I am a bodyboarder...

[infectious]

and I have decided to come to your side. Its not the bodyboarding that has me jaded, but the general type of person who does it... I don't need to be associated with them. Besides, with my 25th approaching, I think I'm ready to play with the big boys... The only problem is that I haven't got a clue what I need or what I am doing... I picked up a board in the last hard rubbish clean up, red sun designs or something, probably around the 6 foot mark, three fins... thruster?

What I want to know is how i should remove the wax from the board, and how i should put more on... Is the board right for me? I'm about 6'3 and 78kgs, kind of gangly, but fit...

I was also wondering if anyone on the northern beaches would like to take a reformed bodyboarder under their wing and possibly give him a bit of coaching when its small, just untill i get my siht together?

what else do I need to know or should I be doing?

Appreciated.

[Cpt.Caveman]

Mate, this is my opinion based on how I taught myself to surf. Other people may have a different opinion.

On the board: Get yourself a larger and wider board to learn on to start with. Something like an 8ft mini-mal type board will be perfect, but a smaller board thats termed a "mini-mal" would suit okay as well. This is mainly because its very stable and easy to catch waves on.

Most shortboards around the 6ft mark are very twitchy and require a lot better timing of the pop-up to your feet. They also don't paddle quite as well, and you want to be catching as many waves as possible in a single surf to get good practice.

On learning: Just keep practicing trying to stand up to your feet in one go. Catch as many waves as possible and if you only get up once in 3 hours then thats fine. Keep trying and keep practicing until you get better at this so that as soon as you have it nailed, all you have to worry about is keeping your balance.

I watch a lot of people learn to surf, and they get into the habit of getting up onto one knee and one foot first, all the while with the hands on the rails for balance. When the final foot is up it has taken quite a few too many seconds to get to your feet. In this time you're off balance and the board is rocking around in the white-wash, making it even harder to keep your balance.

If you had of popped up to your feet in one go, you would have missed that long laborious and wobbly process of staggering up to both feet, and you'll probably be making a lot more take-offs. Getting that quick pop-up to your feet will mean that you're then ready to enjoy the best part - surfing the wave on your feet

Other people may have a different opinion, but thats how I taught myself at the start and I got up and riding really quickly once I got the pop-up mastered.

[Buff_Brad]

I AM A BEAUTIFUL GAY MAN.

Oh shit sorry.....wrong thread.

[The Dan]

need a new pigeon hole do we.......

[daryl]

outdone yourself there, buffles

[marcus]

a guy called me a boooogeyboarder the other day.
walking down the track to the bluff, following my mate carrying his shortboard.
three surfers returning approach the other direction.
gday gday to my mate in front.
then the first one notices me. the look of horror.
like that time at uni that dude found out i had a threesome in his bed.
this guy was pissed off.
he hated me. didnt know me from a bar of soap.
called me a boooogeyboarder.
i said back "shortboarder"
he goes "what did you say?"
i said only stating the obvious mate.
oh he was all ruffled and uptight.
how can it not be like racism?
next time ill carry the shortboard and get my local mate to carry the bodyboard.
the things we put up with to ride a wave and have fun.

anyway good luck on the boards. hope no one eggs your car, lets down your tyres, waxes your windscreen or grumbles and doesnt say gday back to you anymore. real easy being a boogyboarder.

[speedneedle]

Hey infectious,

You're already ahead, just in making the choice to go stand-up. Trust me, even now after all these years, even with boogers claiming space in some of the heaviest waves in the world...honestly, they don't rate as men.

Picture this:- You'll be looking at the surf from the carpark somewhere, thinking you're onto it, all by yourself, and start suiting up when another car approaches. Ah fuck, you think, but then a sense of relief when you see its like Grandmas old Daihatsu Charade...sedan, no boards, no worries.

But then fucken a bunch of adolescent Emo's tumble out like circus clowns and proceed to pull sponges from the boot...

Just to help you see it from the point of view of a ol' timer who learned to stand up on a foamy and fixed his first real-live fibreglass ding at age nine...

Josh
www.joshdowlingshape.com

[Grooter]

From my limited experiences of Sydneys waves I wouldn't go higher than a 7'6" on a mini mal.

Get something like an NSP if you can. They are very strong and will get you standing up pretty quick. They're pretty easy to turn and very stable.

