First up let me begin by apologizing for the fact my first post is seeking advice, but thats what led me to the forum in the first place. Ive had a good lurk and found out that their is indeed some good advice to be had.

So that out of the way here goes. I started riding a 9'1" handshape by Sam Egan about 14 years ago, it was an allrounder and I really was riding it more like a shorty rather than walking the board and noseriding in trad fashion. About 6 years ago I became self employed with really early mornings and had to give up surfing. I have sold my business and am now retired at 47 old and want to get back into surfing but this time give the traditional longboarding a real go.

My question to the enlightened membership is what board to go for. Im now at around 98kg through lack of exercise and I thought something in the 9'6"range. Ive looked at McT fireball, Walden Magic and even toyed with the idea of a full on noserider ( Their was a Laguna Bay Fliptail on Ebay I thought about) but I am really conflicted because I cant afford and really dont want to have two boards to cart around, more like the idea of having one board and mastering it. Any assistance appreciated.

Welcome Stuk,

For a 1 board lb quiver, you can't go past a McT Fireball. Alternatively lob at your local lb shper and tell him how you surf and what your looking for.

If the $$$ are tight and you want a board to get you going again, I reckon the NSP 9'6 is a decent board for under $1k.

Have fun.

Welcome stuk,love you work mate well done

I'm a tab older than you and still ride my longboard like a shortboard.
As Daneli mentioned the Fireball is a great board and go 9.6 x 23 x 3.
You will be able to surf this size and model both a bit, old and new
mixed up in the one board quiver.

I currently have one for sale,but I'm not pimping it here but its new and
will be a great buy for someone.

Yes stuk welcome aboard, I'm sure the boys here will point you in the right direction, and Mac with point you in the MacT direction.

I'm not so good with the board advice but I do head the intervention committee, just in case it all goes terribly wrong and you start to head off in the wrong direction.

You see, some chaps who return to the boards a lured astray by the handsome devil may care chaps who pilot those cute stand up things whilst fondling those phallic sticks (now isn't that a coincidence, I called them "chaps", which is something there're inclined to wear).

We've done okay so far, only lost a couple like laceys and BB. So if you ever feel the urge to get on one, just ask for help and we'll be there in a jiffy.

Just watch out for the signs, like;
You walk past the man bags in Myers and think "now wouldn't they be handy"
You begin to believe they a beer gut constrained within the confines of a tight wetty is an attractive look.
You start to think "well if I can't get up after a shag on the carpet, how can I get up on a board".
There's a few others that I won't elaborate on because those chaps who wear chaps are starting to know our interventionist tricks.

The intervention itself isn't too painful, a group of us confront you in your house and ask a few questions, we look closely at your body language to see if your crossing your legs a lot, cupping your right hand on your knee and doing a limp wristed gesture towards an old picture of Greg Noll at Wiamea Bay to show how butch you really are, we immediately become suspicious.

Wearing a hat at a jaunty tilt is also considered a dead giveaway 

This is followed by a search of the house, where we look through your music collection, anything by Kylie, Judy Garland,  westlife or Rodgers & Hamerstien is confiscated and burnt.

The search of the shed is the real killer, any hidden sup mags will be found so don't even try to hide them. Any pictures from old gladiator movies are also confiscated. 

Well, that's about it for my advice, hope you enjoy the new board, whatever you decided on, good luck.


Ps , you're right, there is no surf today, but how could you possibly know that?

WOW back to your best obct,oh and stuk McT rule

dialed in, you'll keep

obct....perfect advice, as usual



but then it depends on the surfing you want to do, longboards should always noseride!!!!
Don't be fooled by going to the "only the golden arches will do" there are plenty of Good boards to choose from....

Obct, funny!

Stuk, thanks for the little intro. Basic question is, what should I get as a 1 board quiver?... But it's important to have age, weight, experience info that you've thrown in. Thanks.

