[lagerstarfish]

anyone on here got any experience of using wooden bellyboards for easy wave riding?

the older girl enjoyed messing about on a Decathlon "pocket surf" last summer, but they are too small for me to use

I'd read about the wooden bellyboards that were popular in post war Britain and thought they might be suitable for me - my ankle hurts too much to use fins and I'm so slow at getting from the floor to standing that standing on a board isn't a possibility

various models available for around £35, so I'll probably buy rather than make one to start with

this sort of thing





and, seeing as we're on the topic of not actual proper surfing - here's a video including the older girl on a Pocket Surf from 1:34 onwards - good fun toys

*warning* this actually our family holiday movie, so some viewers may be bored to death

music from the GoPro Hero 3 video

[aLICErOBERTSfANkLUB]

Apparently, I've done that only once - in 1959.

(I was born in 1960!)

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Brings back memories. As a kid we used these quite a bit. Other than for nostalgia I would avoid. Very little buoyancy, hard or impossible to turn and they chafe something rotten! Notice how they are only catching waves after they have broken. Stick with a decent adult body board the right size for you. On lots of  beaches you can catch decent waves before they break from standing. You kind of dive down them from standing. No need for fins. Lots of fun.

[lagerstarfish]

My questions, that I forgot to write, are - is it as easy as it looks and in what way are the modern alternatives better?

thanks Obi-Wan

[tomtom]

I was doing stuff like this in Norfolk this summer - on a cheapy bodyboard *I am crap

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Yes its easy to catch broken waves, you just lie down in front of them. Its also pretty lame after a few rides. With a body board you can turn and ride the green. How much better? Where's the infinite symbol?

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I was doing stuff like this in Norfolk this summer - on a cheapy bodyboard *I am crap

Although lots of fun can be had on cheapo body boards, decent ones start around £40, so its not a big investment even if they only get used occasionally and will last for years. You will benefit from getting one the right size. 40/42 are the common sizes, but 44inches is available and is a lot more buoyant.
The main benefits over cheap ones are buoyancy, stiffness and how slick the base is.

[fatdoc]

Brings back memories. As a kid we used these quite a bit. Other than for nostalgia I would avoid. Very little buoyancy, hard or impossible to turn and they chafe something rotten! Notice how they are only catching waves after they have broken. Stick with a decent adult body board the right size for you. On lots of  beaches you can catch decent waves before they break from standing. You kind of dive down them from standing. No need for fins. Lots of fun.

[Oldmanmatt]

I grew up at Polzeath, riding those things, till old enough for my first real board (body boards were yet to appear). Some of the kids got quite skillful and could spin 360's etc. My Gran, who'd been riding them since Pre-War (really, and she only stopped the year before she shuffled off at 92); could slalom like a gud'n.

[SA Chris]

Get a proper board to suit your size. Even in moderate size waves you can paddle into them without need fins if your technique is good. Even just wearing one fin is a boost. Tbh people used to ride those things until PU foam was invented, now it's just nostalgia.

[johnx2]

...or google 'surf mats' (lilos, basically) which will be more buoyant than a bodyboard. Which might make it easier to catch waves before they break, which is where the fun is. Are you sure about the no fins thing? Bodyboard fins are a lot smaller and stiffer than swimming ones, to give a quick burst of acceleration. I've no idea about relative strain on ankles. (I hasten to add I'm no bodyboarder, but will confess to a moment or two of bb curiosity before I knew better.)

(I thought this thread was going to be about bodyboarding in the snow. Real sport. Buggered up my knee on Gt Whernside a few years ago).

[SA Chris]

Surf mats are a good shout too

[kingholmesy]

Get a proper body board, even a cheap one, and you'll have a lot more fun.

If your ankle's too knackered for fins (and they do put a fair amount of strain on your ankles) then you could maybe get some webbed gloves. What you want is to be able to accelerate quickly just as a wave is breaking.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Surf mats look freaking awesome, they are a new one on me. Look ideal for flying with for occasional use. But seem quite hard to get hold of in the UK. Also seem quite pricey for a posh lilo if you can find one. Anyone ridden one? How come they aren't more popular?

[lagerstarfish]

cheers for the help people - must get around to dishing out a few reward points

I'm going to go the inflatable route this year - because I'll be allowed to use it within the patrolled swimming area whilst pretending to look after the kids

going to go cheap - probably a Redback Wedge

any reasons why I shouldn't?

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Let us know how you get on. This year I ended up getting a 30 Euro board to use for the week. Cheaper than hiring, left it at the rental house where we may well return. Luckily there was a local Decathlon.

[SA Chris]

any reasons why I shouldn't?

Go for it, athough you may want one with a bit more "volume" for the larger gentleman. I would get a rash vest too, unless you want the bleeding belly I used to get as a kid on those things.

[lagerstarfish]

Let us know how you get on. This year I ended up getting a 30 Euro board to use for the week. Cheaper than hiring, left it at the rental house where we may well return. Luckily there was a local Decathlon.

delayed response...

got a redback inflatable surf mat in 2013 and found it pretty good

I nicked some tips from the proper surf mat riders (watching youtube, not actual people)and used the redback backwards (square end forwards) while I gripped the corners in a way that meant I could squeeze/pull it to get the right firmness and shape for the wave - it works; very subtle changes in hold make quite a difference to the ride

I suspect that a slightly bigger mat would have suited my mass better

[Falling Down]

I've got a scar on my stomach from when I was about six or seven.  Catching waves at Towyn beach just up from Aberdovey in mid-Wales on the regular annual holiday to Tal-y-Llyn when a big shoredump picked me up and pitched me forward to bury the nose of the belly board and the sand and me on the other flat end in my mid-riff.  It snapped almost in half and the wave rolled me around with board which somehow closed up with one my little belly rolls of fat (nothing changes) in amongst the splinters and jagged edges which ripped a big gash on my tummy.  Dragged myself to beach in tears bleeding with ply splinters in my stomach... My first big wave wipe-out  . Prepared me well for proper surfing later in life 

Looking back it must have been pretty bad as these things must be hard to snap, especially using a six year old boy.  Happy memories!

[SA Chris]

I've done that with a foam one. Totally winded lying there getting battered by shore dump, type 2 fun.