First surfboad. Can you remember it?

First foamy. Three years old with a Midget Farrelly single fin made by Hanimex.

First fibreglass board. Ten years old with an Emerald thruster shaped by Richard 'Dick Bent' Herbert. It had a classic early-80's planshape with wide tail and boxy rails, full gloss coast and red, white and blue layered fins. I'd give my left nut to still have it. Note: first wetsuit also in photo - I did two Sydney winters in a purple and black long john. I could care less about finding that.

Got me reminiscing now Zen...

Second foamy (first one snapped in the pool). Dunno how old but there are steamtrains on the wallpaper and I'm wearing my legrope in the bedroom, so I'm guessing pretty young.

May '86, Seven MIle Beach, Forster. 5'8" Hot Buttered double-flyer, swallow. Shame I don't have a photo of the bottom of this board cos it had 'Hot Buttered' written in dripping paint running the length of it. Use to hold it wax in just to show off the bottom.

Christmas '87. Second hand ('only ridden once' said the sales bloke) Force 9 shaped by Wayne Roach. The mighty mohawked Dave is in the foreground, great dog but played on the road one too many times.

How 'bout them boardies?

First board, like Stu & I guess many others, traditional hanimex foamy, mid '70's.

First glass board in '78 or '79 was a Dick Brewer single fin, single flyer, swallow tail. Pretty sure it was about 6'10. Bought it off Nat Young for about $80 that I'd worked forever to save. When I hit max speed on the face, the fin used to hum and I thought everyone could hear it.

Really wish I still had that board. Would have to check the parents photo album or slides to find the pics.

First board was the foam lid off my old mans esky on the Goldy mid 70's.

I snapped it in the shorey and ditched it. He flew into a rage because his beers went warm.

Then I got a surf mat, then hanimex foamie.

First fibo was a 5'9" single fin.......lovely single flyer pin tail (blue and red spray) shaped by Tony Cerff under the Bare Nature label out of Byron. It was sold to me by the hottest surf on the Island , who had purchased it off the older hottest surfer on the Island. I passed it on to a grommy when i was done with it and got a 5'11"Aloha thruster.

First glass board in '78 or '79 was a Dick Brewer single fin, single flyer, swallow tail.

By: "fitzroy-21"

A Brewer as your first board! Skip the basement and head straight to the penthouse, eh Fitz?

Photos if you can. Love to check it out.

How 'bout them boardies?

By: "freeride76"

You should see some of the wetties I used to wear. Got some killer photos of me in 80's wetsuits - not a black panel to be seen. Even had a first-gen Piping Hot coloured smoothie.

C'mon then, I'm packing boxes, I need a laugh.

Bust out the fluoro.

Not fluoro, just garish...

Breakfast always tastes better in a wetsuit. Piping Hot short arm steamer. Probably 84 or 85.

Piping Hot smoothie at Wanda Beach, 1987. I got a free Piping Hot tracksuit with this wetsuit. It was matching blue and had the word 'Smoothie' printed across the back in big letters.

Cronulla Point 1989 in a Rip Curl coloured steamer. This was when they had thermometers on the wrist so you could tell how cold the water was, or alternatively, how warm your piss was.

"fitzroy-21" wrote:

First glass board in '78 or '79 was a Dick Brewer single fin, single flyer, swallow tail.

By: "stunet"

A Brewer as your first board! Skip the basement and head straight to the penthouse, eh Fitz?

Photos if you can. Love to check it out.

At that age I don't think I quite understood the significance of what I had! I'm contacting family to see who's got photos. will post when/if any are found.

Ah memories My first board was a Bob Davies single with a real fat nose and thin thin tail section. It was actually a nightmare to ride but it floated and hey, I knew no better.
We got it at the Mount Maunganui surf shop in NZ (where Im from in case you couldn't guess from the name). They were fun summers. I remember those Piping Hot wetties with the thermometer and the gaudy colors Stu we thought they were unreal.
Although what difference knowing the water temp made to surfing Im not sure. It looked cool though.

I can't remember which I got first.

1) Carabine 6" Single fin $20. Dad bought it off another kid in the Caravan Park at Huskisson. We had a van there until the council realised Huskisson is a gold mine. It's an awful board to ride and I still struggle to duck dive on it's so thick! It lived under the van so I didn't get to ride it outside holidays when young.

2) Maddog 5,5" thruster $50 - Dad bought this out of the trading post when we lived in QLD. I caught my first 'propper' wave with it at the Alley Currumbin with help from Dad. It was a bright orangy/pink with a sky blue outline. Adjustable back fin, channels, single flyer and swallow tail. I worshipped that board and it rarely left my site!