Like 62mac, I would also recommend the McT Fireball, 9'6 x 23 x 3. For several reasons - in no particular order;
1) They are hand made in Australia
2) The Fireball is proven all round shape, with loads of research and development
3) The have a great crew in Byron Bay, which includes some of the best glassers in the world.
4) They can do some amazing tint work
5) 9'6 x 23 x 3 is a classic Longboard set of dimensions - a perfect entry point, and suits your weight
5) They perform well when ridden off the tail, for higher performance
6) You can choose to cruise on a Fireball, and give drawn out turns, and older school turns.
7) They have great nose area, and Bob McTavish and the boys have designed this board with nose riding in mind, even though they have other models that are designed as "fair dinkum" nose riders.... but in truth, you need to be very skillful (and perhaps light) to really be a good nose rider... there's nothing wrong with a cheater five anyway!
8) They can handle a wide range of conditions, including shin high, through to being comfortable in many locations when it is double overhead, especially on big point breaks. Bob McT loves point breaks, even though he likes surfing remote uncrowded beachies.

Verses say a Walden Magic.... every other guy seems to have bought one of these cheap.... I understand these are made in Asia.... They come up with a design, and paint arranagement, and say, "OK then, lets make 2,000 of these all the exact same".

McTavish can replicate boards, but it's a bit the old "cabbage patch kids" dolls. They are all a little bit different.... 1/4" inch here, different colours there, different pin line colour, different logo style or logo arrangement... they are all different....

When you ride or order a McTavish, you are riding something that is unique in some way shape or form. You'll also get fantastic resale value, if you decided to change boards, or drop down 2 inches, drop to a 9'1, etc.

Here's a funny comment for the day... Bob McT likes Subaru's because he's not exceptionally tall, like Subaru's, and he can easily manage to load his boards on the roof!

Try to stay away from the McT boards with "type font board dimensions". These are the GSI versions from Asia. The boards with "hand written pencil dimensions" are the Byron Bay ones. In Aus, I would say roughly 90% have come from Byron Bay. But over time that will dilute to say 80%. In some foreign countries, maybe 90% of the McT's will be the Asian ones.

^^^^^ You are related to the late (great) Peter Brock aren't you???? that's about as close to perfection as I've seen cheers

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BulldogPup said...

^^^^^ You are related to the late (great) Peter Brock aren't you???? that's about as close to perfection as I've seen cheers

That reminds me of the time my mate from woopi was competing in a Golf ProAm up at Yamba.

He hit one into the trees and the pro said "That's a Peter Brock". My Mate said "what's a Peter Brock?"

The Pro said "Dead behind a tree!"

Select to expand quote

Simondo said...

Obct, funny!

Stuk, thanks for the little intro. Basic question is, what should I get as a 1 board quiver?... But it's important to have age, weight, experience info that you've thrown in. Thanks.

Like 62mac, I would also recommend the McT Fireball, 9'6 x 23 x 3. For several reasons - in no particular order;
1) They are hand made in Australia
2) The Fireball is proven all round shape, with loads of research and development
3) The have a great crew in Byron Bay, which includes some of the best glassers in the world.
4) They can do some amazing tint work
5) 9'6 x 23 x 3 is a classic Longboard set of dimensions - a perfect entry point, and suits your weight
5) They perform well when ridden off the tail, for higher performance
6) You can choose to cruise on a Fireball, and give drawn out turns, and older school turns.
7) They have great nose area, and Bob McTavish and the boys have designed this board with nose riding in mind, even though they have other models that are designed as "fair dinkum" nose riders.... but in truth, you need to be very skillful (and perhaps light) to really be a good nose rider... there's nothing wrong with a cheater five anyway!
8) They can handle a wide range of conditions, including shin high, through to being comfortable in many locations when it is double overhead, especially on big point breaks. Bob McT loves point breaks, even though he likes surfing remote uncrowded beachies.

