Beginner

Question
What sort of board do you recommend for a beginner, me, 6foot1 and 70kg? How much should i spend? Are secound hand ones any good? What is volume? How long will a beginners board last before i need a more challenging board approx? Is it therefore worth it? Any other considerations i am missing out? Many thanks if you can answer any of these

Answer
First thing to do is get lessons.  Find out what board you learn on and go from there.  There are too many variables to answer all your questions but once you know what type of board you learned on it will be easier to make decisions on what board to buy.  You also need to take into account where you will be sailing and the usual conditions there.  Volume describes the total volume of the board and how much it displaces.  If you took a board and put it in a trough filled to the top with water and you pushed the board into and under the water the amount that spills out is its volume.  Bigger volume = easier to learn on but not so exciting to sail.  Shorter volume = faster less stable. I buy a lot of equiptment second hand.  The biggest factor to consider when buying a board 2nd hand is has it been damaged and if so has it absorbed water and gotten too heavy.  If you buy the right beginners board it can become your future light wind board when you move on to more challenging sailing and buy your second board which will be faster and require more wind to sail. You can probably get a good second hand board for about $500 to $700 depending on the condition and if it is the latest design.