First board for large rider?

[robon]

^ The three 14 footers I listed can float you comfortably and are designed to accompany larger paddlers or paddlers who want to take a lot of gear. You can generally go a bit narrower with a 14 footer as volume and stability tends to increase as you go longer. As far as gear goes, it's a bit surprising how weight adds up. It won't be a huge amount, but it's something to take into consideration, and you may want to bring along a dog, or go fishing in the future, etc. Drinking water, PFD, food, or whatever else can add over 10 pounds easily.

[ZombieOTTR]

So I went and demoed a NSP cruise today and I definitely will need to work on my balance. I was going to pick up a riviera voyager classic that they had but it had a quarter sizes ding that cracked the board. He said he could fix it so you would never know and would take 75 bucks off it. Do you guys think I should go for that? Or maybe look at more of the NSP's (I know they have a touring too) or should I go check out another board shop?

[whitejm74]

I'd likely insist on a larger discount on that repaired Voyager Classic.  Also, a basic Voyager will be cheaper (~$400) than Voyager Classic.

How far are you from Jamaica Vermont?  Jonathan Bischof runs Vermont Ski and Sports and is a big time Riviera dealer in that area.

https://www.vermontskiandsport.com/

[Burn619]

I am 6'6" and around 240lbs and have been paddling a Tower Social for almost a year now. It floats me great and is a great all-around board. There are better boards but I got mine for around $500 and I think it is a great starter board. I live right down the street from the Tower showroom too so I was able to ride my bike down and pick up the board and bring it home. For me cost and convenience were key. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a toy that I wasn't sure was going to be a passion. After paddling for a year and I now know what type of paddling I'm looking to do I'm doing research on what boards fit that mold and I hope to sell my Tower for at least $350-$400. Hope my 2¢ helps.

[TallDude]

Hey Burn619,
You and I are basically the same weight and height. I used to be 6'7 now and in the 6'6+ range. I've been paddling a relatively long time, and I can paddle smaller and narrower boards than I ever imagined I'd be able to. The saying 'Time on the water' has proven itself true in my case.