Verses say a Walden Magic.... every other guy seems to have bought one of these cheap.... I understand these are made in Asia.... They come up with a design, and paint arranagement, and say, "OK then, lets make 2,000 of these all the exact same".

McTavish can replicate boards, but it's a bit the old "cabbage patch kids" dolls. They are all a little bit different.... 1/4" inch here, different colours there, different pin line colour, different logo style or logo arrangement... they are all different....

When you ride or order a McTavish, you are riding something that is unique in some way shape or form. You'll also get fantastic resale value, if you decided to change boards, or drop down 2 inches, drop to a 9'1, etc.

Here's a funny comment for the day... Bob McT likes Subaru's because he's not exceptionally tall, like Subaru's, and he can easily manage to load his boards on the roof!

Try to stay away from the McT boards with "type font board dimensions". These are the GSI versions from Asia. The boards with "hand written pencil dimensions" are the Byron Bay ones. In Aus, I would say roughly 90% have come from Byron Bay. But over time that will dilute to say 80%. In some foreign countries, maybe 90% of the McT's will be the Asian ones.

WOW NOW YOUR TALKING

Mac, did you like the McTavish Cabbage Patch Kids reference! True though isn't it !! They're all just a little bit different.

GSI / Global Surf Industries have been having some durability issues with many of their boards, including some of their McTavish models. It's important to remember that these are technically GSI boards, and any issues with these boards need to be taken up with GSI, and not McTavish in Byron Bay. GSI made it, not McTavish.


The real deal;
http://www.mctavish.com.au/surfboard/fireball-evolution


The almost real deal, still quite OK especially if budget conscience.
www.surfindustries.com/surfboards/mctavish_fireball.php
http://www.mctavish.com.au/surfboard/fireball-evolution-slx-epoxy

Tuflite
www.mctavish.com.au/surfboard/fireball-tuflite

Mate I dont often see too many boards that take my breath away and today Greg's ripped my heart out,I've seen a million boards and this thing was FULLY SICK BRO

Stuk,
Even the McTavish Fireball EvoII is worth considering. It actually nose rides OK, and you can either choose to ride it like a shortie, or you can choose to ride it old school...


Redline Pintail is also a good one... Slightly more traditional, but with modern shaper rails in the tail.
http://www.mctavish.com.au/surfboard/redline-pintail

Welcome Stuk

Lots of great advice has already been offered so I will not try and confuse anymore except to say that volume is your friend in my opinion - especially as you are getting back into it. The person having the most fun is the one catching the most waves (as long as its not at The Alley or / and you are stealing off others or not waiting your turn ) so if you can paddle and catch waves easily you will be living your dream sooner and can trade down in size at a later date. I reckon if it comes down to a choice between two take the board with more volume unless you are choosing between 2 twelve footers!

Saltwater will love you for it - great wave that one!!!!

Yes, volume is your friend.

And 9'6 x 23" gives you plenty area to get going. And 3" thick is about bang on the volume you are looking for.

^^ Do you like red ones? !

ride the biggest best hadnling board you can find...and enjoy it

i was also told to get a fireball when heading into the mal world...also was recommended the takayama in the pink and beachbreak and dt2. they must be great and i wish i could own them all

but we were lucky enough to get a brownie or 2 from torqay and they are amazing...simondo posted his number recently...call him you wont be disappointed we have 2 and are just ....

j

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Simondo said...

Yes, volume is your friend.

And 9'6 x 23" gives you plenty area to get going. And 3" thick is about bang on the volume you are looking for.

^^ Do you like red ones? !

like this up for grabs

Lovely Brownie's ^^

The number...

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62mac said...

Simondo said...

Obct, funny!

Stuk, thanks for the little intro. Basic question is, what should I get as a 1 board quiver?... But it's important to have age, weight, experience info that you've thrown in. Thanks.

