Scooter’s Surf Garage / Surf Unlimited Rentals Surf Unlimited has been on Ocean Isle Beach since 1980 and is second to only Sheffield’s Grocery in years in business on Ocean Isle Beach for a retail shop. In 1997, with my business partner Scott Heffernan, I purchased Surf Unlimited and moved the store 2 doors down the Causeway to the old OIB Town Hall located at 17 Causeway dr., where it is today. We opened the shop with surfers in mind and putting surfers, and potential surfers, on the right board to allow them to have fun, improve, and share the joys of riding waves. We quickly learned the importance of our rental program and clothing sales… (NO MARKUP ON BOARDS) …. After a few years I was able purchase the shop from my partner (who is now an owner of the GPS Store here in OIB), and brought Leigh, my now wife, on board to help with the clothing end of the shop. Over the years the boutique portion of the shop grew to the point our boardroom was pushed downstairs with our rental equipment. In 2017 we separated the board room and rental program from the boutique upstairs so that all areas would receive the attention needed and could grow as demand grew. Today the boardroom is ever changing with surfboards, skim boards, & bodyboards increasing in popularity and stand-up paddleboards slipping. We stock surfboards from local North Carolina shapers as well as less expensive boards that are mass produced and usually designed more for the beginner or weekend warrior who doesn’t want to spend it all to enjoy a few waves. We carry a good number of soft (safe) surfboards from Odysea, Wave Bandit, and Soft Tech as well as entry level composite (epoxy) boards from Torq. For our more seasoned surfer that spends more time on the water and wants to progress we do stock boards from a few local shapers as well as boards from Ricky Carroll out of Florida. On the international level we try to keep a selection of boards from Walden, Takayama, and a few Jerry Lopez models that are provided by Surf Tech. We welcome surfboard trade-ins, offer consignment, and try to keep a few used boards on hand for the beginner or budget minded surfer. Our Skimboard selection has grown greatly in the last few years with by far the best selection in the area from Victoria & Zap as well as a few cheaper wood sand skimmers. Like our surfboards, we try to keep a few used boards for the beginner or budget minded ripper and we do welcome trade-ins. Our Bodyboard selection has remained solid with boards from Morey, Wave Bandit, Odysea, and on occasion we will receive a few models from Custom X. We do carry and wide range of surf accessories such as boards bags, leashes, traction pads, soft roof racks, and other accessories for your ride and transporting it. Our Surfboard fin selection, be it longboard box, fcs, or futures, is second to none in this area. Swing by and checkout our board room while you’re on the island. Our rentals are also constantly evolving with our bike and surfboard inventory expanding while our kayak and SUP inventory is currently contracting. We try to run our rental equipment 2 seasons before flipping so our bikes and other equipment are the newest and best on the beach. After 26 years of running various makes and models of rental bike our bike of choice is the aluminum frame Boardwalk by SUN and we stock this bike in more sizes than any other shop in the area with bikes for almost all sizes. We’ve learned that only a few bikes are built to withstand our salty/sandy conditions and with a few minor additions (Thorn Resistant Tubes), the Boardwalk by Sun is as good as any around. Our rental kayak fleet is from Ocean Kayak, probably the best-known brand in sit on top kayaks. All of our kayaks, single and doubles, come with back rest, adjustable life jackets, and quality fiberglass paddles (not the heavy aluminum models our competitors use). Our stand-up paddle boards (SUPs) are provided by YOLO and once again, come with lighter adjustable paddles, adjustable life jacket, and attached leash. The surfboards that we choose to rent are provided by catch surf, with some models carrying the Odysea name and others the Wave Bandit. All our boards (6’ – 9’) are soft tops and ideal for beginner surfers to learn to ride waves and make their first turns.
