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#1
General Discussion / Re: Marine wax on the bottom o...
Last post by nalu-sup - July 11, 2025, 09:38:14 PMThanks Bean. I had figured out that a factory gloss finish would not make sense to the extra weight and labor. A few of the guys on Seabreeze warned that putting any polish wax on the bottom would cause more drag which is something I have heard a lot about with windsurf boards.
I have decided that the best way to get the gloss finsih is to spend as much time in the water as possible to get that 'wet look'. Sounds like a good plan.
I have decided that the best way to get the gloss finsih is to spend as much time in the water as possible to get that 'wet look'. Sounds like a good plan.
#2
General Discussion / Re: Marine wax on the bottom o...
Last post by Bean - July 08, 2025, 09:12:52 AMThat's a great looking board - with the factory finish.
Keep in mind that epoxy takes a lot more sanding to get glossy than polyester resins and require grit's well into the 2000's + heavy polishing. Also, there is the dreaded potential for burn through.
If the board came with a gloss finish from the factory, it would come at the expense of an additional epoxy gloss layer (and additional sanding and polishing process). Since that would add some weight and production time, we would probably be looking to special order the sanded finish. Go figure...
Keep in mind that epoxy takes a lot more sanding to get glossy than polyester resins and require grit's well into the 2000's + heavy polishing. Also, there is the dreaded potential for burn through.
If the board came with a gloss finish from the factory, it would come at the expense of an additional epoxy gloss layer (and additional sanding and polishing process). Since that would add some weight and production time, we would probably be looking to special order the sanded finish. Go figure...
#3
Classifieds / KeNalu Paddle Blade
Last post by Scottiver - July 07, 2025, 08:12:59 PMHello, I have for sale a KeNalu paddle blade. Not sure what model this is. When these came out they had a narrower surf blade and a wider touring blade. This is the touring blade. Measures approx. 8 1/2" wide by 18" long. Only used once or twice and only has a couple of light scratches.
Looking to get $75obo shipped conus.
Looking to get $75obo shipped conus.
#4
General Discussion / Re: 2 or 3 piece paddle sugges...
Last post by SUPvol - July 07, 2025, 11:42:21 AMhttps://blackprojectsup.com/product/surge-sup-paddle-3-piece/
Is this the BP paddle you were referring to? TH
Is this the BP paddle you were referring to? TH
#5
General Discussion / Re: New Sunova Ghost, first da...
Last post by SUPvol - July 07, 2025, 11:09:04 AMThat's a great review and a ton of information -- keep us updated on any new info. I have a Ghost that will hopefully be arriving in a couple of months -
#6
General Discussion / Marine wax on the bottom of my...
Last post by nalu-sup - July 06, 2025, 08:22:37 PMAfter 50 years of surfing, today I came up with a new silly idea today. My new Sunova Ghost has beautiful wood grain on the bottom and the top in front of the deck pad. It looks great anytime, but when it gets wet in the ocean, the wood grain shows up twice as much, which I like. The board does not have a gloss finish, so this cool effect only happens when it's wet. (Check out my earlier post if you want to see a photo of the board.)
I started wondering about putting marine wax on the bottom, rails, and exposed deck area to get that nice sheen all the time (I realize this is kind of silly, but you know most of us are in love with our boards ). I am not concerned with the nose being slippery since I often surf over very shallow coral (12"-18" of water) that is covered with vana (spiky sea urchins), so I always wear booties that keep out the vana spikes if I accidentally kick the bottom, and they give good traction wherever I step on the board.
Any thoughts?
I started wondering about putting marine wax on the bottom, rails, and exposed deck area to get that nice sheen all the time (I realize this is kind of silly, but you know most of us are in love with our boards
). I am not concerned with the nose being slippery since I often surf over very shallow coral (12"-18" of water) that is covered with vana (spiky sea urchins), so I always wear booties that keep out the vana spikes if I accidentally kick the bottom, and they give good traction wherever I step on the board.Any thoughts?
#7
General Discussion / New Sunova Ghost, first day re...
Last post by nalu-sup - July 04, 2025, 11:33:15 PMThis is a very long initial first-day review of my new board, written for other detail nerds out there. If you are not into detailed reviews, just close this post and happily move on. (Consider yourself warned!😁).
