Surfboard for teen.

Seaswimmer

Hi looking for advice. trying to get a board for a 15 year old. He has done some surfing in Fanore/spanish point/delphi with the surf schools and is able to catch waves, stand up, turn ect. He has only ever used the surf school boards (foam??) I want to get him a 2nd hand board to take him to the next level. what would you recommend? He is about 6' tall and weighs 10 stone. We dont want anything too advanced. where would you recommend for 2nd hand boards. we are located in dublin.. Also how would i get him started with a group his own age/standard??

seachto7

I have a 7ft 2 for sale. It's not the best, but would be grand if he wanted t get used to a shorter board before getting a really good one..

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=117909

spaceHopper

Seaswimmer wrote: »

Hi looking for advice. trying to get a board for a 15 year old. He has done some surfing in Fanore/spanish point/delphi with the surf schools and is able to catch waves, stand up, turn ect. He has only ever used the surf school boards (foam??) I want to get him a 2nd hand board to take him to the next level. what would you recommend? He is about 6' tall and weighs 10 stone. We dont want anything too advanced. where would you recommend for 2nd hand boards. we are located in dublin.. Also how would i get him started with a group his own age/standard??

For a beginner they recommend that the board be wide (21 to 22 ½ inches) and at least 18 inches taller than them. He’s tall but light so might get away with a shorter board but something 7’6 to 8 ft would be fine. If you live on the west coast he’ll pick it up quicker as he’ll get out more. A plastic or moulded board would be best to learn on and second had they hold their value. Bic have two board a 7’3 (I’ve always heated it) and a 7’9 which is very popular and will be easy to sell on when he out grows it and moves down to a performance short board or up to a long board.

Another good board would be a Chaper or 7pop put they are made in Kerry by Marcus Wiericks and are sold in Castlegregory. Also NSP Circle one … are all good options

Seaswimmer

Hi all. Thanks for the replies. I spoke to the surf school instructor who said he is ready to get a 6' board as he is gone beyond the beginner stage. so now i am confused. If i stuck to a budget of about €300 what would you recommend. the instructor said to get him a custom board. what does that mean? Are they expensive? Any shops in dublin area you would recommend?

TheBigLebowski

Seems like a big jump to go from a surfschool foamy to a 6' board but I ain't no expert. Was it a long foamy or a short foamy?

spaceHopper

Even if he’s beyond the beginners stage I’d say 6 ft is very short and will probably be narrow and hard to used. Which surf school ?

There are basically 3 kind of surf board Soft Foam used be surf schools, moulded epoxy or plastic boards made mostly beginners and “custom” hand shaped board made from a foam blank that has been shaped bay a crafts man (shaper) and covered in fibreglass cloth soaked in resin. I’m keeping it simple and general here there are thousands of different length shapes and tweaks that can be made.

Custom boards are more delegate and get dings which are generally easy to fix or can be fixed by a shaper / dig doctor. But they perform better.

Moulded epoxy / plastic boards are much stronger, usually bigger and more forgiving, your son will learn quicker and will probably out grow the board by the end of this year but they hold their value and can easily be sold second had, then the money can be used for buying his next board.

The Great outdoors have a surf shop in be basement look for the shot French bloke he should be able to steer you in the right direction.

imaleper

I have a 6'6 that I think would be perfect for your son, bought in biarritz, its a fibreglass with lots of width and volume... Being stored in TCD if you or your son want to have a look you could pm me!

Take a look at the add http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/43/39917343.html

Cecil Mor

Are you sure it was'nt a driving instructor you were talking to? 'Cause he knows fu*k all about surfing!! Under no circumstances get a board shorter then the 7'9" mentioned and I'd even go longer.

Forget any notion of a "custom" board. A true custom board is a board that has been made by a shaper according to the requirements of a customer, their physical details, the particular wave or wave types they want to suit, type of finish required on the board etc etc...

Unless a decent level of skill & experienced has been reached the board will be wasted, that customer would unlikely be able to use the board to anywhere near its potential.
A 2nd hand "custom" board is therefore only worth the extra if the buyer matches the specifics of the surfer whom originally commissioned it. Apart from the possibility of a high quality finish, and this is not necessarily always the case, it's not worth it.
A good option if a new board is desired is to contact some local shapers and give them the specifics directly. They'll all have a number of options to suit. Two of whom I've used are below, a search will turn up a number of others.

Glide Surfboards http://www.glidesurfboards.net/
Waxon Surfboards http://waxonsurfboards.blogspot.com/

And again, beware of many of these monkeys working in boutique Surf Shops. Many are completely unqualified to give advice and often their recommendations tend to veer towards whatever they happen to have in stock.

imaleper

Cecil Mor wrote: »

Are you sure it was'nt a driving instructor you were talking to? 'Cause he knows fu*k all about surfing!! Under no circumstances get a board shorter then the 7'9" mentioned and I'd even go longer.

Thats bull****... I had two surf lessons when I was a kid, then santa brought me a 6'9! Then that was too long for me, and it felt very stiff, so i got a 6'6, now I'm surfing a 6'3!

I'm starting to think that boards.ie surfers are resenting the fact that some people can start off short, and jump straight in the deep end past all the mini mal crap!

Because in essence, its not real surfing is it! For instance, I'd like to see someone get pitted in a bic natural surf, or likewise ride ten! No they r funboards, and only that, they offer no progression into either style or any push in either direction...

fiachy

seachto7 wrote: »

I have a 7ft 2 for sale. It's not the best, but would be grand if he wanted t get used to a shorter board before getting a really good one..

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=117909

Would that board be any good for a beginner? Ive had a few lessons but they were all on foamies.
Im just tryin to move up a step or two ability wise

seachto7

fiachy wrote: »

Would that board be any good for a beginner? Ive had a few lessons but they were all on foamies.
Im just tryin to move up a step or two ability wise

not for a complete beginner, but if you can stand up easily on a foam board, I would think you should be able to get the hang of this one. I'm about 6ft 1, and heavier than you, and I got the hang of it.
But if you still find the foam ones a challenge, mine wouldn't be the best option size wise..

loctite

imaleper wrote: »

Thats bull****... I had two surf lessons when I was a kid, then santa brought me a 6'9! Then that was too long for me, and it felt very stiff, so i got a 6'6, now I'm surfing a 6'3!

I'm starting to think that boards.ie surfers are resenting the fact that some people can start off short, and jump straight in the deep end past all the mini mal crap!

Because in essence, its not real surfing is it! For instance, I'd like to see someone get pitted in a bic natural surf, or likewise ride ten! No they r funboards, and only that, they offer no progression into either style or any push in either direction...

Those that can progress to a SB are the exception to the norm. I think Surf instructors would agree with me on this one. And better safe than sorry. Least if buy big, better chance of selling on 2nd hand or at least there will be a healthier market for a longer board,when they do progress no??

kodute

My €.02..

Brought my 14yo bro out surfing a few weeks ago. He is about 6' and 60kg we'll say, reasonably fit.
Took him out on a 10'2 epoxy longboard, it was too heavy for him to paddle with any speed. Caught no waves.
Gave him my 6'11 short board to try out and he was catching waves and almost standing by the end of the session.

What I took from that is that he would be better off with a board ~7 than a long board ~9'

In the OPs case I'd be very wary of someone advising you to buy an expensive custom board for someone who isn't all that experienced. Standing and turning on a 7/8/9' foamie isn't Kelly Slater level and shouldn't be treated as such.

The punchline... Get a cheap board in the 7' range (bic) see how he does with it. If not sell it and move up.