whats the difference in boat and cable boards?

My son just started wake boarding behind a boat. We are taking a trip to an area that has a cable park and were thinking about giving that a try as well. Is there any difference between a boat board and a board used with cables? Do I remove the fins if I were to use his boat board and would it be better to just rent a board rather then drag his to and fro? We have a Honda Pilot that we will be traveling in. Thanks

Unless his board has a Sintered/friction resistant base, absolutely rent. You can do a lot of damage to a wakeboard in a day at a park without the right kind of base.

Cable boards have a base built for rails, tend to be built of more solid materials, finless and have a softer flex pattern.

If he has never ridden cable chances are he's not going to be hitting a lot of obstacles. A boat board will suit him just fine for a couple days of cable riding. I have boat boats that have 5 plus days of cable hitting a lot of obstacles. If you're going to do it a lot, a cable board is ideal. They are tougher, have more flex which provides more feedback and forgivness on rails, and they are featureless to prevent fins from hanging up on obstacles. If he has bolt on fins, you'll want to take those off. Small modeled fins will be fine for a beginner.

Hey thanks for the input. I will likely just rent and avoid any chance of messing up a board. I know he will want to hit some jumps and it will be one less thing that I have to drag along. Thanks a bunch!

I'd second renting too. Technically you can use one board to do both if it has a sintered base. That said, most riders who do a lot of both will have a board for each.