Yesterday I picked up my new Sunova Ghost 8'10" x 31 ⅝ @ 137.8 liters. This morning, I decided to take it out for a paddle, even though the forecast was for the surf to be flat. The very low tide and some welcomed 'new-board' karma combined to supply me with some glassy, tiny, knee-high waves to explore a tiny bit of the potential of this new board.👻
The goal for this board was to find a balance somewhere between the great surfing performance of my 8'8" Sunova SP25, and the super stability of my Tabou 9'0". Mysteriously, even though all of the specs on the Ghost are bigger than the SP25, the volume is listed as being virtually identical, which happily is not what I experienced this morning. Based on today's short test, I think the Ghost nailed my goal of blending more volume and stability with at least equal, if not better, surfing performance. Below is a first-day review using comparisons with my SP25. Both boards had an NVS Peregrine thruster set with fairly upright 4.5" sides, and a 4.35" center with almost no tip rake. (I have a new NVS set coming for this board with Peregrine 4.7" sides and a 3.7" Knox Stabilizer center fin, which are the sizes I like on most of my other boards.)
Me: 74 years old, surfed my first wave at Waikiki in 1959 and have surfed most days from May through November since 1976. 5'11", 162 lbs (73.5 kg), two metal hips, back surgery, two rebuilt shoulders, a plastic eye socket from a surf injury, and multiple concussions which mess with my vision and my balance.
Stability: The moment I hopped on the Ghost (137.8 L), I could feel that the dimensions tell a much bigger story than the volume number alone, since it has just the right amount of increased flotation and stability that I wanted over the SP25 (137.7L). The Ghost is 2" longer, ⅜" wider, 1 1/16" wider a foot off the nose, ⅛" thicker (due to a domed deck), very slightly fuller pulled-down rails, and weighs 1.5 lbs more. Seems about right for the increased stability I was looking for. As I had hoped, it does not feel as corky as my larger Tabou, which has too wide a nose and much thicker rails than I would like.
With all my surgeries and new body parts, getting to my feet is not easy on the SP25, and it was noticeably easier on the Ghost. Once up, it was noticeably more stable than the SP25, due largely to the large increase in width in the front half of the board, as well as being 2" longer with slightly fuller rails. (To confirm the difference in flotation and stability, my wife, who usually surfs a 114-liter board, found the SP25 to be challenging this morning when we switched boards, and found the Ghost to be super comfy.)
The Ghost is not nearly as stable as the 145-liter Tabou, but has the priority benefit that I expect the Ghost to surf a lot better, more like the SP25 (or better?).
Paddling: Great paddling speed with more glide than either the SP25 or the Tabou. The paddling speed reminds me a little of my old 8'10" Speeed. Even though the Tabou is a much bigger board, it does not paddle as fast or glide as well due to an abrupt rise in the very wide nose-rocker which causes the board to plow water and decrease glide. When the wind came up today, I had to paddle quite a ways into the wind chop to get home, and the Ghost handled that beautifully.
Yaw: Even with the tiny fin set that I like, the 8'10" Ghost has minimal yaw, much less than the SP25, probably due to the more curvy outline of the SP25.
Wave catching: With a flat forecast, I expected to just paddle around this morning with no hopes of catching any waves. When I reached the usual peak, I was surprised to see a tiny one-foot roller coming in that may or may not break. I decided to see what the Ghost could do if I paddled for this tiny roller. It easily caught the roller long before it broke and quickly accelerated to a surprising speed for a gutless little wave. I ended up catching a dozen knee-high waves more easily than if I had been on any of my other boards. Impressive, even though that is not the size of wave I would normally bother to surf.
Surfing: I will have to wait for some decent-sized waves to get a feel for how the board surfs. A few of the knee-high waves had enough of a drop to feel nice bottom turns that brought me right back up to the lip, so I am optimistic. Cutbacks and roundhouses were sluggish, but I attribute that to the tiny, gutless waves. I am excited to get this board in some decent surf and see what she can do.
Tales of the tape:
Even though the Ghost is 8'10" compared to the 8'8" SP25, the functional rail line is actually ½" shorter on the Ghost due to the 2.5" diamond tail compared to the square tail on the SP25. My theory is that the diamond tail gives two more inches for glide and stability when the board is flat, but yields a shorter rail line to aid in tight carving when up on edge, a nice combination of features if it works as I expect.
The Ghost is described as having a fairly flat tail rocker, but when I measured the boards lying flat on the floor, the Ghost has 1" more rise in the tail than the SP25 which is quite a bit. I am hoping this will show up when surfing decent waves.
