Author Topic: What type of race board  (Read 8578 times)

Adapt

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What type of race board
« on: May 21, 2012, 11:07:40 PM »
Thought I'd ask what size race board would you recommend or you are riding far a person at 6'3, 204lbs. I know Dave Kalama believes bigger is better for the bigger guys, but there seems to be more 12'6 riders out there

Chilly

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2012, 05:24:12 AM »
Jim Terrell had some interesting comments on the future of race classes pertaining to board size. http://www.supracer.com/jim-terrell-board-classes/

It made me think that my next board will have to be a 14 regardless of my body weight if I want to compete in races.
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spookini

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2012, 05:57:28 AM »
Gotta disagree, Chilly.  SUP is 'citizen racing', weekend warrior-type stuff.  Most ppl do not want to drive around with (and store) a 14' or longer board.

Did you watch the video through?  At the end he mentions being at unimited races where the "field" is a whopping 10-12 paddlers.  If anything, I think unlimited "racing" might die off or be reduced to a handful of mad hatters.
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DavidJohn

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2012, 06:44:12 AM »
I'm your height and weight and love my 12'6" Glide.. It's a bargain price.. It's got good flat water speed and stability.. and also goes well on down-winders.

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Chilly

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2012, 07:13:07 AM »
Spookini, I’m going to have to watch the video again later when I get home from work. I understood that Terrell’s opinion was to eliminate the 12.6 and under class and go with a 14 and under class. I really don’t have an opinion on it yet. I just figure if event organizers do that I will still race my 12.6 but my next race board will be a 14 to be competitive.
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stoneaxe

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2012, 08:19:17 AM »
Citizen racing it is...and most of the citizens I see showing up to race are on 14' boards. There will always be a mix of classes though and that's the way it should be. You need an entry level class that gets the weekend warrior going. Once hooked they start looking at longer sleeker boards. The 12-6 class is around for one reason. The Starboard cruiser was 12-6 and a long board at the time and all other common boards fit under it. Then the BOP solidified that class. It's good to have for a lot of reasons. Getting rid of it would be a big mistake.

I think the 14 is better for racing. Levels the field a little but it's still a smaller or at least lighter paddlers advantage for the most part. I think unlimited will remain if only to give guys my size something to race and to see just how fast a SUP might be able to go. There is no way I can race a 12-6 and be anything but slow in comparison to smaller guys. You can't look at SUP classes without having a discussion on the size of the paddlers. Do we really want SUP racing to become like horse racing...only a specific body type need apply?
« Last Edit: May 22, 2012, 08:24:46 AM by stoneaxe »
Bob

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stvandev

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2012, 08:46:53 AM »
Out here in the PNW everyone is migrating toward the 14 for racing.  I'm on a 12'6 now, 14 will be coming soon, at 6'3" and 200 lbs and would prefer to be on a 14.  Even the smaller guys are moving up.  Most people started with the 12'6 and then went up but this season I'm seeing more people just starting with the 14.  At a race 10 days ago, there were twice as many mens 14 as 12'6.  At your size, 14 all the way.  As far as moving and storing, the extra 18" isn't usually a big deal.
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tstansbury

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2012, 08:49:42 AM »
how about a amature class where under 190 lbs are on 12.6 over can be on up to 14 and over 250 can be on unlimited

PonoBill

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2012, 09:01:44 AM »
That's what I'd propose, though I'd move the weights down a bit. We either need that or a handicap system, which will be a bit of a bear to figure out, but certainly not impossible.
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Chilly

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2012, 09:32:26 AM »
how about a amature class where under 190 lbs are on 12.6 over can be on up to 14 and over 250 can be on unlimited

I don’t know about that. I understand the reasoning behind it, but to tell a 160 lbs guy he can’t race his 14 because he’s to light would suck. 
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gorgebob

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2012, 09:47:14 AM »
The Unlimiteds are going to be around for the big open ocean down winders. 14 should be the main male class. 12'6"  for women elite . The surf class should just be changed to recreation class. Race what you got.
If you win in the rec class you can move up to 14. The Ross Island race had a number of first time racers on 14s who tested the waters with the short course and I believe it worked well. Only one 14 raced the short course that should of raced the long but do to time restraints he couldn't. I would rather have him out racing recreation than not at the event at all. The question I see is when are women going to choose 14s?
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headmount

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2012, 10:51:28 AM »
There are some great light 14s coming out and even for open ocean they have a place.  If you're good at surfing/moving your feet then a 14 can compete with many of the unlimiteds.  Bill Foote's Maliko 14 is one I plan to try.  The Bullet (17') is a lot of board and after a year on it, it's still a wrestling match for me sometimes... but other times pure bliss. 

