Exocet WindSUP

[Great Gazoo]

I am going to purchase the Exocet WindSUP 11'8 or the 10'0.  Not sure which size would be the best fit?

I am new to SUP, but I have been windsurfing for a few seasons and can waterstart, plane in the straps and harness and carve gybe 50% of the time along with doing non-planning gybes.  

Here are the details about me and the way I want to use the board and maybe you can help with some input about board size:

I weigh between 75-80kg (165-175lbs)
I am 5'8
I paddle and sail on an inland lake.
The wind is between 10knots-18knots
I will paddle on calm water and sometimes there will be white caps for paddling (but at this time I will be sailing most likely)
I will be paddline with a dog who weighs 45lbs
  
I am thinking I will use the board 50% of the time for padding and 50% for windsurfing.
Some of the times I will want to bring my dog on the board when I am paddling and he weighs about 45 lbs

Do you think a 10'0 Exocet WIndSUP board is stable enough to carry a 45lb dog with me while paddling?

I have sold my windsurf board in order to get the SUP board so I am looking for a fairly good windsurfing board along with a good paddle board.  I am thinking the 10 would be better windsurf board, but the 11'8 would be the better paddle board.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

[wilanz]

Here are some pics of both from a recent Demo.  I'm 5'6 - 175lbs.  SUPsurfing for 2 years, windsurfing for 1 year mostly SUPs.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151317691012538.564641.644662537&type=3&l=30e09d5df8

11'8 Sails like a dream.  Very easy to SUP also.  A little big for me to turn on the waves but not any harder than a SUP that size.

10' was a bit more technical to sail in light wind.  I got a couple of tips from the Team rider doing the demo and he let me try his bigger sail and the stock fin which is bigger.  Both of those things made this board more fun and still aggressive.  Once on a wave, it was real easy to turn both with a sail and a paddle.  As a flat water paddler the 32" is too wide for me.  I like boards 28.5-30" wide but once on a wave I couldn't notice.

I'm also trying to decide on which model to get.  The price point being the same for both sizes doesn't help!  The 10' will do 99% of the things I want but it will take sometime to learn it.  The 11'8 will probably do 70% and I'll need a smaller SUP for surf days.

I think the 10' will be stable enough to carry your dog but you won't get too far because of it's dimensions.

Best bet is to grab a rental or demo SUP in those sizes and take your dog out for a paddle.  You'll find out soon enough which size works best!

[laszlo]

I don't understand the value of the ducktail on these boards.

On their planing longboards the reasoning was that the ductail gives you more volume while not planing, making it easier to sail in glideing mode. When the board planes, the tail rises out of the water, creating a shorter, faster board. In practice this does work; I owned a Minitanker for a while and experienced it.

On the other hand, the ducktail causes some weird sensations while jibing; it took me a  while to get used to it, and it was brought up by many people on the Exocet forum. And it forces the fin to be way forward, also creating some turning issues. 

What benefit does the ducktail offer on a board that will rarely plane? I can't imagine it is worth the built-in disadvantages.

[beaglebuddy]

I have the 11'8" Windsup, these are my observations;
The step tail does seem to allow the water to release off the back very nicely at any speed. Because the board has a flat tail (no tail rocker) the step tail allows the board to fit into waves. The flat tail is necessary for windsurfing at higher speeds but won't work in waves so the step tail is sort of a compromise.
I would say this board is primarily a windsurfer. It's very heavy, around 32 or 34 Lbs which seems to make it more stable when blasting back and forth.
For SUP surfing a person will be better off with any old SUP board, it will be lighter to turn easier and have tail rocker, trying to make the windsup a do all board is a compromise.
If you use footstraps they will have to come off for SUP surfing, taking them on and off frequently is not workable, it's a PITA and the holes will wear out eventually.
For just paddling around it's ok, the straps can stay on and the daggerboard can go down just a bit to act as a keel to keep you going straight. But paddling on flat water the nose rocker pushes quite a bit of water, a displacement nose board would be so much better for flat water paddling.
The mast track is very long, 14" but it's placed too far forward. I have been having trouble trying to get into the straps and I discovered that everyone puts the mast base at the back of the track. With a two bolt mast base all the way back and the front footstraps in the forward position the distance is correct, to use the outboard strap positions requires a one bolt mast base to get the mast back about another 2" to keep the distance correct.
There is a far forward footstrap position but that's way too far forward, just for learning.
Daggerboard fit's kinda loose and sloppy and I'm afraid to tighten it up any more but I don't use it anyways, it stays in the car.
Powerbox fin box is very important IMO, it allows the use of huge fins, it comes with a giant 44 CM fin which really is too big for surfing or shallow water but great for sailing. All boards should have fin boxes like this, easier to get fins on and off and stronger.
The board sails very well on and off the plane, it's stable and wants to go in a straight line. It eats up chop. Planning jibes apparently are not so easy (I'm not there yet) I use a stomp jibe, stepping on the tail hard turns it very sharply and controllably and sail out clew first, tacks are super easy too. To me it's about the best longboard windsurfer available.
I see the 2013 model has a handle hole, this is very good because it's so heavy, I grab it thru the DB slot but that's not balanced in the middle.
I usually use an 8M sail but others have said up to a 10M works fine.
Really it's just a bigger and better Kona.

[beaglebuddy]

All TBS, since you are not surfing on waves the longer board would give more glide and stability sailing on and off the plane and SUPing.
Here is an idea, get an old raceboard longboard windsurfer, you could get a very nice one for a few hundred bucks then buy a displacement bow flatwater SUP, 14' or 18', the way those things paddle and glide is amazing.

[Great Gazoo]

Thank you all for taking the time to provide information on the boards.  After the research and input I have heard I am going with the 11'8.  I think it will be a good fit for what I am using it for.

Thanks again!