Surfing

Shortboards, fish, mid-lengths and soft-tops:

the outline and the amount of foam decide who a board is for. A shortboard is narrow, thin and pointed, built to turn hard in a steep wave and frustrating for anyone still learning to paddle. A fish is shorter and wider with a split swallow tail, and it holds its speed on the small, soft days that fill much of the Pacific season. Mid-lengths and funboards sit in between, and suit most improving surfers. Longboards catch waves early and are walked to the nose on slow walls. Soft-tops, with a foam deck and slick plastic bottom, are what surf schools teach on. On a flat week the same shoulders can work on a board from stand up paddle, and speed without swell means a boat and a board from wakeboarding.

Volume, construction and fins for La Punta or El Estero:

the two breaks at Santa Catalina show the split clearly. Beginners learn on the sandy peaks of El Estero on long, high-volume boards; at La Punta the wave peels over volcanic rock, and the regulars ride shortboards and step-ups with less foam and more curve, plus booties for the walk in. Volume, printed in litres on most modern boards, is the figure to match to your weight and ability: too little and you sink and miss waves, too much and the board will not go under you on a duck dive. A classic PU board, polyurethane foam under polyester resin, has the flex most shapers still build for, but dents under heels and dings at the lightest knock. Epoxy over an EPS core is lighter, floatier and tougher, though skittish in wind chop. Look at the fins too: FCS II and Futures are the two common box systems and their fins do not swap, some older boards have their fins glassed on for good, and a board sold without fins is only cheaper if your set fits it.

Where a used surfboard’s price comes from:

a new shortboard from an established maker such as Lost, Channel Islands or Firewire costs around $700 to $900, and a sound used one changes hands for about $250 to $450. Value rests on watertight glass and a straight stringer, so a few seasons of dings and sun push a perfectly rideable board to the bottom of that range. Shapes also date faster than they wear out, and surf-town shops and camps rent, sell and buy back boards, which keeps used ones circulating and caps the price.

Rock dings, soggy foam and tired rentals on a second-hand board:

start with the marks a rock point leaves. Boards ridden at La Punta take knocks on the nose, rails and tail from paddling out and walking in over stone, and hairline cracks around the fin boxes and leash plug are the usual way water gets in. An open ding with brown foam inside has been drinking for a while, and a waterlogged board is heavy, slow and rots from within. A line of cracks running across the deck means the board has been bent close to snapping. Hard, flush, sealed repairs are fine; soft or yellowed ones beside a fin box are not. Lift an ex-rental soft-top from a surf camp before anything else, because a torn skin lets the core soak up water and a soaked one is plainly heavy in the hand.

Measurements, repairs and pick-up for a surfboard you are selling:

copy the length, width, thickness and volume exactly as written on the stringer or deck, and add the maker or shaper, the fin system and whether fins come with it. Mention every repair and say honestly whether the board has been ridden over rock, then photograph deck, bottom and rails in daylight, with close-ups of the fin boxes, nose and tail. Say where the board is kept and whether a bag goes with it: a buyer driving out from the city for a longboard needs a roof rack and straps, while a shortboard in its bag can ride inside the car.