help picking a board

New to wakesurfing and surfing in general. We have several potential surfers in my crew, from 11 yo skater to 56 yo wakeboarder. My kids picked up a regular beater surfboard for free at a yard sale (as a kind of joke) and ended up having a blast on it behind our Malibu. It is really big and slow and hard to get up on. I've heard Inland Surfer is a good company, but can't tell from the board reviews which board would be best for a family that is mostly into wakeboarding but kind of wants to branch out, esp. on days when the water isn't great for riding. Thanks for any advice for the newb!

how big is your boat? Do you weight it? Stock ballast?

Inland makes a good product, the Blue Lake is pretty much their "all purpose" board, so long as folks aren't really heavy. Jeff Page from Inland is very helpful and will answer your questions. I've noticed that quite a few pro shops are carrying Inland Surfer products locally these days, you might be able to find one close by.

http://www.inlandsurfer.com

Les, Jeff really knows his stuff. He suggested 3 boards for me and I ended up going with the blue lake (mainly $) and I really enjoy it. My surfing has gotten so much better since using this board over my cwb tsunami. However because of the excellent learning curve the blue lake gave me I have also been playing a little on the cwb.

thank again Jeff.

Doug

The boat is an 05 Malibu 23' LSV. We don't have the launch system, but have 1400 pounds worth of fat sacs to use and the Malibu wedge. Jeff, our weight range is about 80 to 180 with the median and mean at about 145. Our 80 pound 11 year old is the best on the surfboard we have. I can't get up on the thing myself.

I am in the same boat as les.....we are gonna start wakesurfing next year and need a good board.....hey les ...how is your body holding up wakeboarding...I am 42....so always wondering how long I can keep going.....I don't do inverts but can jump pretty big with grabs and stuff...but wonder how long I can go that big or do I soon have to tone it down. (already preparing for that guess by wakesurfing)

The Blue would be a good starting board. As far as heavy goes I have no trouble at 215 lbs on the IS Blue.

I would suggest that Ed doesn't give himself enough credit. 215 pounds would be a bit much on the Blue for folks just learning to ride, as Les indicates his skill level is. I would concur that the Blue is a good all around family and starter board. It can fit in "some" wakeboard racks, but it's a tight squeeze. It's ride is pretty stable, can be made more so by swapping the 3.25" SB2's for 3.5" SB fins...Future Fins are my fav...Jeff Page is happy to ship a users preference. The recessed traction is a nice feature, not as easy to tear off as with boards that have the traction attached to the surface. The price of the board is in the ball park with comparable boards.

The 80 to 180 range is suitable to the board, especially if the 80 pounder is a grom Some smaller riders might struggle getting the board flipped - which just requires a slower start for them.

Hey Doug! Good to see you again, glad that you are stepping up your ride. Take care and keep in touch.

Have I gotten that good? I have been attempting to ride smaller boards. I'm pulling some Air Chair pros Saturday, maybe I'll bring a postage stamp with me and try surfing it

We had a 260 pounder on the Blue behind a VLX at Wakefest, that was a stretch but he did OK.

Michael, I turn 41 in a month or so and have found surfing to be my favorite thing to do on the water. I weigh around 180 and the blue lake has been very nice. Probably next year going to invest in the yellow loogy board.

Jeff, You are great and thank you for helping all of us outhere.

Doug