Liters and Weight??

[Sup44]

Hey guys - new to the site. Stoked to have a rad SUP resource like this!

Here's my question. I currently ride a Naish 8'5 Hokua at 115 Liters. I am 6'0 and 180-185 LBS. The Hokua I handle with ease. I am currently looking at the 2014 Starboard Carbon Fiber 8'0 with 96L VS Starboard 7-7" 92L. I am an aggressive SUP'er and looking for the smallest I can go with some sense of comfort and stability.

I recently purchased an 8'0 Naish Hokua and didn't do my research prior . It has a whopping 80L and was really, really tough. I sold it because it was so much work but I had the feeling that if I spent a month on it it might have been possible.

Thoughts? Anyone have any experience on these boards?

Thank you!

[PonoBill]

A liter of water is 2.2 pounds, so it takes 84 liters just to float you. If you want the board to have some form stability (a little self correction in the pitch direction) you'll need a few liters to get the nose and tail floating -- say 88 liters. You can go lower, there's plenty of people that do, but their boards are moving constantly and they have superb skills.

If you want your board to do much of the balancing for you, and you'd like to be able to stand on it without moving, then you're looking at 90-95L

[Sup44]

A liter of water is 2.2 pounds, so it takes 84 liters just to float you. If you want the board to have some form stability (a little self correction in the pitch direction) you'll need a few liters to get the nose and tail floating -- say 88 liters. You can go lower, there's plenty of people that do, but their boards are moving constantly and they have superb skills.

If you want your board to do much of the balancing for you, and you'd like to be able to stand on it without moving, then you're looking at 90-95L

Wow! Thank you. Why is it that the board companies limit their weights so much lower than these numbers?

Also, what does "pitch direction" mean?

[kayadogg]

Sup44, PonoBill's volume recommendations are pretty spot on.  I made the same mistake with the 8'0 Hokua... snagged a brand new one for a ridiculous deal and the next day when I went to surf it, I quickly realized that the advertised volume of 95L is way off and estimated it to be around 80L, like you said.  For reference, I'm exactly your height and weight.  I settled on a 8'2 Rogue SUP (custom but not made for me but someone my size).  It's 27' wide and has a very thin pulled in nose and tail.  Volume is approximately 92L.  After a couple months on it, it's not easy but it's also manageable in everything, including chop.  It provides quite a workout and keeps me honest with balance checks here and there.  The payoff for how well it surfs is worth the extra bit of work.  I think this is my theoretical limit, for now, of a small board that is still manageable in a range of conditions.  I considered the Starboard 7'7 as there was one for sale near me but it was just too much $$ and knowing how often I switch boards, it didn't make sense although I have had this 8'2 for longer than most of my boards.  I think she may be a keeper.

[PonoBill]

Pitch means tilting forward or back, yaw is side to side in the horizontal plane (like a rudder moves an airplane) and roll is tipping side to side. If your board doesn't have much volume then not much of the nose or tail will be floating. if you lean forward there's not much buoyancy increase from the nose going under to counter your weight shift, so unless you do something the board will just keep pitching forwards. That means the "sweet spot" for balance will be small.

Manufacturers get their buoyancy numbers from shape calculations. The only real way to do it is with a tank, but no one does that now (I think). Their weight recommendations come from experience with what size customers will find the board acceptable. You'll find beginner boards with 150 liters being recommended for people under 200 pounds. Doesn't mean much.

[RATbeachrider]

Hot damn PonoBill .... I've been searching and reading up on volume, etc. to get ready for the custom board and glad I ran into this thread.  Thanks!

[14 West]

7'7" all the way! I'm the same size as you and I think I could go another 10L smaller in ideal conditions. You'll find the rocker lines and flat decks on a starboard will be surprisingly more stable than your Naish volume for volume.

[SupSurfIsSurf]

Hey guys - new to the site. Stoked to have a rad SUP resource like this!

Here's my question. I currently ride a Naish 8'5 Hokua at 115 Liters. I am 6'0 and 180-185 LBS. The Hokua I handle with ease. I am currently looking at the 2014 Starboard Carbon Fiber 8'0 with 96L VS Starboard 7-7" 92L. I am an aggressive SUP'er and looking for the smallest I can go with some sense of comfort and stability.

I recently purchased an 8'0 Naish Hokua and didn't do my research prior . It has a whopping 80L and was really, really tough. I sold it because it was so much work but I had the feeling that if I spent a month on it it might have been possible.

Thoughts? Anyone have any experience on these boards?

Thank you!

Liters are a really solid indicator and very important to know and that their accurate.

But although those two starboards are very close in liters they are not that close in tipsiness and float size and shape matter.

a 6'9" gong thats 100 liters will float better than a 96L 7'7" because its 5 in in the middle thick focused float.

Shorters not always better for surfing either.

you sound like you got it dialed though.

close your eyes and pick and then surf until you buy a new one

[PonoBill]

If a production boards is shaped on a mill with software like Aku Shaper then the calculation will be pretty accurate. It's built into the software and probably calculated by counting lots of small polygons. If it's hand shaped or molded then it's guesswork unless they have an old displacement tank sitting around. 

[Dwight (DW)]

Bill, on blanks without a stringer, you weigh the finished shaped EPS, then calculate volume knowing your true EPS density from the QC shipping docs.

[SlatchJim]

Bill, on blanks without a stringer, you weigh the finished shaped EPS, then calculate volume knowing your true EPS density from the QC shipping docs.

That's how a simpleton like me always figured they did it.  Weigh a material knowing it's specific gravity and boom, you can calc the volume.

I've been out with a few of you on very small boards, and while I admire your ability and work ethic, I know it's not for me. I'm perfectly happy to surf a little bit larger and more voluminous board for the added benefit of stability while standing or glide when paddling.  I'm also fine with a little extra weight to improve durability. At around 114 liters of equivalent water volume, I like boards in the 155 to 175L range.

[PonoBill]

Bill, on blanks without a stringer, you weigh the finished shaped EPS, then calculate volume knowing your true EPS density from the QC shipping docs.

But of course! I didn't think if that. I just figured weight couldn't be a good volume measure on a finished board. Duh.

[peterp]

Bill, on blanks without a stringer, you weigh the finished shaped EPS, then calculate volume knowing your true EPS density from the QC shipping docs.

How accurate is that? Doesn't the density vary quite a bit from inner to outer shell?

[Dwight (DW)]

Doesn't the density vary quite a bit from inner to outer shell?

No. That only happens on poly foam, not EPS.

[Sup44]

So I ended up with the carbon 8'0 with 96 liters. It's super fun but a little too big at 190 lbs. The handle is also slowly coming out of place and its only been ridden since July. I'm looking into warrenty..

At 190 LBS i'm now thinking about the 2014 8'0 Naish hokua LE. It's 80 liters. Impossible?? I rode an 2011 8'0 and it was painfuly hard but felt somewhat possible if I stayed on it for a month. I wonder if the carbon would make it any floatier....