Nui Moana 10’ High Performance SUB shape “La Pistola” by Allan Chateaux

By Mike Pollard

9/26/07

The first time I rode one of Allan’s boards was at Dog Patch/San Onofre with small, blown-out surf.  The first thing I noticed with this board was that it paddled extremely well, and was very stable for a short board with a heavily pulled in nose.  I can’t really say anything about how the board surfed that day.

The next time I rode one of Allan’s boards was a few months later at Boneyards (just north of Swamis) with occasional chest high sets.  The first board I rode was actually Allan’s fuller nose model, which paddled and carved well.  Allan had a slightly large trailing fin in that day, so the board seemed a bit stiffer than it should have been.  After about 30 minutes I traded up for the 10’ pulled in nose high-performance ‘La Pistola’ model with the quad fin setup.  The board was just slightly ‘tippy-er’ than my C4 10’, but only took me a couple of minutes to get used to.  The board paddles EXTREMELY well.  For a shorter board it tracks very good (better than my C4), glides well (one stroke goes a long way), and catches waves as good, or better than my C4.  It also pops over waves and punches through whitewater better than my C4.

On the 10’ full nose model, I was surfing fairly conservatively, when Allan paddled up a said, “you gotta go for that inside floater – don’t worry, the board will stay under you”.  I took his advice on La Pistola and on my first good wave did just that, after having a down the line pump-fest and floating over at least 3 sections.  WOW!  I caught several waves that day that I would rank in my top ten waves on an SUB.  These boards just work.  They like to go fast, hold in the pocket, turn on a dime, and be forced into submission.  This is Allan’s style of surfing and it carries through to his shapes.

I loved my C4 when I first got it.  I ranted and raved about how great a board it is (which I still believe).  However, Allan’s boards are a cut above.  You know when you can just feel a board that works?  You don’t have to figure it out – it just works.  That’s my impression of Allan’s boards – they just work.  His shapes are very similar to Blane Chamber’s, but I think what Allan has done is to taylor this shape to local waves and conditions.

Besides the fact that Allan has some great shapes, he’s a great guy who surfs and lives with aloha.  If you’re ready to take the next step to a high-performance board that really works in SoCal waves, give Allan a shout.

http://web.mac.com/allancheateaux/iWeb/Nui%20Moana%20Paddlesurf/Welcome.html