14s are still difficult/expensive to ship.  It might be great if a time share was set up for people who wanted to use 14 and over when they came to Maui... or anywhere.

pdxmike

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2012, 10:53:42 AM »
I agree with Bob.  At the Ross Island race, I counted (from the results) 13 14' boards in the non-rec men vs. only 1 12-6--13 to 1!  Only a year or two ago, I bet it was the reverse.  Based on that, at least around here the 12-6 is dead for men.  It'll be interesting to see the bigger races this summer--Round the Rock, Hood River--and compare this year to before. 

I did see at least one woman on a 14' in the rec class.  I could easily see women moving to 14' as more narrow light boards become available.  Now my guess is fast women race 12-6 because they want to race against the other fast women, who are also on 12-6. But then they can't compete against the men (and women are right up there in being able to do that).  So I could see a huge move to 14' by women, once a couple of them make the switch.  Then add some manufacturers coming out with lighter, narrower 14s (which they'll do anyway as lighter men who move to 14' demand them) and 14' could become standard for women as well. 

I agree with changing the "surfboard" class from a 12-6 surfboard class to a "novice" class.   People are starting to get 14s as their first board, and that will increase, and you don't want to intimidate them from racing by forcing them to compete with the elites.  Ross Island was perfect--a shorter course for beginners that allowed them to watch the elites coming back along the course.  I know 14s give people a huge advantage over 12-6 in the novice race, but if you're competitive, you'll move out of it for your next race anyway.  And already there are great differences in the boards that qualify for the "surfboard" class as PonoBill with his 12-2 rocket can tell you. 

So Adapt, you'd be happier on a 14' at your size, and it's becoming the standard size at non-BOP, non-surf events. 

peterp

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2012, 11:03:11 AM »
I think it's great that Jim Terrell opened up the debate a little further and actually had a firm opinion. Here in SA we're just punting the 14' class, but we do have a few ladies that have 12'6s but even they want a 14' once they've tried one and gone faster - and why not? We hear a lot about 12'6s are easier to log around, each to their own, but if people are more worried about what their board is doing on land then I think the priorities are back to front.....
14's levels the playing field for most body types and you will always have unlimited for specialised open ocean downwinders - having said that we are still to see one that is faster than our 14's in our short period wind swell - I'd be interested to hear if the Unlimiteds can beat the 14's on the Hood river?
I'm sensing a trend that most people are moving towards the 14's - all it would take to complete that move would be for event organisers to push the prizemoney and trophy honours to that class.
The problem the manufacturers have is that it's getting more and more specialised so we have ocean/downwind and flatwater specific raceboards - now add two classes (12' & 14) + different widths for different folks and we end up with too many models which ultimately will drive prices up because production is not running economies of scale. Get rid of the 12'6......

Six Feet and Glassy

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Re: What type of race board
« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2012, 11:50:44 AM »
I also like the idea of handicapping in terms of fairness.  A system that takes into account a rider's weight AND board volume would be really fair overall.  But like PB said, that'd require quite a bit of work for the organizer.

And it would kill races as a spectator sport.  Who comes across the finish line first would have no meaning.  The guy coming in last might be the winner if he's the biggest guy on the smallest board. 

And we already have age groups and three board classes.  Add in weight classes?  I think PB talked about this prior as being a can of worms (but fair, if that's what one wants).

JT's idea of minimum weight and width for class boards is very interesting too.  Whodathunk?

Tough questions.  Great food for thought, though.  I LOVE this forum.   ;D

Ken

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