A female friend of mine texted me last night and is really keen to learn to surf. She will be surfing in Adelaide, she is all of 5'3 and about 45 kgs. Any suggestions?? Is it better to put her on a longboard or could she get away with something smaller as she is really light ?? I havem't really had any experience with girls surfing so I dont know.

IMO, get her a cheap 7.6 foamy with a heap of floatation and tell her that once she learns how to paddle to catch a wave and then stand up, then she can talk about investing in a real board.

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obct said..

IMO, get her a cheap 7.6 foamy with a heap of floatation and tell her that once she leans how to paddle to catch a wave and then stand up, then she can talk about investing in a real board with some nice art work

Fixed it for ya OB

Sound advice from ob.

Be careful of the advice given,I've purchased 4 and none of them work.

So basically you guys would stter away from a 9 foot longboard to learn on as she wont need that much float. A 7'6- 8'0 will do the job for her. I think she will do ok, shes fit and athletic.

Mate I have a girl that works for me who wants to sell a custom mctavish 8 foot shaped by Bob,its stunning used twice.

and yes you must own a mct before you work for me,its the second question I ask at interview,first is do you surf

I doubt she will want to spend what that girl probably wants seeing as she has never surfed. Was thinking of trying to find a used NSP or something cheap. What model is it Mac??

girls model

My thought it this;
- if she serious, and really wants to surf... Then go for a small 9 footer. Like 9 x 22 x 2"3/4, with fine rails, etc...

9 foot just has the glide...

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62mac said..

Be careful of the advice given,I've purchased 4 and none of them work.

But mac, you're an expert surfer who's been riding since Adam wore short pants, you're expectation of what works and what doesn't work is probably a great deal different from someone who just wants to learn how to catch a wave and stand up.

Maybe a 8'6 mini-mal might suit her also...
Those cheap ones are probably fine to start with...

Im with you Simondo, but this girl is tiny. I mean really small and skinny. Do you think she could hack the old 9 footer ??

The McTavish Original is a great board to learn on... but most Originals won't suit her weight... Normally, they are built for men... Say 75-90kg range...

The extra rocker, and wide hips make it a very versatile board... Beachies, points, etc... Handles a steeper drop... But also paddles fast... Bob designed that scoop belly channel to increase paddling speed....

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McHenry said..

Im with you Simondo, but this girl is tiny. I mean really small and skinny. Do you think she could hack the old 9 footer ??

Yes, she could handle a 9 footer, but it would need to be a very small one. A custom girls comp board... have a hunt on ebay etc... you'll need to troll through lots of boards...

some good advice here but she is just starting out so I think she should try a foamy and see how she goes......if she decides that she likes it and wants to carry on and is progressing then she can spend the hard earned..............lots of people like to think they are gonna be surfers but never really stick at it from what I have seen

I agree Ted... I said "if she really wants to give it a go"...

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obct said..

62mac said..

Be careful of the advice given,I've purchased 4 and none of them work.

But mac, you're an expert surfer who's been riding since Adam wore short pants, you're expectation of what works and what doesn't work is probably a great deal different from someone who just wants to learn how to catch a wave and stand up.

mate its my life long dream to catch a wave

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62mac said..

obct said..

62mac said..

Be careful of the advice given,I've purchased 4 and none of them work.

But mac, you're an expert surfer who's been riding since Adam wore short pants, you're expectation of what works and what doesn't work is probably a great deal different from someone who just wants to learn how to catch a wave and stand up.

mate its my life long dream to catch a wave

try a different brand of board..that might help you live your dream mac ahh when people set themselves up

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jasdeking said..

62mac said..

obct said..

62mac said..

Be careful of the advice given,I've purchased 4 and none of them work.

But mac, you're an expert surfer who's been riding since Adam wore short pants, you're expectation of what works and what doesn't work is probably a great deal different from someone who just wants to learn how to catch a wave and stand up.

mate its my life long dream to catch a wave

try a different brand of board..that might help you live your dream mac ahh when people set themselves up

BOOM TISH!

Get her an old single fin banger for less than $200....once she gets the hang of it she can sell and upgrade without loosing any dough...plus if she dings it up she won't be round yours getting her dings fixed and making your wife suspicious...

You would be surprised what people want for boards in SA, its a joke. $ 500 for a turd. I will keep my eyes out on ebay and if you guys see anything or know of anyone who has an old board kicking around they want gone for cheap let me know. I can get it to SA for cheap. I know she will like it, she mtn bikes with me and she is a savage on a bicycle. One of those girls who doesn't get frustrated the second she isn't good at something. She will take a hammering in the waves and never complain about it. Never heard the girl complain once and we have been in the piss pouring rain in the middle of whoop whoop riding our bikes when its like 6 degeres out. Shes a champion.

She sounds good McHenry... Go that Diverse I posted... It's a beautiful board, and quite good value. Won't loose much money on it, worst case anyway...

Sounds like I should drive to SA with my spare quiver, and sell my boards there!

I think there is a good market for longboards here if you have the right product at a decent price. Not many longboards come up on Gumtree, all shortboards. I pitty the person who tries to sell a shortboard in SA. Sooo many on Gumtree. I will speak to her but as she is a Uni student and works partime I think Tux is on the money with a 200 banger on eBay.

Hire out your 8ft to her as you have a board coming yeeew.

Is she dropped off ??

She's slightly smaller than my missus. My missus actually uses my shortboard (ok so a 7'4" speedster is not particularly short) as a longboard. So while I'm on a 9'1" mal she's riding the 7'4". When the swell gets big enough I switch to the shortboard and give her the mal.... Not really she then moves down to a 6'6" that was custom made for her.

She tried a 7'6" minimal and found it too wide. Same problem with my mal. Women that small need a much narrower board so they can get the paddle speed happening. Mals just end up much too wide for their shoulders.


Having said that... The foamy would be a good cheap way to start. Depending on the brand you can get a number of different sizes. Our Local surf school at Phillip Island makes their own range right down to perfect for my 9yo niece.

I will keep the width in mind. Do you think around the 21 inch mark?