Amoco foamy ...nice little pick up from the petrochemical company when your parents bought a full tank of fuel....the rub was, and i mean rub , was the interminable gut nipple and stomach rash you received from them,Stu you must of been rich !!A blue hanimex with fins ..We were so "poor" the olds could only afford an orange hanimex without fins....my first fibreglass surfboard was an indestructable yellowed stress fractured 6'6 hot buttered which my cousin owned and had cut the tail off, previously a 6'10, i retrieved after the they threw it off a small cliff...i used to wax it up and then scrape the wax off around the hot buttered logo , a rainbow at the time so i could see the nice colours.....i regret ever selling that board for $10
You were lucky! 26 of us lived in a cardboard box in the middle of the road....( i feel a monty python four yorkshiremen skit ensuing)

First board was a real fat fish like thing about 5'8" that the old man made back a decade or two :) still ride it once or twice a year.

You were lucky! 26 of us lived in a cardboard box in the middle of the road....( i feel a monty python four yorkshiremen skit ensuing)

By: "prawnhead"

Well my house was ten miles from the beach and I used to walk there and back, uphill both ways.

6'2" rounded pin singlefin shaped by Alan Oke. White deck, yellow bottom, dark blue fin. I can still remember the smell of the wax on that board. A beautiful board.

First board was a 6'8" Wilson swallowtail single fin. Green deck and red bottom. Great board to learn on as you had no choice but to learn how to trim before you could turn. Parents bought it from an auctioneer. First thruster was a stumpy little 5'8" Ton Deken. I'd love to still have both boards, but as others have said when you're young you don't think about that kind of thing. I grew up just up the road from you Whetunui; at Waihi Beach. The Mt's looking a bit different these days eh!

Phil Usher, six fluted channels, pin tail,box single fin, cant remember the size, but bought from auction for $10. brother had a bit more money a brought a Woody singly for $12. as for leg ropes, had those ones with string incaces in rubber. used to fling back at you when you fell off. they also didnt have rail savers, so had about 8 pull throughs around the tail.

ah, the memories.

Got me reminiscing now Zen...

Second foamy (first one snapped in the pool). Dunno how old but there are steamtrains on the wallpaper and I'm wearing my legrope in the bedroom, so I'm guessing pretty young.

May '86, Seven MIle Beach, Forster. 5'8" Hot Buttered double-flyer, swallow. Shame I don't have a photo of the bottom of this board cos it had 'Hot Buttered' written in dripping paint running the length of it. Use to hold it wax in just to show off the bottom.

Christmas '87. Second hand ('only ridden once' said the sales bloke) Force 9 shaped by Wayne Roach. The mighty mohawked Dave is in the foreground, great dog but played on the road one too many times.

By: "stunet"

Looks like you had a happy childhood stunet. My first board was an old Friar Tuck kneeboard that I stood on. It had green and yellow panel sprays and a couple of big dings full of brownish resin. That I can remember clearly - dings looked different back then.

It was a matter of beggars can't be choosers buying a kneelo and the old man didn't give a shit, yet when it comes to stability and paddle power I'd recommend a kneelo for learners. It also provided good grist for the payout mill - my mates and brother were merciless.

first board was a Hayden-Shaping Co., 6ft x 19 x 2 1/2 ( from memory ), channell bottom, swallow tail, thruster.., sky blue with yellow flames from the nose, it served its purpose and stopped me from borrowing mates and step-dads boards. I remember getting the saw and sandpaper out and adjusting the tail shape a few times, it got traded in on one of Elko's 2nds, it was a assymetrical Byrning spear, 6'4" on one rail, 6'0" on the other, he is a natural and I am a goofy and about 20 kgs lighter at the time but I didnt care, twas Kong FFS.....funny when I think back, I can still remember dims and a large % of my boards and even sprays and shapes and in order too I think....

My first was an MR twinny with one green rail and one red. Probably about 6 foot with a swallow tail. I looked after that board so well until I wanted another and then I deliberately dinged it and put holes in it to convince my parents I needed to upgrade. I still get sick in the stomach when I think about that.

Hey enzed, Waihi beach eh, beautiful place. We had some fun times there and a great New Years at Whangamata one year. I actually grew up in Taupo (only surf on very windy days but actually surfable) but my parents had a house at the Mount so I spent heaps of time there.

I haven't been back for ages mate, whats changed ? I hear they have an artificial reef of some sort at main beach.

Hey Zen. Yep its a beautiful place alright and I never even knew what crowded waves were until I moved to Melbourne. There might be four out at the most, an even then you could go down the beach or around to the next bay and score solo.