Use one of these for 6 - 12 months then look at getting a custom because by then you'll know what you need out of a board. Plenty of the guys on here really know their sh.it too when it comes to boards and varieties so start asking questions when you're planning on getting a better board - that's what I did anyway.

The fitter and stronger you are in the upper body the faster you'll progress as well so you may want to think about doing some weights during this phase to get more strength in those muscles - unless of course you already do or plan on surfing at least 3 times a week.

Well done on seeing the light

[daryl]

I started on an 8'6 mal, and was strongly advised to go higher. Any shorter makes it take that much longer. No previous on a board of any kind. Maybe a taste as a little tacker lying on a mat.

[RickyG]

I made the transition nearly 15 yrs ago in my early 20s and, like others above, stuffed around on shortboards that I didn't really have a chance on. I eventually traded in a 7'3'' shortboard for an 8' mal and took off from there (I'd intended to go back down to a shortie but got hooked on mals - so watch out )

Assuming you're still boogering you need to keep in mind the upper body strength difference as Hatchman said, so if you don't already I'd start paddling with your arms as much as you can now to start that process. When you get on a standup you'll notice pretty quickly that it's all gotta come from the upper body.

[Buff_Brad]

I AM A BEAUTIFUL GAY MAN!

Shit sorry wrong thread (again).

[ric_vidal]

I AM A BEAUTIFUL GAY MAN.

Don't worry, it's only skin deep.

[Surfin Turf]

6 foot mark, three fins... thruster?

Is the board right for me? I'm about 6'3 and 78kgs...

no it is not ...

I have a board you can buy cheap I don't need anymore .. I normally give my unwanted boards away but this one is in good condition but happy to sell it cheap if you want it ... and if you are serious about riding a short board and not some sort of mal ...

it's 6'6" rounded pin which is a good size for you and it is plenty wide enough to give you good stability and ease of paddling in the early days and has enough volume to float you well which will give the board good momentum also good in your early days ... this will give you the feel of a regular performance board but has some forgivness built in ...

[Davros]

Dont get tricked into going to short by anyone it will suck in the water.

[Surfin Turf]

Dont get tricked into going to short by anyone it will suck in the water.

7'6 or 8ft and thick, hybrid or mini mal. You could even try a decent foamy at first as they are tons of fun for any level

what the ... he is asking for shortboard advice ...

8ft and thick ... he's 25 , not 125 .... :?



infectious ... do you want to ride a short board ... or do you want to just stand up ... I thought by your post that you wanted to ride a performance board ...

[infectious]

Thanks for everyones advice, i always appreciate the infinite wisdom of the people on here... Ultimately I want to ride a short board. Apparently I need to start off on something slightly longer to get the basics right. Probably a good idea if it is that much easier... I'm useless on a skateboard, and imagine I'll face plant alot if i take out the 6'4 or 6'6 i've aquired (not measured it yet)... having said that, the outlay for a mini-mal I hopefully only need for a few months or a year does kind of put me off... how much will starting off on a mid six foot board hinder me?

[Nick Carroll]

Hi Infectious, if you've been bodyboarding with a fair degree of success for a while then you won't be prey to many of the issues which dog a normal stand-up start-up (ie lack of wave knowledge, uncertainty about how to catch a wave, general surf fitness etc). So I reckon if your 6'4" or 6'6" or whatever it is floats you well enough to paddle around and catch waves, it'll be fine.

Think a lot of the crew's advice so far has ignored your prior experience which is why they've largely offered you total newbie tips.

The biggest piece of advice I could offer you is: surf with a group of friends and acquaintances as much as you can. Your instinct about asking for guidance from someone along your normal surfing zone is a good one and points you in the right direction. If you don't have any friends who're surfers (yet) then try to concentrate your efforts on one locale where you can watch and compare and learn. Once you fell confident, join a boardrider's club, surf in the monthly contests and make some friends. I'd like to help you out myself, but it'd cost you a fair bit of money -- but if you see me in the surf somewhere don't be a stranger and I'll have a look and let you know how I think you're going.

[Cpt.Caveman]

A six foot something board is a performance board. It could take you at least a couple of years to even start to be able to surf it with any control or confidence.

I learned on one of the first thrusters. It was a little small, but it was so ridiculously thick and wide that it was extremely stable. I could get away with that, but it was still really hard to keep under control for a good period of time.

A modern 6 foot something board is build to turn sharp and hard while going fast. This are two things you don't want in a learning board, you want stable, steady, easy to stand on.