SUP downwind video- when a wider board is faster

[blueplanetsurf]

Yes, all I'm saying is that in those conditions, the 30" wide board was the fastest one for us.  In lighter wind and less rough conditions, a narrower board has less drag and better low end speed, for sure. 


In the more groomed conditions of the Hawaii Kai to Kahala Run, the narrower boards are faster, no doubt, as long as you have good balance.  I shot this drone video two days ago of Jeff Chang (14x28" Bump Rider), Tyler Jaggers (14x27" Bump Rider) and Jenn Lee (14x26" Bump Rider) doing the Kahala run with our Wednesdays training group.  We are sending these three team riders to Sydney next week to compete in the Palm to Pines race on December 10th and they are super excited.  Shot in 4K, watch it full screen!

[Eagle]

In groomed conditions the narrower boards simply have less drag.  But when conditions turn nasty a wider board can be faster because you -

a)  Do not fall in or need to balance check
b)  Can keep full power on and catch more waves

I can easily feel the difference in speed between my AS23 vs 27.25 Bullet vs 28 M14 dependent upon conditions.  Each has a very distinct power band - and have no desire to paddle our Bullet and M14 on flat - whereas the AS23 is a pleasure and is very fast.  But for big DW or cross chop slop - would choose the Bullet or M14 depending on wave size.  The AS23 simply is too tippy in that.  Each of these boards simply excels in the right conditions.  And that is exactly perfect.

The Bullet planes the easist and is the fastest in moderate DW conditions to about 25 kts.  Simply a super fun ride.  The M14 planes sloppily and is more of a surfer - and the AS23 has not been able to plane for me yet.  It may be just a bit too tippy.

[Off-Shore]

We often have those conditions in our South Lamma Highway run in Hong Kong where there is a lot of backwash from the south of Lamma Island, and for one of our paddlers he is way much faster through this on his F14 (30" wide) as opposed to my Bullet 14v1 TWC at 27.25" wide. I, on the other hand, am faster on the Bullet 14v1 TWC... so I think it is a combination of your own balance skills and board width.

I recently posted a vid showing me swapping from a 2017 Ace 14 x 27 to a 2014 Ace 14 x 25 mid downwind run, and I was definitely slower on the 25", because I could not relax, and I could feel my legs and body constantly correcting things, rather than relaxing as I could on the 27". This is something that is talked about in mastering any sport.. that it is when you can perform at a very high level using the minimum of energy you will be the most efficient (and fast). Anything that becomes something you are consciously doing (like thinking, "Wo this is wobbly, I'm fighting to stay on" and then consciously correcting wobbles) will slow you down. Like in golf, if you start thinking about all the hazards like water, bunkers, trees, rough etc, and not that every shot is going to be perfect, you will invariably end up with a lost ball. In fact on the F14, because it is so stable, I'm constantly thinking... "Man this thing is slow... should have got that... should have got this.." etc etc.. so negative conscious thoughts are what is probably slowing me down!

Here's the vid going from 27" to 25" on the Aces. I make the swap at 1:45

[robcasey]

I use the Imagine Connector 29.5".  The rage here are super narrow boards - but most aren't staying stable in bumps thus are missing rides. My board is stable and glides with ease in small to big conditions. I like the Blue Planet board I used in Oahu in 2015, also a sweet stable ride.