North Island - Raglan Piha etc are good Piha can get vicious some days, down in the South Island there are some amazing breaks too. Its just bloody cold.

The skiiing rocks, and the scenery is mindblowing and its cheaper to fly over and stay, hire a car and get lift passes for five days than spend a week skiing in Aus. Still I bet Japan is not too shabby either for snow.

What are you doing looking for a Maori princess bro ? You have your little stunning mama san. Maori princesses can sometimes be found at KFC but they will nick all your chips :)

I was 10 years of age, christmas up Te Araroa: A NEW WAVE 6'4" thruster with multi coloured spiralling lightning bolt on the deck (think late 80's) and multi coloured checkers on the bottom. Too many ripped up elbows/knees/hands from skateboarding so dad got me into surfing.

My little brother got a boogie board at the same time, I hasseled him so much for being a boogie boarding fag pussy he ended up getting dad to buy him a surfboard too.

I remember it, blue racing stripes, single fin about 7 foot, just don't remember surfing with it in Adelaide. Took 20 years to try again, an 8'6 Jackson mal haven't looked back, tho that was my last mal.

Handed down from the next door neighbour, via brother then me, a 6' 6" bright lemon yellow, thruster, dont know what year it was made (sometime in the early - mid 80's), but according whats written on it, it was hand shaped by Simon Anderson himself.
Its still in the spare bedroom and is about 2 inches shorter than original due to some run ins with various hard surfaces. Also there are quite a few compression dings, as its been a learning board for at least 4 people.
Its about 3 inches thick, floats better than a boat, pretty hard to duck dive, but every now and again I get it out for a nostalgia surf.

Handed down from cousin 7'0 skipp single fin, flyers, pin tail with small stabalisers i spose they were.Ya dont see kids riding old wrecks anymore.

Mine was a hollow wooden mal made as a school project by my next door neighbour. It had a drainage hole with a plug cause it always leaked and dad would buy half round lumps of bees wax from the hardware for grip! First fibreglass was a second hand FreeFlight twinnie bought for $35. I think it was made by one of the Morning of the Earth surfers. Wish i still had that old mal!

yeah i remember it...

whetunui: nice place Taupo, bloody cold tho. Have heard you can get waves there occasionally. Mike Bhana's NZ Surf Guide reckons Te Toki Pt's the go! Yeah that reef at the Mt was a dud. All it did was stuffed up the banks at Tay Street. Glad you got some good waves in NZ zenagain. You were lucky to get 10 straight in Coro/BOP. Normally you get a few days, then dead flat for the next 2 weeks!

Hey Zen, that old Wallace single fin is still around. It's stashed just around the corner at family friends and has been since last tripped up to D.I. Point with young Jo, Sandi, and the family back in 88'. Saw it still in their garage not so long ago on previous visit. Perhaps we should go borrow it and have a surf down memory lane next time you are home. Moving on to first actual 100% mine surfboard (not shared), think it was the Sky twin fin (remember that one???). Not sure when it was made or who shaped it but remember it was much lighter than the Wallace.

Yeah Dan, back from the islands. Sent you an email with a few photo's. Anyway, thought that it was the Sky twin, then the dodgy Santosha single converted to thruster (or maybe the other way around), then the Hot Stuff came after that (I vaguely remember the other two boards during early high school and still riding the Hot Stuff in late high school). Was still riding it after high school up to late 1990 and have some footage surfing Noosa and North Straddy at the time. I really really liked the Hot Stuff though. Could paddle into a wave when still a ripple.

First board, 7'0 Venom gun.
Bought it at Agnes Waters on a summer holiday, after pestering my oldies for about a week.
Cheap, lots of foam. Got me standing up early, used to trim well for a grom as well.

Hey Guys, Good ol Mum found a photo of the Brewer. Problem being, me somewhat computer retarded dont know how to post the photo. Any help would be appreciated.

..a foamie way back in 1973 when I was three years old, I remember being totally mesmerized by the thought of riding waves and pestered my mum until she bought me it.

First skateboard was a Trax (an orange moulded plastic one) bought in 1977, you could buy white plastic stoppers that screwed on to the bottom bit at the very back that angled up - so you didn't wreck your main deck when you stopped.

Old skool forever..!!

Me dad made me and me brother sort of mini mals, cut a blank in half and made the 2 think they were about 4'6", I was about 8

Apart from a surf mat and cheap lid.

