I haven't been on a skim board in 30 years but 40 years ago when I learned, I first learned at the park. We had some really bad rains and the overflow in the duck pond in the local city park plugged and flooded all of the grass. We found a big flat area of grass with about one-inch of standing water on it and skimboarded for two full days of a weekend. It was much easier to learn on the flat grass than chasing the board down the sloping beach sand with the receding water sucking it into an intimidating shore break.

And every one in a while even after you have learned how to ride, you'll throw the board down when there is too little water. The board will skim across the water while you run and chase it, but as soon as you jump on it, it sticks to the sand and you are moving forward at full running speed and your feet are stopped. The resulting full swan dive to the sand is unavoidable. That was always the worse fall but is just part of the game. Have your son wear a T-shirt.

: DO NOT texture the deck, youwill just cut your feet. when skim boarding you
: will some time have the board shoot out form under you and this will
: Really really hurt if instead of slippery wet wax you scrap your back or
: face on rock hard texture. use wax or rubber nothing else trust me if you
: texture you son will have an almost imediate bad fall as many do then cut
: up his face then break the board and just get made at you for building it
: wrong.

: PS i hope your son is really patient because i have been skimming for 2 years
: and i still fall badly hundreds of times a day the number of falls to good
: rides is really about 15 or 20 to 1