Hi folks. Wanted to get some pointers on which direction to go for a longboard. I'm 6'2", 220 lbs, 39 years old, and will be restarting as a beginner. Folks here advised something in the 9'6" to 10' range. I'm considering 10'. Are there any width or thickness minimums I should look for when considering my weight and experience level? For instance, on a 10' board, is 3" enough in thickness when it comes to ease of paddling for someone of my size? Or is more better? Any specific board/shaper recommendations in the Seaside Heights, NJ area? Thanks in advance for your help.
I would check with these guys. http://www.infinitysurf.com/ They specialize in boards for big guys. I got mine from them and I love it.
Call Bill at Cosmic Bull Surfboards in Long Branch. He'll get you all set up. www.cosmicbullsurboards.com
Brian wynn @ wynn surfboards Jim Barnes @ legend surfboards CosmicBull Austin boards are all great eascoast shapers and you will be more than happy with any of there boards call or email them and tell them your info on your weight height and what kinda board you are interested in and they will set you up
Cosmic Bull Call Cosmic Bull, Bill LaFleur, 732-870-3558 cosmicbull@cosmicbullsurfboards.com He'll hook you up, and he's very easy to work with and easy to get in touch with. Just have a design ready when it's time to order.
I would also recommend infinity. I'm 6'4" and 280 and ride the infinity classic at 10'3" and it floats me pretty well. I love it.
Infinity Cluster V. I got addicted to it so much, I had to put it away because it ruined my short board game. While I think there may be some better small-wave boards, (although I haven't found one), it's super fun in thigh-high and bigger waves. The Cluster V paddles really well, surfs really fast( without having to transition from rail to rail) and turns exceptionally well. It definately doesn't feel like a 10' tanker, once it's in the water. Getting one custom made and shipped to your door will cost you $1000...pretty steep. However, I believe Baroo Surf carries Infinity boards. If they don't have a Cluster V in the shop, they can have one included in the next shipment and it would be a little cheaper. They'll most-likely have Infinity Secret Weapons in stock. I had one of them custom made in 8'6". It caught waves nearly as well as the Cluster V, but it wasn't as loose
NICE! Thanks for all the recommendations. I'm looking into all of these now. Anyone know anything about Matador boards? The El Toro and El Dorado look pretty nice. Are these in the same league as any mentioned above?
Get your advice from your shaper, but a 9'6 that's 3" thick is plenty of float. A beginner on a 10'0 seems a bit cumbersome to me... will be harder to turn and more difficult to handle, in general. 9'6x23x3 will be a nice paddler and with the right rocker will be easy for you to learn on. Go with EPS/Epoxy for a lighter, stronger board that will be even easier to ride.
A New Jersey board company from the 60s. They used to make everything right there in NJ, but started to outsource to other states, years ago. They own Bone Yard, the maker of my fish, as well as one or two more smaller board companies. Although they have a their own designs, for the most part, their line of boards are basically tweaked retro designs by other makers. They may be offended by this statement, but if they are, they shouldn't be. Honestly, who's truly original, anyway? Unless they state otherwise, assume you'll get retro density (read "heavy") foam. You'll notice it on the walk down to the water, but it's to your benefit on bigger boards. The inertia carries you through the flat spots. Also, since the foam is more dense, it's less prone to ding. The glass work on my Bull Fish is spectacular. I wish I could speak more towards the design(s), but I've only ridden mine. My 7'3" fish is my 90% board down here, which goes to say I'm happy with it. Oddly, it's the cheapest board in my quiver! Since they're local, call up (I believe it's) John and see if you can test ride a model. Also, if you are looking at going short, but want the float, look into McCoy Nuggets at http://www.revolutionsurfer.com/. They are Geoff McCoy's American board maker. The Nugget is made for beginners and bigger guys that don't have dilusions that they're Kelly Slater.
go for it I was in your situation a few years ago. Used to surf eastern shore & Hatteras, back when the lighthouse hadn't been re-located yet, in college years. Other stuff in Life took over, for decades, unfortunately, but I got back into the ocean at 45. 10' is a beast to move around in the water, esp on the east coast. As a beginner you want to get into plenty waves to get better, and not spend time paddling your arse off & missing waves. That 10' critter is gonna take a lot of time to get used to, a lot of time to set up way ahead of time to try to get the shoulder & a huge amount of paddling. My two cents: go to a 9'6 board that's got some width to it. You can still catch plenty waves w 9'6 or 9'4 squashtail by any number of high-quality manufacturers. And catching waves is what it's all about. Austin Surfboards in VB is great. The shaper there, Austin, is a big dude who surfs, so he gets the big-man board issues. Rusty has a knowledgeable staff in re: big-fella sticks (Rusty himself is 6'4 & 220+ lbs & so he gets it). Rusty put out an article a few years ago with the specific topic of boards for big men. If you can't locate it on Google search, or on Surfline, ping me w your email address & I'll email you a copy of it. CI has the Waterhog; My buddy raves about this board & how it catches massive amounts of waves in any east coast conditions. You can contact CI & tell them your story & they will make a recommendation which is usually pretty good. But, my vote is to go with east coast shapers. Support the locals.