My first board was a second handy it was 5,8 wide and thick thruster the brand was called TRUE BLUE and it had a cool logo and wild all board spray and slogan with the logo that said "accept no substitutes" ive never seen another and a search online brings up nothing but have always wondered where it was made and the story behind the brand, it didn,t look like a backyard job, was a good shape for its time , classy but dated logo and good spray.

My old man actually bought it for me i was 13, for some strange reason i wanted a kneeboard? but he said no your getting a surfboard as i had been standing up on the surf mat and lid, and doing a pretty good job of it, crazy enough.

It was 88 as i remember writing SK8 88 around the place, the thruster had been around for a while, but all my friends thought i was spoilt for getting a thruster for learning on as back then, single fins were regarded the board to start on.

I had that board for a year or less, when a friend of the family use to take me surfing, he was a shaper and said he would do me up a board cheap and convinced my parents its what i needed to progress, so he shaped it up and called me in to the shaping bay out the back of the shop and there she was just shaped, i was amped, he did a cool rail design and got it glassed, i had to wait two weeks or something before surfing it, so crazy enough i put it in my bed and sleep on the floor, my parent must have thought i was mad but i was about 13 and a frothing grom.

It went pretty good and it was the last board my parents bought me, so was a long time before my next board, i think i was 18-19 :(

Was watching some old home vids of me surfing from those days the other day and it was crazy to see the progression in my surfing from first board to second, spewing it took me so long to get my next board, looking back i think it stunted my progression, as i progressed so fast in first few years of surfing then slowed right down...oh well

The wetsuit i had was a second hand piping hot one, that i wore all winter, but i remember in some pannels the rubber had broken down to mush so it wouldt have been warm at all (was down in Vicco) next wetty i saved up for, was damm ugly blue grey and fluro pink rip curl with ankle zips, no sealed seems and only 3/2 and then we moved to tassie where i went atleast one whole winter in it before getting a good 4/3.....crazy how as a grommet you seemed to be able to withstand the cold.

In 1964 at the age of 8 my old man took me to Burford surfboards which was a tin shed in a backyard on Oaklands road and I chose a used 9'6" log from the rack for 12 pounds 2 shillings and sixpence.My sister and I would drag it across the sandhills to Southport where I would don my sharkskin tubesuit and walk the board.They were the days.I'm proud to say that it was the only mal I ever owned and my next board was a 5'8" plastic fantastic flip nose rolled deck John Arnold fat albert.

oceanside single fin bout 6'6'....scooped up round nose, rounded pin...never knew we needed wax!! haha first session wasnt real successful!!.....leggy was black hollow soft plastic with venetian blind string up the middle...no stretch!

Those early leg ropes were classic and deadly, when they first started to make those stretch leggies and sell them in the shops, I said bugger that I can make my own. Found a place that sold surgical rubber tubing and jammed about 12 to 15 ft of cord into 6 ft of tubing, used to take ages to come back.

I remember when everyone started drilling holes in the skeg and attaching venetian blind cords,some crew were experimenting with dog collars around their ankles but I just tied granny knots which would usually tighten cutting off the circulation to your foot and turning it blue.For the first few years the practice was frowned upon by the purists and banned in comps but eventually even the die hards jumped on board.When the waves are small I still enjoy the freedom of surfing without a kook cord.Cheers.

My first board was an old Surfboards Penong (Paul Gravelle) 6'2". Saw it on the roof of a mates chook shed and gave him 5 bucks for it (he wanted 20 but I only had 5). It had no fins so my grandpa helped me cut out some fins from ply and sheath them with fibreglass. My legrope was blue/yellow telecom rope with a couple of socks - painful when wipin out.

It was full of dings and the fins made it slow as hell, in the end I peeled the glass off it and re-shaped it into a 5'6" with a spray job for my little bro. Was proud of the shape...can't say the same about the glass job!

My next board was a 7'1 single all it had on it was a decal that read : "And God Made..."

I eventually stripped that one down too and made another crude craft from it. I did the same with a 9ft Mal that I coincidently found on the roof of another chook shed so knocked on the door and asked the old lady about it and she said I could have it. I remember that foam was as hard as fuck.

While was fun to do these things at the time, I wish I had the original boards now

Good topic for first post. Mine was a Rip Curl gun I bought second hand from a bloke who was getting funds together so he could head off in his yacht to surf the unknowns, this was 1978 so there were still plenty of them. had a yellow deck and a white gel coat on the bottom to hide the myriad dings. Can't remember the size (bit hard as the bottom was covered) but it was pretty long. On a road trip about 1980 I remember hearing some groms at Kirra laughing and saying "he thinks he is at Waimea". Had the humming fin happening too.