Fin placement is an interesting topic. The Ghost is described as having the fin cluster moved forward, which I think is relative to the Sunova Creek. However, fin cluster measurements depend on where you measure from, the end of the rail line or the tip of the diamond tail. If you measure from the tip of the diamond tail, the fin cluster is about 1 ½" further forward on the Ghost compared to the square tail of the SP25. However, if you measure from the end of the rail line where the diamond tail cuts in, which I think is a better reference when carving up on rail, the fins are very slightly further back on the Ghost compared to the SP25. On today's tiny waves, I had to reach my rear foot back the same amount on the Ghost as I normally would on the SP25 to get the best performance.
The Ghost is described as having a very flat deck, but it is actually moderately domed compared to the SP25 which has a truly flat deck. I prefer the slightly domed deck on the Ghost, partly because the slight dome gives great tactile feedback in terms of exactly where your feet are relative to the mid-line and the rails.
The rail profiles are similar in general, but there is a definite difference in how the rails go up to meet the deck. The SP25 has pinched-down, low apex rails, with a paneled upper section that slants up to meet the flat deck at a definite angle. The Ghost has a similar low apex rail that gradually curves up to blend into the moderately domed deck. The end result is that the Ghost carries slightly more rail volume as it curves up to meet the deck. This allows the SP25 rails to penetrate the water slightly easier than the Ghost for my weight, while the tiny bit more volume in the Ghost rails provides a bit more secondary stability. For me, both work very well and both are slightly underwater when standing. Both rails allow for an initial tippiness that makes it easy to go rail-to-rail on a wave, while creating a nice secondary stability as the rails sink enough to encounter the volume of the thicker decks. (One of my other boards has a similar low rail profile but with a center thickness of only 3.7", which creates similar primary stability but with less secondary stability.)
A big shout-out to the team at Sunova. Like all Sunovas, I love the wood grain on the deck and bottom. Whoever picked out the wood for the deck of my board took the extra trouble to match the curvature of the wood grain to the curvature of the outline template in front of the deck pad. I love it, and appreciate the craftsmanship involved in picking out a sheet of wood whose grain would match the outline of the board. Very well done!!
At first, I was not sure I would like the darker color of the wood compared to my previous Sunovas (Speeed, Flow Version 1, SP25), but I have come to love it, especially highlighted by the gold colored rails and deck pad.
There is only one thing I would change. For a decade now, all stock boards from Sunova have come with the same original 5" fin sets that are way too big and with way too much rake for optimal performance, even for big guys like Creek himself. These are high-quality fins, but all of my Sunova fins sit in a drawer because they are just too big and with too much rake to allow for high-performance SUP surfing on boards much over 8'. I am not sure how many people will agree, but I find that the average-sized SUP needs smaller fins than the average surfboard because the longer rail lines of SUPs provide plenty of drive. All the dozens of SUPs I have ridden between 8.5'and 9.5' worked better with smaller fins with less rake which allows for tighter turns and more maneuverability. I would love to see Sunova ship boards with fins more suitable to the board size for best surfing performance. I would agree with Creek who prefers 4.7" sides with 3.5" to 4" centers with not too much rake all around. If Sunova wanted to ship me some fins in that size range, I would be happy to test them.😎
Yesterday I picked up my new Sunova Ghost 8'10" x 31 ⅝ @ 137.8 liters. This morning, I decided to take it out for a paddle, even though the forecast was for the surf to be flat. The very low tide and some welcomed 'new-board' karma combined to supply me with some glassy, tiny, knee-high waves to explore a tiny bit of the potential of this new board.👻
The goal for this board was to find a balance somewhere between the great surfing performance of my 8'8" Sunova SP25, and the super stability of my Tabou 9'0". Mysteriously, even though all of the specs on the Ghost are bigger than the SP25, the volume is listed as being virtually identical, which happily is not what I experienced this morning. Based on today's short test, I think the Ghost nailed my goal of blending more volume and stability with at least equal, if not better, surfing performance. Below is a first-day review using comparisons with my SP25. Both boards had an NVS Peregrine thruster set with fairly upright 4.5" sides, and a 4.35" center with almost no tip rake. (I have a new NVS set coming for this board with Peregrine 4.7" sides and a 3.7" Knox Stabilizer center fin, which are the sizes I like on most of my other boards.)
Me: 74 years old, surfed my first wave at Waikiki in 1959 and have surfed most days from May through November since 1976. 5'11", 162 lbs (73.5 kg), two metal hips, back surgery, two rebuilt shoulders, a plastic eye socket from a surf injury, and multiple concussions which mess with my vision and my balance.
