first time wakesurf board

I have never wakesurfed before but i think im about to buy my first board this week. i have been looking at some cwb stuff, the ride razr and tsunami. what do you guys think i want a board to start on but not get bord. i want to learn spins and shuves and stuff. so tell me what yall think.
thanks, steve

I would not recommend any of those. Liquid force custom is a good starter. I would recommend calling the guys at wakeoutlaws.

why wouldnt you recommend those. and which custom would you recommend.

(Message edited by stevo8290 on November 06, 2008)

Stephen, You're not going to find a lot of guys recommending any of those mass produced boards. Reason?--Most of us have bought one of those mass produced boards to start and then we quickly realize that we wanted something better. If you go out somewhat regularly you will hate most of those boards after a few months. Most guys who are into surfing will tell you to pony up a little more dough and buy something that has potential. The boards you listed don't have much more potential to be anything other than a beginner board. You said you don't want to get bored and want to learn shuvs and spins. Those tricks "might" be able to be done on those boards but they are going to be very difficult even on a high end board.
The advantage of the mass produced boards--They get you started cheaply. After that I don't see any advantage to buying those unless you think you are not going to contunue surfing.

ok thanks for the impute well what would recommend? im open to any suggestions

Well, help us help you by telling us your weight, what boat you'll be behind, budget, if its just for you or for others as well, etc.

160, mastercraft x45 and $400. i live in longview but im about to leave for dallas for a college day. tx mastercraft has two lf customs. on is the 4'2 and the other is a 4'4(i know thats a weird size but they said its the only one like it.) i can get either of them for $280 which seems like an awsome deal. so i think i want to go with the 4'4, what do you guys think

stevo
i can sell you this one delivered for 250.00
http://www.lakewakes.com/used-boards/4-8-used/prod_3.html

okay well i got the LF custom 4'4 cause i thought it was cool cause its kinda different. we went out today and tried surfing for the first time. with the rope was really fun but when i let go i couldnt right for very long. we filled the port and front ballast and had 4 people on the port side of the boat in the back. our speed was like 10.6. i think i just need practice. do yall think the board i got is to small for me being 160 pounds?

come on guys give me some impute please!!

Stephen,

I don't have any first hand knowledge of LF boards but its been my experience that beginners have an easier time learning to ride without a rope on bigger boards. As you get better you can move down to smaller boards. That being said, the LF board might be fine if you spend a little more time practicing on the board. If you enjoy surfing, you'll find out your first board won't be your last!

I find that most people think they are going to drop the rope and ride right away. That never happens. You need to take the time to feel the board under your feet, feel the edges and learn to accelerate and decelerate while holding the rope. Also, while learning, small moves are best.

Walk before you can run.

so you think the board i have is big enough for my size, its just going to take a little longer to learn on?

Hey Stevo,

Most likely the recommendations above are on target - a little more mileage and you'll have your surf legs, but I am very curious about your board. It's an odd size, as you note one-of-a-kind. I don't know that I've never heard of a LF prototype making it to retail. The standard sizes, unless I'm missing something, are the 4'2", 4'10" and the Thruster is a 4'6".

How many fins does your board have and do you have any pictures of it? Before we rule out the board, it would be good to assess what you're actually riding.

Just as important as the board is how you set up your boat for surfing. There are few boats that can throw a quality wave with just the stock ballast and a few friends on the same side. I've heard that the X45 is no exception but I've never ridden behind one. My brother who does ride behind his buddy's X45 frequently says that his friend does not use additional ballast either and he hates his wake compared to ours. I know that that boat can throw a good wave but I've heard that it takes a lot of additional weight beyond stock.

Keep ridding and working on "getting your surf legs" as you have been told but start working on getting some additional ballast. When the wave gets bigger and cleaner it is sooooo much easier to ride.

Surfdad....I picked up a LF 4'4" too for cheap. Haven't had the chance to get out and try it yet though. I'll try to take some shots of it for you today or tomorrow.

So it's not one-of-a-kind. What year did they manufacture it? I completely missed that one, dtw.

Well, I've never seen them advertised as 'production' models either, just happened to run across this on ebay one day and got it for a pretty good deal IMO. I would have no idea how many of these there are out there.

yeah its a 4'4" one fin and its shaped just like the 4'2" but a little longer. the guy at the shop said they ordered some 4'2s and just one of them came in like this. he said its probably because they are made over seas and sometimes there is not someone there to always be looking over things. they said they had never seen one like it either.

So it's just a quality control issue?! What was it that JL's cartoon said that was removed? That's funny.

Stephen do me a favor, place the board on a flat surface, say the floor or a large table and measure the rocker for me please. The rocker, in a general sense, will be the distance between the table/floor surface and the bottom of the board at the vert tip of the tail and at the very tip of the nose. I'd just like to get the nose rocker and tail rocker measurements.

If the extra length over the 4'2" is at the nose then effectively you're riding a 4'2" and that's going to be a tough board to learn on. If the extra length is in the middle (more waist) then you have a 4'4" that is useable. If the extra length was added to the tail and you have more tail rocker that board will just be a slug.

I am sure that some additional mileage on that board will get you your surf legs, but I'm a little concerned that the board does have some issues with it which is why it was offered as a "smoking deal".

im at school right now, but when i get home il check the rocker. the board was also the same price as the 4'2". il try to upload some pics too.

Hahaha.....smoking deal. Wait....

front is 1.75" and the back is 0.5"

I got 2" on the nose and .5" tail.

so you have not surfed yours yet. i think i cant surf mine yet just because im a noob. when u get out on yours let me know how it surfs. btw what is your weight

stevo
your low front rocker might make the nose pearl under so stay back on the board and hope its not too choppy

mark

yeah....but if i stay back to far back i dont think il keep my speed so i guess i just need to ride more and figure it out.

I was hoping the rocker numbers would point out something glaring - like a 3" nose rocker. The LF Skim Skate had rocker numbers of NR 2.1 and TR 1.1 and was pretty slow.

If I'm not mistaken, those boards were machine cut and then hand finished. Seems hard to set the CNC for 52" instead of 50 My 2 cents is that the tail is off and when you are riding it further back it's creating a plow like effect, moving forward is probably like a teeter-totter and the nose wants to bury. I think you're effectively learning on a 4'2"...that wouldn't be my first recommendation.

Trying to manage the current situation, my recommendations would be: don't be in a hurry to toss the rope. Just focus on developing slack in the rope. If there is slack, you're surfing. Then if you start to fall out the back, you can pull yourself back into the pocket. Mostly this first stage is about mileage.

Make sure you have a decent sized wake also, extra ballast will help you in this situation. Grab some extra buddies or fat sacs.

Lastly, positioning yourself on the board, closer to the wake (toes closer to the wake) and further forward (both feet forward on the board) should help with down-the-line speed. Keep adjusting your weight forward and inward until you can generate slack in the rope, without burying the nose. You may need to close your stance, if your a tall guy with a wide stance...bringing your rear foot forward can work wonders.

Best of luck and keep us posted!

Yea , what Jeff said ,
good luck and dont give up, cause once you get good its the best feeling ever

How is a CNC cut board off that much. If I did that I would be fired in a second not to mention feel really stupid for doing it.

QC