Abstract: An improved body board having a planar upper surface, a forward end and a pair of lateral edges is provided with a novel bow-shaped substantially rigid arcuate control member having two ends and a convex intermediate portion and is secured in fixed spaced relationship to the upper side of the body board. The bow-shaped grip spans the greater part of the width of the board between the lateral edges and is so oriented that the convex intermediate portion extends forwardly while the ends extend rearwardly. In a preferred embodiment, the rear ends terminate flush with the upper surface of the board and the arcuate handle slants upwardly from the upper surface of the board such that the grip of each hand on the handle may be continuously shifted along a substantial length of the handle to thereby obtain optimal leverage for effective steering of the board under shifting load and surf conditions.