Stability: The moment I hopped on the Ghost (137.8 L), I could feel that the dimensions tell a much bigger story than the volume number alone, since it has just the right amount of increased flotation and stability that I wanted over the SP25 (137.7L). The Ghost is 2" longer, ⅜" wider, 1 1/16" wider a foot off the nose, ⅛" thicker (due to a domed deck), very slightly fuller pulled-down rails, and weighs 1.5 lbs more. Seems about right for the increased stability I was looking for. As I had hoped, it does not feel as corky as my larger Tabou, which has too wide a nose and much thicker rails than I would like.
With all my surgeries and new body parts, getting to my feet is not easy on the SP25, and it was noticeably easier on the Ghost. Once up, it was noticeably more stable than the SP25, due largely to the large increase in width in the front half of the board, as well as being 2" longer with slightly fuller rails. (To confirm the difference in flotation and stability, my wife, who usually surfs a 114-liter board, found the SP25 to be challenging this morning when we switched boards, and found the Ghost to be super comfy.)
The Ghost is not nearly as stable as the 145-liter Tabou, but has the priority benefit that I expect the Ghost to surf a lot better, more like the SP25 (or better?).
Paddling: Great paddling speed with more glide than either the SP25 or the Tabou. The paddling speed reminds me a little of my old 8'10" Speeed. Even though the Tabou is a much bigger board, it does not paddle as fast or glide as well due to an abrupt rise in the very wide nose-rocker which causes the board to plow water and decrease glide. When the wind came up today, I had to paddle quite a ways into the wind chop to get home, and the Ghost handled that beautifully.
Yaw: Even with the tiny fin set that I like, the 8'10" Ghost has minimal yaw, much less than the SP25, probably due to the more curvy outline of the SP25.
Wave catching: With a flat forecast, I expected to just paddle around this morning with no hopes of catching any waves. When I reached the usual peak, I was surprised to see a tiny one-foot roller coming in that may or may not break. I decided to see what the Ghost could do if I paddled for this tiny roller. It easily caught the roller long before it broke and quickly accelerated to a surprising speed for a gutless little wave. I ended up catching a dozen knee-high waves more easily than if I had been on any of my other boards. Impressive, even though that is not the size of wave I would normally bother to surf.
Surfing: I will have to wait for some decent-sized waves to get a feel for how the board surfs. A few of the knee-high waves had enough of a drop to feel nice bottom turns that brought me right back up to the lip, so I am optimistic. Cutbacks and roundhouses were sluggish, but I attribute that to the tiny, gutless waves. I am excited to get this board in some decent surf and see what she can do.
Tales of the tape:
Even though the Ghost is 8'10" compared to the 8'8" SP25, the functional rail line is actually ½" shorter on the Ghost due to the 2.5" diamond tail compared to the square tail on the SP25. My theory is that the diamond tail gives two more inches for glide and stability when the board is flat, but yields a shorter rail line to aid in tight carving when up on edge, a nice combination of features if it works as I expect.
The Ghost is described as having a fairly flat tail rocker, but when I measured the boards lying flat on the floor, the Ghost has 1" more rise in the tail than the SP25 which is quite a bit. I am hoping this will show up when surfing decent waves.
Fin placement is an interesting topic. The Ghost is described as having the fin cluster moved forward, which I think is relative to the Sunova Creek. However, fin cluster measurements depend on where you measure from, the end of the rail line or the tip of the diamond tail. If you measure from the tip of the diamond tail, the fin cluster is about 1 ½" further forward on the Ghost compared to the square tail of the SP25. However, if you measure from the end of the rail line where the diamond tail cuts in, which I think is a better reference when carving up on rail, the fins are very slightly further back on the Ghost compared to the SP25. On today's tiny waves, I had to reach my rear foot back the same amount on the Ghost as I normally would on the SP25 to get the best performance.
The Ghost is described as having a very flat deck, but it is actually moderately domed compared to the SP25 which has a truly flat deck. I prefer the slightly domed deck on the Ghost, partly because the slight dome gives great tactile feedback in terms of exactly where your feet are relative to the mid-line and the rails.
