Need Big board for Sumo Sailor????

[Sumo]

Been there and done that kayaking stuff, now I'm ready to KICK IT UP a notch and sail board!!!!  My question to the water sports Brotherhood is.....What volume paddle/sail board will float my 245 lbs of water joy. After surfing the topic a Starboard Super 12'6" or a Naish 11'6" LOOKS big enough....I got the mojo but NO info....Thanks To Everyone posting! Sumo

[PonoBill]

Sumo, for lightweights like you either of those two are plenty of board. I'm 255 and my favorite wavesailing board is a JL 11'7" X 26" that I also use as a longboard. That was Jimmy Lewis' first shot at a SUP and it doesn't have a mast track. I had one put in. Too unstable as a SUP for me, but rocks as a wavesailer/longboard. Second favorite is the Starboard 12'2" X 26". Find one of those obsolete boards in a dusty rack or pick one up secondhand and you're in biz. You'll find it pretty unstable as a SUP board, but I pladdle mine in flatwater and surf it a bit. They have thruster fins. Leave the thrusters in for surfing and wavesailing, take them out for flatwater or racing. I can uphaul it easily when/if I need to. I tend to use sails at the top end of wind conditions so I can waterstart in lulls. You only need one sail for wavesailing--pick something in the middle of the conditions you're likely to encounter, but you can use almost anything if you don't mind an occasional uphaul.

Third fav is the 12'6" X 30 Starboard which might be easier to come by. The Naish 11'6" sails nicely but it's really soft on the rails. The Starboard 12'2" cranks like it was made to wavesail and I can often convince myself that it's planing, despite all the water running over the back deck.

Starboard 12'6" X 30 is an extremely versatile board. I used mine for surfing the first week I was back in Maui because I filled my Gecko board (Bill Foote Custom) with water. I also use it for fishing and gentle sailing as well as a great board for beginners to try. Stable as a dock. I'd get one in the white finish instead of wood. The wood is beautiful and lighter but the white ones are bulletproof. For some reason there is some variation in the included equipment, so make sure it has inserts on the front deck for tieing stuff down, a mast track, and thruster slots. Some come with a centerboard fin, but you probably won't need that, at least not for long. The versions that have a pivot centerboard are interesting, but you'll outgrow a centerboard in about a week or two.

[Sumo]

Thanks Pono for the helpful info...its best to always go DIRECT to the sorce of knowledge when taking on new adventures!!! Thanks to ALL forum posters for sharing their HARD learned & earned skills.......us rookies need the HELP! Sail rig questions up next. Thanks, Sumo

[Surfdog93]

Sumo,
I am near your weight (230 lbs) and possible location (Jupiter)
I've windsurfed 25+ years and in the last 3 months been wave riding a 10' Fanatic Fly with 6.2 and 5.3 m sails.
I 've had my best-ever December since being able to get out in light winds with my new "big" board. 5-12 kn days with 3-6' waves are now a blast.....for years I sat on the beach in those conditions

While the board floats me quite well and I can balance easily with a little sail pressure, I could not see trying to paddle it....I need something a little more stable to learn on.

I usually launch at the inlet or near "kite beach", depending on wind / waves.