Suggestions for newbie mal rider

[sandfly]

Hi Guys
Have always ridden short boards up til now, but after watching some guys down at my local over summer having fun on their mals thought I might jump in and get one.

What I am after is something for those 1-3’ days where I can learn to cross step and get up on the nose, ie do something new and have some fun.

I am 5’7” and about 65kg any suggestions on dimensions, shapers, models would be welcome as my knowledge on mals is zero.

I live on the northern beaches so any suggestions in this neck of the woods would be great.

Had a look in Sugarmill at Narrabeen at some Thomas Bexon’s boards that look great, does anyone have any experience with his boards?

[alakaboo]

Main advice, don't go too long. I'm 6' and 72kgs, I prefer mals that are no more than 9'1", 8'6" is my magic length but not many people do good sub-9 foot mals.

2+1 is more user friendly than a traditional single, as you progress you can take out the sidebites.
Welcome to a world of new fin shapes and positions!

No advice on local shapers, sorry.

[Morgan The Moon]

I've heard good things about Bexons boards....since you're on the northern beaches check out Sean Wilde's stuff http://wildeshapes.blogspot.com/ - often has a good deal on second hand boards.

[carvin marvin]

Isnt it offensive that the majority of mals are 9'1'' just to comply with the contest standard of mals needing to be over 9'.
And 99.9% of surfers don't compete in contests.
Whereas the reality is, the right amount of bouyancy relative to a surfers weight.
A 9'1'' by 23'' by 3 1/2'' thick with a rolled deck (about 15mm) with an 8'' rocker, 4 1/4'' nose lift and 3 3/4'' tail lift is the right amount of foam to suit a surfer around 100kgs.

So scaled down to your weight, dimensions would be 8'-8' 6'' long, 20''- 21'' wide, thickness 2 3/4''- 3''.

I'm a big fan of convex bottoms, my Micheal Cundith mal has 5mm of convex with double concave in the tail ( shaped into the convex) and the front half blends from convex into flat into concave under the nose.

[WANDERER]

yep, pretty much what everyone else has said, for you size and weight there's no need for anything longer than the minimum 9-0, you could go shorter but realistically finding a traditional shape under 9-0 is gonna be tough (unless you go custom).
Personally I'd stick with the single fin. Seeing as you'll be completely new to cross stepping and noseriding I'd suggest a wide-ish square tail, nice wide platform up front with a wide round nose and a wee bit of weight will help to keep the board steady for you a you find your feet.
In regards to Sean Wilde, he does an awesome board, however he is a very busy and sought after fellow and can take a seemingly long time to get customs finished and delivered, if he has something that fits the bill ready to go then you could do a lot worse. What to avoid; excessive rocker, gigantic nose concaves (not the best style to learn on as you really need to have a developed sense of trim and speed in conjunction with pretty good wave reading), fat thick rails around the nose (can't explain why but it just doesn't work) hard perfomance style rails on the tail - the whole point of a noserider is that the water rolls up over the rails and deck of the board, high performance longboards can 'noseride' but then so can a barn door.

Hope this helps - do your research and maybe hit up some folks at the beach who know what they're doing, sadly some surf shop salesman are pretty clueless and will sell you which ever pig has gathered the most dust!

[Beanpole]

If you are a competent shortboarder with your weight you can go pretty old school at 9ft and you will easily be able to nose ride it. If you are less experienced you can get pretty hung up by a lot of the current log designs since the low rocker, pivot fin type set up really needs a long pealing face to show their grace. God knows theres a large number of classic nose riders pearling at a city beach near you on any given day.

Get a knee strap if you want to cross step and please don't go out strapless in crowded city surf.

[sandfly]

Guys, thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

I will go and check out Sean Wilde's shop at Mona Vale this weekend.

[Trev]

If you have 528 Large you could treat yourself to one of Roy's behemoth carvings. At 17ft long you can nose ride, cross step, relocate the house, create a bridge over the tasman. The opportunities are endless

Ha!
Sandfly's probably wondering what you're on.

[marcus_h]

I can vouch for Tom's boards. I reckon my next log will be from him. He's an unreal surfer and definitely knows what's required for a board to go well on the nose

[otway1949]

I can vouch for Tom's boards. I reckon my next log will be from him. He's an unreal surfer and definitely knows what's required for a board to go well on the nose

As Roy would say "that's not a log! THIS IS A LOG"

[Chillin]

as he looks into the bowl...