The rail profiles are similar in general, but there is a definite difference in how the rails go up to meet the deck. The SP25 has pinched-down, low apex rails, with a paneled upper section that slants up to meet the flat deck at a definite angle. The Ghost has a similar low apex rail that gradually curves up to blend into the moderately domed deck. The end result is that the Ghost carries slightly more rail volume as it curves up to meet the deck. This allows the SP25 rails to penetrate the water slightly easier than the Ghost for my weight, while the tiny bit more volume in the Ghost rails provides a bit more secondary stability. For me, both work very well and both are slightly underwater when standing. Both rails allow for an initial tippiness that makes it easy to go rail-to-rail on a wave, while creating a nice secondary stability as the rails sink enough to encounter the volume of the thicker decks. (One of my other boards has a similar low rail profile but with a center thickness of only 3.7", which creates similar primary stability but with less secondary stability.)
A big shout-out to the team at Sunova. Like all Sunovas, I love the wood grain on the deck and bottom. Whoever picked out the wood for the deck of my board took the extra trouble to match the curvature of the wood grain to the curvature of the outline template in front of the deck pad. I love it, and appreciate the craftsmanship involved in picking out a sheet of wood whose grain would match the outline of the board. Very well done!!
At first, I was not sure I would like the darker color of the wood compared to my previous Sunovas (Speeed, Flow Version 1, SP25), but I have come to love it, especially highlighted by the gold colored rails and deck pad.
There is only one thing I would change. For a decade now, all stock boards from Sunova have come with the same original 5" fin sets that are way too big and with way too much rake for optimal performance, even for big guys like Creek himself. These are high-quality fins, but all of my Sunova fins sit in a drawer because they are just too big and with too much rake to allow for high-performance SUP surfing on boards much over 8'. I am not sure how many people will agree, but I find that the average-sized SUP needs smaller fins than the average surfboard because the longer rail lines of SUPs provide plenty of drive. All the dozens of SUPs I have ridden between 8.5'and 9.5' worked better with smaller fins with less rake which allows for tighter turns and more maneuverability. I would love to see Sunova ship boards with fins more suitable to the board size for best surfing performance. I would agree with Creek who prefers 4.7" sides with 3.5" to 4" centers with not too much rake all around. If Sunova wanted to ship me some fins in that size range, I would be happy to test them.😎
#8
General Discussion / Re: Is anyone still stoked on ...
Last post by NEsurfSUP - July 03, 2025, 12:08:31 PMIs anyone still stoked?.....absolutely. I'm also approaching 74 (in a month), and have a new Ghost 9'3". We've had a pretty nice little swell the last five days, and my crew says that they haven't seen me as loose on any of my previous boards, as I am on this one. Good feedback always helps stoke the stoke!
Also, for anyone who is wondering where he is, and whether he is still stoked, I frequently surf with Creek here on Cape Cod. He is 77 and still jamming. Watch the video for proof.
Feel like a kid again with this swell and the new board.
Also, for anyone who is wondering where he is, and whether he is still stoked, I frequently surf with Creek here on Cape Cod. He is 77 and still jamming. Watch the video for proof.
Feel like a kid again with this swell and the new board.
#9
General Discussion / Re: Is anyone still stoked on ...
Last post by nalu-sup - July 02, 2025, 10:47:50 PMJust turning 74, and my SUP stoke is still alive and well. My ideal day is still SUP surfing in the morning and then windsurfing in the afternoon with the occasional downwinder thrown in. If there are no wind or waves, I enjoy taking a 12-foot touring board and powering up and down the coast.
If you think windsurfing is dead, check out any recent videos of the Aloha Classic on Maui or any other wave or freestyle competitions. The performance level at the high-end continues to grow every year. What has changed is that windsurfing is now more restricted to places that have consistently good conditions. Fewer people are doing it who have access to those conditions, but those people still love the sport and all its variety.
As far as SUP surfing, I am picking up my new 8'10" Sunova Ghost at air cargo tomorrow, so the stoke is definitely still there.
If you think windsurfing is dead, check out any recent videos of the Aloha Classic on Maui or any other wave or freestyle competitions. The performance level at the high-end continues to grow every year. What has changed is that windsurfing is now more restricted to places that have consistently good conditions. Fewer people are doing it who have access to those conditions, but those people still love the sport and all its variety.
As far as SUP surfing, I am picking up my new 8'10" Sunova Ghost at air cargo tomorrow, so the stoke is definitely still there.
#10
General Discussion / Re: Coil leash vs standard lea...
Last post by nalu-sup - July 02, 2025, 10:11:47 PMFWIW, I use straight leashes for surfing and coiled leashes for downwinding and any boards over 12 feet long. The only time I have been hit by the recoil of a leash was using a straight leash.
