New Board/Choppy Water/Tips/Advice

Greetings. We've been wakeboarding for last 3 years, and just upgraded from an old 20'I/0 w/ Monster Tower to a Tige24ve. We're ready to surf. Kids learned to ocean surf in Hawaii 2 summers ago. (1 hour lesson, they're not experts but could do it and had fun)

Daughter is 13, 5'5 120#,
Son 17, 5'10'155#,
Me 6' 200#.
Wife waterskis, 5'6" 130.

1. Boards:
Sounds like the Broadcaster/Hyperlite is a good start--maybe the 4'8?. We are always bringing new people/kids on so we'll always need a starter board.

2. Will get rope.

3. Choppy Water?
Is WakeSurfing ok in choppy water? Assume it is better than Wboarding since riders are on the wave vs. outside the wake. Advice appreciated.

4. Will watch uTube videos and hopefully board will come with a DVD.

I've only seen 1 person doing it, but looks pretty intuitive once you get up.

Looking for any ideas/suggestions from others just a year or 2 ahead of us.

1. I would go with the 5'6" broadcast if you are going to be surfing, if not the 4'9" should do it for the rest of the fam. I started with the 4'9" and am about 175lbs but wished I had the larger board when I began. Even my brother who is 150 could have used the bigger board at first.

3. You can surf in chop. Its better when its smooth but most of the time we surf it is too choppy to wakeboard or ski and enjoy it. It will be easier to learn without the chop even though the boat smoothes out most of the waves.

1. Boards:
Sounds like the Broadcaster/Hyperlite is a good start--maybe the 4'8?. We are always bringing new people/kids on so we'll always need a starter board.

The hyperlite 4'9 would work well for your wife and kids. The 5'6" would probably be a better choice for you. Another beginning board to consider is the Inland Surfer Blue. If you only plan on having one board for awhile, I think this would be a better option. Boards can become an addiction. I bet Surfdad probably has over 50 boards in his garage. Over time you will acquire a "quiver" of boards. I thought I would never have more than a couple of boards (the 4'9" Broadcast was the first) and now the count is up to 6 and there are another 3 boards on the wish list.

2. Will get rope.

Make sure you get a surf specific rope

3. Choppy Water?
Is WakeSurfing ok in choppy water? Assume it is better than Wboarding since riders are on the wave vs. outside the wake. Advice appreciated.

This is true but smooth water is still better than choppy water.

4. Will watch uTube videos and hopefully board will come with a DVD.

Don't think most boards come with a video. There are plenty of videos on the internet. This looks like a good one, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Pf5s7HGF0. One tip that I can give you, don't try to throw the rope to soon. Try to ride for an extended period of time with slack in the rope. Also don't try to ride the board like a wakeboard. Keep a lot of pressure on the toe side of the board.