Like 62mac, I would also recommend the McT Fireball, 9'6 x 23 x 3. For several reasons - in no particular order;
1) They are hand made in Australia
2) The Fireball is proven all round shape, with loads of research and development
3) The have a great crew in Byron Bay, which includes some of the best glassers in the world.
4) They can do some amazing tint work
5) 9'6 x 23 x 3 is a classic Longboard set of dimensions - a perfect entry point, and suits your weight
5) They perform well when ridden off the tail, for higher performance
6) You can choose to cruise on a Fireball, and give drawn out turns, and older school turns.
7) They have great nose area, and Bob McTavish and the boys have designed this board with nose riding in mind, even though they have other models that are designed as "fair dinkum" nose riders.... but in truth, you need to be very skillful (and perhaps light) to really be a good nose rider... there's nothing wrong with a cheater five anyway!
8) They can handle a wide range of conditions, including shin high, through to being comfortable in many locations when it is double overhead, especially on big point breaks. Bob McT loves point breaks, even though he likes surfing remote uncrowded beachies.

Verses say a Walden Magic.... every other guy seems to have bought one of these cheap.... I understand these are made in Asia.... They come up with a design, and paint arranagement, and say, "OK then, lets make 2,000 of these all the exact same".

McTavish can replicate boards, but it's a bit the old "cabbage patch kids" dolls. They are all a little bit different.... 1/4" inch here, different colours there, different pin line colour, different logo style or logo arrangement... they are all different....

When you ride or order a McTavish, you are riding something that is unique in some way shape or form. You'll also get fantastic resale value, if you decided to change boards, or drop down 2 inches, drop to a 9'1, etc.

Here's a funny comment for the day... Bob McT likes Subaru's because he's not exceptionally tall, like Subaru's, and he can easily manage to load his boards on the roof!

Try to stay away from the McT boards with "type font board dimensions". These are the GSI versions from Asia. The boards with "hand written pencil dimensions" are the Byron Bay ones. In Aus, I would say roughly 90% have come from Byron Bay. But over time that will dilute to say 80%. In some foreign countries, maybe 90% of the McT's will be the Asian ones.

WOW NOW YOUR TALKING

alright, just which one of you two is the seabreeze mct rep

www.zaksurfboards.com

Greg Brown interview...
Favorite Wave - Brewer Shirks. I'm from around here, never heard of it. Maybe be means Brewer Shirts, as a Pseudonym for the waves known as Boobs.... I will ask around.

^^ Lacey, it's 62Mac.

Whoa thanks guys four hours in and a heap of help, really appreciate it. Had a big electrical storm here so had the puter closed down for a while.

obct - has it ever occurred to you that the SUP guys resemble the roadworks lolly pop men with there sticks, just a random thought.

Didnt mention it before but I was emailing with Ben Harper from McT and he recommended 9'6"x23x31/4 in the Fireball and going with another comment about volume being my friend I think I might lean that way.

It must be hard for the "local" shaper to compete but the McT's are just like McDonalds, in that you know what you are getting with no nasty surprises.

And your second board will be a Fireball EvoII 9'2 x 22"3/4 x 3.

Stuk, get a tint, maybe like the blue one above... And post the photos here !!

And, don't dare come back here and tell us how good your new board is, "without attaching the photos"!

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Simondo said...
And, don't dare come back here and tell us how good your new board is, "without attaching the photos"!

Thats a golden rule that one.

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Simondo said...

And your second board will be a Fireball EvoII 9'2 x 22"3/4 x 3.

well said bang on the money

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obct - has it ever occurred to you that the SUP guys resemble the roadworks lolly pop men with there sticks, just a random thought.

Yes, I can see the resemblance, unfortunately that's probably where the comparison might end.

You see, lollypop men have a long and proud history dating back many years.

Obct, on fire mate.

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Ted the Kiwi said...

Simondo said...
And, don't dare come back here and tell us how good your new board is, "without attaching the photos"!

Thats a golden rule that one.

Yep done thanks for the input