madison s. that size should be pretty good for a beginner. the thing with smaller women and wider long boards is you have to be able to have full clearance of your arms to paddle. you don’t want to have to crank your arms around in a weird way to paddle….you loose efficiency and it will lead to injury.

kevin – you gotta go way bigger. come on, re-read the above article. i would say get a 9′6″ board, old school, single fin. you are a big guy and you are going to need the float. you can change up the fin later to make it more turny or for nose riding. trying to re-learn surfing on such a small board in compared to your frame….much frustration.

greg, i would go with an 8′0 or so longer, but get one with a 1 +2 fin set up, so you can go single fin for more nose riding or put all three in for more of a performance board. stay on the wider side when you buy. this board is a little more versatile.

jay, sure go with the 6′0 if you want to just sit out there and never catch anything. the deal with surfing is not only balance, but the ability to paddle…and a shorter board is harder to paddle. with a shorter board, yeah, your take off is much later, but you gotta get out there first. it all depends on how big you are. re-read the article and go for a fun shape.

nathan – ooohhhhh, bummer dude. there is some trick that i don’t totally understand about putting epoxy in the screw hole and then making a new hex or something? uuuhh, i really don’t know….but your local shaper should have a really good idea how to handle it. also swaylocks is a great site to go for help on stuff like this.

cody – i weigh about 5 pounds less than you and i started on a 9″0. it all depends on what you want. if you are only going to be surfing 3 times a year, go for bigger. if you are serious about surfing, spend the money and get what want. that said…..brands for beginners don’t mean much, other than how much are you willing to spend. a hand shaped board by a great shaper is going to cost you some bucks. if you get one like that, a 9′0 is going to run you over a grand. if you get a “china board” (massed produced by a machine) it will cost you less. yeah, it is nice to rock onto the beach with a classy longboard and get the oohhhs and ahhhs from folks,….. but like hayley said above, if you can’t surf and it gets banged up, then you spent all this money and your board gets dinged all up. bummer. personally, i lucked out with my first board. it was a dewey weber performer, super sweet. i bought it for a really low price of 425! it was only a year old and had no dings, no pressure dents, nada. i had no idea the caliber of board i was buying and the sweet deal i got. i loved that board, but i put it through the ringer. my first surf trip to mexico with it, in the first year i owned it, on the first paddle out, someone ran into me, charging down the line, with carbon fiber fins and took a good 4 inch section out of my board. i put a tube and a half of suncure in it and was out the next day. (thanks to tom) that board went on to get banged in rocks in baha, have airlines bash the shit out of it, get finned by my neighbor…it was beat to shit…until some redneck down in north carolina (my home state) stole it. i loved that board and cried like a baby when it happened….and vowed to one day find it and disembowl the turd who stole it. to make a long story short, for everyone who is questioning their first board, buy a decent used one, but understand you may be keeping it forever…it is your first board.

how is that for everyone? good luck and stick with it. i started surfing late in life and it changed mine. have fun, that is the most important.

I’m also confused about the whole, “softboard is just a glorified boogieboard” Is this true or are they really worth the money?

thanks!