargon that is surf talk, swept away by the media hype and exposure of cool brands and their new uber cool way of making you surf better.

My hope is to help steer you in the right direction to purchasing your first plank that will help you catch more waves and progress quickly so you can impress all your pals. The key to progression is catching as many waves as possible and be on a board that is stable to stand on for a good ride.

I've worked as a surf instructor for a number of years and the most common mistake we see is students wanting to get on a shortboard as soon as possible. After a couple of weeks spent on a foamboard (beginner surfboard made of foam, which floats incredibly well, catches the smallest of waves and doesn't hurt so much when you get hit by one!!), the first question is 'can I now surf a shortboard?'.

Now before that question even comes up, we ask our students a specific question. Which picture below most inspired them to become a surfer and which kind of surfer did they see themselves becoming in the future?

95% point to the barrelled surfer and when asked if they've ever seen longboard surfing like in the second picture, most sadly admit they haven't!! Now it's not entirely surprising, it's largely thanks to the media exposure of shortboarding and crazy barrel shots that inspire those to take up surfing.

Now have a look at these 2 flicks.

… it's amazing how quickly people's impression of surfing changes when they see the reality of the barrelling waves and then the playfulness of the longboarding styles. The 95% are then converted and see the reality of how to enjoy their one week a year surf holiday.

Firstly, if you've never surfed before, before you buy a board, I recommend you get yourself some lessons to point you in the right direction... I think James @surfbunker knows a good spot where he surfs, he'll also be very happy to explain the rules of surfing!!! Then check out a few shops and pick up a few surfboards to get a feel for them.

So..choosing you first board....

To keep it simple, here are 2 main points to consider:

1. Board design and construction

2. Surf dimensions = Volume

Board design is very important and there are literally thousands of different designs on the market and it's constantly evolving. I want to keep this blog fairly short, so will keep it simple, if you really want to geek out on board design, check out this book:

Board Design and Construction

You want a surfboard design that will paddle into waves easily and float well. You also want a board that isn't fragile and can take a few knocks.

At the early stages you want a board design that will help float your bodyweight above the water and has as less drag as possible. The first design aspect you want to look at is 'nose rocker' and simply put, you don't want much of this!!! You want what is known as a 'flatter nose rocker'...this will help you skim across the water and it'll be easier to catch waves. Imagine a banana shape, this is considered as a a 'big rocker'...that will drag and slow you down when paddling. Now flatten out the banana curve and you have a board that will skim over the water. Most longboards, mini malibus and modern fun boards have fairly 'flat nose rockers'. So when you lay the surfboard on the floor, the nose of the board shouldn't curl up off the floor too much.

The second design aspect is the shape of the nose. To keep it simple, you want to aim for something that is rounded and wide which will help float the nose of your board. This will help you to catch more waves.

As for construction, avoid the classic fibreglass construction and aim for the more plastic type boards, which are made from epoxy and are not as fragile. These boards will last longer and actually float better.

Surf dimensions = Volume

Then look at the dimensions of the board. This will be the length, width and thickness of the board, which will give you the volume of the board... basically the higher the volume, the more the board will float. It's best to aim for slightly too much volume vs not enough, and all this will depend on your actual body weight.

Here is a good link to help determine what volume best suits your needs:

http://www.rustysurfboards.com/volume-calculator/

Short and skinny boards will not have much volume and don't float so well, meaning your body is not floating above the water, but dragging in the water when you paddle for waves and will sink if you don't generate speed well. If you don't surf very often and your fitness level isn't accustomed to surfing, you'll simply not catch as many waves and feel really unstable when you do get to your feet. Aim for a longer board that has a width of 21 inches or more.

Think of trying to stand on a broom stick in a swimming pool, it'll be impossible. Now change the pole for a big tree log. That will make it a little easier. Now strap 3 big tree logs together. That gets a lot more stable to stand on and floats really well. The same goes for a surfboard: if you have a short and skinny board, it'll feel like trying to stand on a toothpick!!!

For your first board, aim for a board known as a mini mal or a longboard. The mini malibu boards have a pinch of both longboard and shortboard characteristics, the best of both worlds.

Don't fall for the sales talk and avoid buying a gun, a shortboard, a fish or a retro single fin... we see this happen quite often! It happened to me 15 years ago!! I started surfing with a mini malibu made of plastic. I surfed it for 2 months and went to a shop in Spain, did a trade and walked out with the a gun (designed for really big waves only!!!)... I had no chance surfing this thing and had to go back and change it for something more suited for my level.

Hopefully theses pointers will... point you in the right direction!! I think things have changed since my experience back in the day, so be sure to go down to your local surf shop and they'll be happy to help out.

May you all be blessed with squeaky clean waves and offshore winds.