The first board you owned

[2nd Reef]

Got the idea after Patske was asking for some advice on a board his old man gave him to learn on.

What was your first board like? Was it a beaten up 8' single fin you found at the tip but surfed every day till it sunk? Or was your first shooter a brand new Channel Islands KS Pro model you unwrapped under the tree one Christmas?

Me? Mine was a red, blue and white Emerald square-tail thruster bought from the kid over the back fence in 1983. Had it for a year then sold it on to the kid down the street. From memory it was fat and wide and looked like a big-wave kneelo. Give my left nut to have it now tho'.

[Shaunm]

Hot grommet style tri fin foamie, left the moulded fins in a reef near Yallingup in 1974

[Chrisp]

I've still got me 1st board, and rode it today actually, it was given to me by a mate, it's a 701 (shaper Wayne Cleggett) its 6'2x181/2 FCS fins round tail, goes great.
It's been snapped on the nose and was shaped in around 2000 (my mate took it to indo after the HSC in 2000)

[bc]

A 6'3" Channel Islands Al Merrick / Doug Bell thruster bought from cash converters for $125 the week I arrived in Sydney in '95

I kept it under the couch in the backpacker place I lived at in the Cross - paying $45 a week rent.

One of the legs of the couch was punched through the board, and the tail was worn out by resting it on the bitumen while waiting for the bus to Bondi. The centre fin was snapped by a friend falling on it from a brutal shorebreak -left him with a mighty bruise, and the nose broke off when i walked it into a ceiling fan.

I still have it - cleaned up the brutal ding repairs a year ago, its the board I give to clueless friends who want a paddle.

[bookster]

First board was a Bennett 5'10 twin fin, purchased circa 86. Was certainly an "interesting" board to learn on, and taking off out at the pass (as I was lucky enough to have that as my home break at the time) was a good way to learn how to get to your feet quickly...

[sean--]

A Peter Ryan ( Brookvale ) early 70s single fin my uncle gave with half the deck delaminated and brown as shit. Ended up ripping out the fin and sliding down grass emankments on it after I got a coolite.

[grazza]

My first was a very strange board I brought for $2 off this bloke who worked with my dad. It was an old mal that had been reshaped and reglassed into a shortboard (this is 1971). Sort of deep eggplant colour, about 6', extreme rolled bottom and flat deck, single fin of course, very wide at the nose and sort of spear shaped, with the wide point way up from the centre. I had no idea and was very stoked to have my own fibreglass board, but in all my years in the water since I have yet to see a board that is close to being as crap as this one was. Truly awful. I was heartbroken when it snapped in the shorey, but.

[Poorboy]

Believe it or not my dad let me trade in his old surf ski at the local surf shop near home for a 7ft Nev with the old fluro 80's style logo I wish I still had it just for memories sake.
Cheers and Merry Xmas
Poorboy

[Squidlips]

oh my god!! a 6' 2" twin fin fibreglass pop out nicknamed satan !!!

the tail was sofat and the fins so small that it would spin on bottom turns!!

first proper board was a 7' Nev Thruster, man it was a good board.

[Larry]

One Gordon Woods 9' double-ended bleached balsa single stringer delivered by Woodsy himself - he came all the way over to Bondi.

[ric_vidal]

Early ‘80s, brand new McGrigor - $97 if my memory serves me correctly.

First day I went to ride it a mate accidently let go of an occy strap while getting it off the car - schmacccckkkk - hole in the bottom. I could have cried, hang on, maybe I did

[tootr]

first board a 6'2" copy of an MR twin shaped by Al Bean. sounds like a funny board to learn on, but i was only 5' at the time so relatively speaking it was OK. wish i still had it!

then went to a 5'10" morning star single round pin shaped by the legendary Col Smith, wish i still had it!

this was all in the "BT" era (before thrusters)