SIC Maui Kunalu

[Chilly]

I’m curious to see what a  SIC Kunalu 12’2” x 26 5/8” hollow molded board looks like? Does anyone have a picture of one?

[PonoBill]

I've got a brand new one on my truck. Amazing board. I'll shoot some pictures. I think the wayback machine might have a few pics from the 2007 board test on Ke Nalu. Unfortunately all that stuff is gone from the current site.

[Chilly]

Thanks Bill, I appreciate that!
2007! That’s a classic in SUP years for a board design. It must be an amazing board to be made into a mold and still sold today.

[PonoBill]

It was the first SUP board that Mark Raaphorst made--and my first SUP. It was too narrow for the market then, it's almost impossible for a mid to heavy-weight newb to stand on. It's not great at anything, but it's good at everything. I surf it, sail it, cruise it, downwind it, and race it. Very fast for a surfboard-class board.

The Starboard 12'2 is the same board. Starboard licensed the shape. It was their first SUP and it was also unpopular because it was so hard for newbs. They came out with the 12'6" X 30 almost immediately.

If you're looking for one board that can do it all, it's probably the only one. But a quiver of boards will always out perform it. Except in the surfboard racing class. I think enough of the board to have a Starboard 12'2" in Hood River (that I raced very successfully at most of the events I did last year) and a new Ku Nalu here in Maui.

[stoneaxe]

I have the pics from the 2008 board test. I'll post them later when I get home.

[SUP Sports ®]

We were the first dealer to receive them in North America back in '07...not that popular of a board...
The 11'11" "Big Red" far outsold it...

Here's a gallery...also, has the 12'6" Cruiser...

http://surfingsports.com/starboard_sup/index.html

Pic is of the AST version...but, we still have a woodie in our museum that's in mint condition...
It did windsurf fine...but, I would much rather surf and paddle our 11'11" One World Surfari...

[PonoBill]

No question the Big Red was a far better board for the market. The Ku Nalu is as unstable as it looks, sometimes I think a telephone pole would be more forgiving. But it's fun and fast. If a 245 pound geezer can manage it, anyone can. It just won't happen immediately like it would with a Big Red.

Sean Ordonez is one of the world's great surfboard designers. Too bad he's not more of a marketer. Also one hell of a surfer--and simply a really great person. I watched him ripping it up at Ho'okipa on one of his shortboards a few weeks ago. After totally shredding a beautiful wave he dropped to his belly and rode the reforms cleanly to the exit spot without a single stroke, linking up three different wave angles to do so, popped to his feet in ten inches of water and walked out as if it were nothing. I guess you'd have to be there to know what this means, but I've never seen anyone make so clean and elegant an exit at the notoriously fiddly Ho'okipa Greentrees channel. I'm still marveling at it weeks later.

[Chilly]

This is a cool history lesson. I can see how the Bullet evolved from this board, the thick volume in the middle that tapers off. I agree it was ahead of its time at 26” 5/8”. Looks like a fun board now. I would prefer not to have a full deck pad and a pointer nose.  Wait,,,,,I take it back, I just described a Bullet 12. Actually it would be great to see the Bullet 12 a little narrower and hollow like the Ku Nalu.

[SUP Sports ®]

No question the Big Red was a far better board for the market. The Ku Nalu is as unstable as it looks, sometimes I think a telephone pole would be more forgiving. But it's fun and fast. If a 245 pound geezer can manage it, anyone can. It just won't happen immediately like it would with a Big Red.

Sean Ordonez is one of the world's great surfboard designers. Too bad he's not more of a marketer. Also one hell of a surfer--and simply a really great person. I watched him ripping it up at Ho'okipa on one of his shortboards a few weeks ago. After totally shredding a beautiful wave he dropped to his belly and rode the reforms cleanly to the exit spot without a single stroke, linking up three different wave angles to do so, popped to his feet in ten inches of water and walked out as if it were nothing. I guess you'd have to be there to know what this means, but I've never seen anyone make so clean and elegant an exit at the notoriously fiddly Ho'okipa Greentrees channel. I'm still marveling at it weeks later.

Sean is a great surfer...and windsurfer...and paddlesurfer...and kitesurfer...and towsurfer...etc...definitely one of the most accomplished watermen/shapers in the world...

I was working with him on his SOS sailboard line in 2005 when we started working together prototyping the Big Red and Big Blue production standups...
A couple of pics of precursors to those...
I marketed the production standups online before there was a standup magazine or Standupzone...we had a waiting list and they sold out before they cleared customs...

He was over it shortly after being knocked off...we built a couple of more boards together here in Santa Barbara...a 13' big wave gun...and, the first 14' SUP in North America...he eventually connected with Paige and really started concentrating on his shortboard shapes...I have a 6'10" that I kept...and, a Rocket 99 waveboard...his guns are very sought after...a number of chargers out at Peahi on them including Kai Lenny...

We still have the Big Red prototype...Big Red production with mast track...as well as the 13' and 14'ers...also in our SUP hall of fame "museum"...;-)

[PonoBill]

Here's the new Ku Nalu. The full length pad is not really an option--I tried. The mold is designed for the pad to be integral and the space would need to be filled with something. The EVA is probably as light as anything else you might use.

[PonoBill]

Here's the new Ku Nalu. The full length pad is not really an option--I tried. The mold is designed for the pad to be integral and the space would need to be filled with something. The EVA is probably as light as anything else you might use.

You can see why it's fast. Put a piercing nose on that puppy and it would probably smoke most 12'6" race boards. It does pretty well as it is.

[Kaihoe]

Hot Damn I think the wife needs a new 'cruiser' 

[Chilly]

Thanks for the pictures Bill. You have cool toys!

[pdxmike]

Now I see why Stoneaxe has always said you have a nice pad in Hawaii.

[stoneaxe]

I don't think we had the Ku Nalu in the showcase. I know you had it at the time but we didn't take any pics or document it like we did the other 40 boards (I have all the pics and PDFs from the showcase). I think because you had beat it up a bit we left it out. If I remember it was more than a little dinged up.