Love hate with your boards?

[TallDude]

All boards are a compromise. The less boards you have, the more the compromise.

My 14' x 28.5" Hobie Elite (frankenboard due to my modifications) is my main ocean distance board. I tend to compare the speed of every board in flat water to my 25" wide unlimited. So most 14'rs are dogs. I've paddled a good percentage of them too. Usually if they are narrower they don't feel slow, but limit the severeness of the conditions I can paddle in.

Every time I start my distance paddle on my 14'r in the harbor (flat water), I start thinking about cutting it down (narrower, knifing the nose more, etc.) turning it into even more of a frankenboard. That mile stretch down the channel is enough time for me to really dislike the amount of water it's pushing. That line of thinking ends the minute I get to the end of the jetty and head out into the open ocean. Yesterday, it was all crossed up with 2' to 3' troughs capping with a dominant 5' to 6' swell. No one was outside the jetty. Five minutes into that mess, with the board twisting under my feet, plowing and pitching. I was thinking I wouldn't want any narrower less stable board at that moment, and was glad I had my frankenboard. After 30 minutes of that crap I headed towards the shore, where the ocean is calmer and there was some surf. The other thing I like about my frankenboard, is it surfs good for a 14'r. 

Needless to say, I sometimes hate it, but I'm not planning on selling it or remodeling it anytime soon.

[SUPcheat]

Mostly just love.  Inflatable, hard board etc. I don't care, I'm just grateful to be out there and vertical.

[esskay1000]

Mostly just love.  Inflatable, hard board etc. I don't care, I'm just grateful to be out there and vertical.

+1

[SCruzSUPr]

Mostly just love... I'm just grateful to be out there and vertical.

Carl u got such a way with words...

[TallDude]

We're talking relationships here. So.... everyone's content?

[SlatchJim]

Mostly just love.  Inflatable, hard board etc. I don't care, I'm just grateful to be out there and vertical.

+2

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

love all mine

[supthecreek]

If I don't love them, they go away quickly......but that has only happened a few times because I research the hell out of things..... it's half the fun.

I love every board I have at the moment 

[TallDude]

Well, I just proposed to a new one.... Ralph introduced us, but it's one of those online blind date kind-of-things. We haven't met in person, but I know she's short, squatty, and has an orangish color. 

[spookini]

No, I'd agree.  Every board is a pig if paddling it in conditions it doesn't excel in.

I love every board I have at the moment 

Hmm,  ... anyone notice that user board reviews tend to be 'most amazing board I've ever owned' -- but only til next season? 

[Biggreen]

I have a board I built over the winter. Remember I build outside so it was quite a process getting temps, overall weather, epoxy to cooperate. Took two weeks to build the damn thing and it came out looking like a warmed over dog turd. Why I never posted any pics. All my boards leave something to be desired in quality, but this baby...well, she reached new heights in chumming at the bottom in terms of beauty. But I still had high hopes for surfability (new word says my iPad). At the time of construction I only had 3 fin boxes so obviously my not so lovely became a thruster. Surfed just like the turd it looked like. Now it's not often I use multi-syllable words, speak in complete sentences, or consider myself even remotely enlightened, but this baby just didn't "speak to me". So I sidelined the board after only about 5 surf sessions. Recently I had ordered a bunch of new fin boxes and decided to turn my sideliner into a quad/5 fin set-up. Wow! What a difference! Now I love my sideliner. Only problem is, when I show up to surf people ask, "what the hell happened to your board?" Or "you know, maybe you should consider taking a class in board building." All good. Hate to love. Better than love to hate. And I'm no beauty myself. Thanks TD. nice thread

[TN_SUP]

Love my SB Sprint except in chop, can crank out 8 miles and my shoulders still feel fresh, but hating my flatwater falcon as my shoulders hurt for days after paddling it (but love it in chop). Would think the extra volume would effectively shorten my paddle, but its changing my stroke somehow. Maybe its the extra effort with the blunt nose.

[Off-Shore]

I don't really have a proper 14' race board, so in the ocean time trials here, I use my SIC Bullet 14v1 when there's wind and chop, and my flatwater Think XO 14' when it is flatter... Both are serious compromises. Yesterday, in 32 deg X / 90 deg F + 85% humidity we had our 6th time trial of the season. Race length was 3.5kms / 2.17miles due to the heat, with a slight onshore breeze, so I took the Think XO 14' which is as tippy as hell. The course starts 100m / yards from the shore, goes around an island and ends back around 100m / yards from the shore. Was in the lead to the 2km / 1.24mile mark, but on the back side of the island, the swell, wind and backwash got me. I didn't fall off, but the exertion and tippiness of the board just did my legs in and I slipped from 1st to 3rd place, cursing my choice of board, my fitness and the weather. In the flat the Think XO is effortless and a dream to paddle.

I took it out again this morning for a 7km / 4.34mile paddle along the shoreline for a training session, in similar conditions, and was managing fine in the cross-slop and back wash. It's a challenge but fun. But put this board into a race in similar conditions with 160bpm+ for an extended period and it punishes me..

Time for a new race board...

[stoneaxe]

I think my feelings towards my boards has more to do with me than them. I'm never going to be able to go narrow. I need stability more than most so its always going to hold back performance a little, doesn't matter whether we are talking racing, downwind or surf. I've explored my limits plenty of times. I like my boards comfortable enough to allow me to perform well enough. I don't worry myself too much about eeking out that .2 MPH or cranking that turn harder. Truthfully there is far more performance improvement available in me than any of my boards.
Short answer I love all my boards for different reasons.

[kayadogg]

We're talking relationships here. So.... everyone's content?

I used to go through boards quite often, always scouring craigslist for a deal or something new to try. That has led me to own and paddle many different boards from 7'0 sims-style to 18'6 unlimiteds. That process either helped me refine what I was looking for or burned me out. I decided to go custom with my surf SUP and my race board. 7'11 x 27 Round Nose Blurr and 12'6 x 25" Blackfish. Right now I'm in love. People that know me keep saying it's the honeymoon period and I will be looking for my next board soon but I don't think so. Similar to Stoney's comments, these boards offer more performance than I can squeeze out of them right now but they are both a helluva lotta fun to paddle and I think they suit my surfing and racing skills perfectly. I wouldn't change a thing about either one of them. I am more than content for the moment.