Learn to Surf Lesson 1 - Choosing The Perfect Surfboard
Rodney Lister
When learning to surf, you will need to practice a few basic steps to help get you on your feet.
1: Find the perfect beginners board
2: Practice how to paddle on your surfboard
3: Learn the art of getting out through the breakers, by duckdiving or rolling
4: Then the fun part, catching the wave
5: And finally how to pop up, or stand up
I would like to cover these steps in a few different articles, so in this article I will start at the beginning, how to choose the perfect surfboard for a beginner. Now unless you got money and time to burn, don't go out and buy the best looking board in the shop, start out with a low quality board you can ding up.
Don't worry you will get there, but first you need to start on a board that floats well, and is easy to paddle. So the bigger the better, and obviously the bigger person you are, the bigger board you will need.
I suggest starting out on a big board first, you will be able to get your balance faster, and then move to a smaller board sooner. Look for something above 6ft 8inches long, 7ft to 8ft is a good starting size. If you intend to ride long boards then you can go much longer look for a Malibu up to around 12 ft.
The larger the board is, the harder it will be to turn, manoeuver, and get out past the breakers. So your first board should not necessairly be oversized, or cost a fortune. Get a cheap 7ft or 8ft board that has a few dings, this will just be to learn on, and once you've mastered the basics you can trade it in. When choosing your first board, dings don't mater, however you don't want the foam showing. If the fibreglass is peeling off, water will get into the foam, and weigh the board down. So don't choose anything too fancy, but make sure its going to float, and can be paddled easily.
Whatever board you buy, remember it should be at least 2-3 inches thick and at least 19-24 inches wide. You don't want a board built for manoeuvrability, tricks and turns, because they are lighter and require more skill to ride. So don't worry about the shape or number of fins.
Next make sure you get a good leg rope. You have to have a legrope, it will save your life. Stay away from big surf untill you get used to your board, and have some experience. The legrope can fling the board back at you in big swells, but you really should not be out there when starting out anyway.
Don't even try risking it with no legrope, or an old one that could snap. You might try to grap your board whenever you fall off, but it will get away from you. Then you have to try and swim in with the waves crashing on you, it takes a lot more energy swimming in the ocean then in a pool.
You may get stuck in a gutter, where you can swim as hard as you like and feel like your getting nowhere, the board could be only meters away and every time you just get within reach, a swell picks it up and pushes it further. Worse yet, you could get taken by a rip right out the back, even the sideways sweep will lead you into rip. This is essential, besides the danger of drowning, it is a real hassle having to swim to shore just to recover your board every time, trust me I've done this several times and it will ruin your session.
You will need a new legrope, this is something you can keep when trading in your surfboard, so it will not be wasted with an old board. Quality is best, but any new rope should be strong enough. Make sure you get a legrope that is long enough to reach you when standing forward on the board. But don't get anything too long, if the rope is too long it can act as a bungy, pulling your board right back at you.
Once you have your big old board, your ready to practice. Read my other articles on how to surf, for the next steps involved. Then grab a mate and head out, its always wise to go with someone else in case you get into trouble.
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