Young Surfing Girl

Surfboards were originally made solid wood and were large and heavy (ten up to 12 feet (3.7 m) long and 100 pounds (45 kg)). Lighter balsa wood surfboards (first made in the late 1940s and early 1950s) were a significant improvement, not only in portability, but also in increasing maneuverability.
Most modern surfboards are made polyurethane foam (PU), with one or more wooden strips or "stringers", fiberglass cloth, and polyester resin. An emerging board material is epoxy (EPS) which is stronger and lighter than traditional fiberglass. Even newer designs incorporate materials such as carbon fiber and variable-flex composites.
Since epoxy surfboards are lighter, they will float better than a fiberglass board similar size, shape and thickness. This makes them easier to paddle and faster in the water. However, a common complaint EPS boards is that they do not provide as much feedback as a traditional fiberglass board. For this reason, many advanced surfers prefer that their surfboards be made from fiberglass.
Other equipment includes a leash (to stop the board from drifting away after a wipeout, and to prevent it from hitting other surfers), surf wax, traction pads (to keep a surfer's feet from slipping f the deck the board), and fins (also known as skegs) which can either be permanently attached (glassed-on) or interchangeable.