Board Choice
Posted: Iain, Adventure One, Letterkenny,
Feb 06
 When
you first go to a surf shop to buy a surfboard it can seem quite
a daunting task, especially when presented with a rack of surfboards
of all different shapes and sizes. If you are a complete beginner
to the sport the first question you should ask yourself is: how
much do I want to pay? Well as a beginner most surf schools would
recommend a 鈥榤ini-mal鈥 board which is a board with
a longboard shape (usually fatter and rounder ends) but only 7鈥3鈥
鈥 8 feet in length. As a basic rule of
thumb you should try to get a board that is at least 1-1.5 feet
taller than your own height.
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You generally have three options:
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1. Buy a second
hand board. You could get these from looking in a local trading
paper or online on sites like .
Many surf sites have a buy and sell page. Most surf shops also
carry secondhand boards.
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2. The second option
is the plastic or epoxy moulded plastic board (Bic, NSP, Highfly).
Some surfers call these kinds of boards 鈥榩lastic fantastics鈥
and they are available in all good surf shops and are considerably
cheaper than a hand-made or 鈥榗ustom鈥 board. Plastic
boards usually cost around 拢200 upwards new. They are lightweight
and durable and because of this tend to hold their re-sale value
quite well. The only downside to these boards is that as you become
an intermediate surfer you will outgrow the board as they tend
not to be as responsive in turning as a hand-made board, due to
the rails in the tail section being quite rounded.
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3. The third, and
most expensive option, is a hand-made or custom board tailored
to your exact specification by a surf board maker (or 鈥榮haper鈥).
Although you are initially paying more for the board, people tend
to find that they will hold on especially to their hand-made mini-鈥榤al鈥檚
(ie Malibu, or longer boards) for several years longer as they
come in handy for the small summer swells. Hand-made boards are
more expensive due to the fact that the manufacturing process
is more labour intensive with a board taking approx 3 days to
shape, spray, glass and sand.
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As surfing explodes in popularity in Ireland there has been an
increase in cheaper 鈥榟and made鈥 boards imported from
the Far East. This definitely gives the consumer more choice,
but ask for people鈥檚 opinion on them before you spend your
hard-earned money. It may be worth spending 鈧100 more on
a board that is well made by a recognised shaper.
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For intermediate surfers who want to downsize from a 7鈥3
鈥 8鈥 mini-mal the best way is to opt for a board 6鈥6
- 7鈥 in length, with a shortboard template. This type of
board comes under many names, for example 鈥楩at Boy Flier鈥,
鈥楻etro Rocket鈥 or 鈥楽layer鈥, but essentially
they are very similar in shape. They still have plenty of width
and volume, usually 19 3/4鈥 -21鈥 which is what as
an intermediate you will still need to help you paddle into the
wave, but they respond more critically and will really help develop
your surfing. These boards are also great for the older surfer
who still wants to ride a shortboard but isn鈥檛 getting in
the water enough to be able to ride at the level he/she used to.
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As you progress as a surfer you will begin to understand how
boards work and what types of boards suit what kind of conditions.
This will be where you will want to develop a 鈥榪uiver鈥
of boards that can suit your needs, including the very shortest
skinniest boards, called shortboards. Don鈥檛 make the mistake
of buying a small skinny boards at the very start. At the start,
many surfers buy a board that is far too short, and end up catching
very few waves as a result. Smaller boards are generally harder
to surf. For most people a quiver will include a longboard, a
semi-gun and a shortboard or fish-style board for the smaller
days.
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When you feel you鈥檙e at this stage you will probably want
your boards custom made to your specifications by a shaper. Most
shops can order custom made boards and tend to use the same shaper
each time they place an order, but there are also a number of
shapers around Ireland who make quality boards at great prices.
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Wherever you buy your board from, be it a shop or direct from
a shaper, make sure you ask plenty of questions before you part
with your cash. But most of all, be honest about your ability
and you should end up with the right board. The right board means
one thing - MORE WAVES!!
Iain, Adventure One
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Anything to add? If you would like to contribute and share your
experiences send
us an email.
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