Board Advice - Gerry Lopez Kaiwai Kai 14'x28" 320 L

[FollySUP]

I have an opportunity to pick up this board for a great price.  Hoping to get some advice / feedback.  I pretty much paddle surf only in the Charleston SC area.  I'm 32,  6'4", 250lbs, reasonable athletic and I'd consider myself to have decent balance but not exceptional. I have a Fanatic Allwave 9'10 which is completely stable in any kind of windy choppy surf conditions - solid as a rock for me in 15 mph wind and white caps on the ocean.   I previously had an Allwave 9'1", which was fun in cleaner conditions and good waves, but not stable enough in any real chop, in which case I'd grab the 9'10".  Charleston never really gets great surf, so I sold it in search of a second board i'd get more use out of.  I've never been on a 14ft before.  Would this be a reasonably stable board for me to get?  I'm certainly willing to put in my practice time.  28inches sounds narrow to me (for surfing) but I suspect on a 14ft board it's a different ball game.  Looking to get into local races and do some distance.  I'd rather be having fun (not falling in) than fast.  Thoughts?

[Area 10]

This is a board that divides opinions - which is probably why it is cheap. It will float you for sure and you don't need to worry about stability. But it is a downwind board really, and not fast on flat water so it depends what kind of racing you are intending to do. I think this is a board that you MUST try before you buy. I did, and so did my friends, and we gave it a miss. But we thought that it might suit a big guy much better. Maybe...

[dingfix]

Have sent you a PM,

[FollySUP]

So id like to have something that's obviously got enough glide to make flatwater paddling fun - vs the allwave.  I'd like to participate in the local races with the 14ft crowd and not the rec crowd,  but I don't care if I'm competitive. Never really downwinded but here are plenty of open ocean options here. 

[PonoBill]

Great downwind board. Gerry is a gorge regular and has a lot of miles on these guys. If that's what you want, it's da kine, but downwind boards suck in flatwater.

[FollySUP]

So will it be completely awful on flat water or just slower than other boards? I've been looking for a solid deal on a fanatic falcon or similar, but this popped up on Craigslist for well under a grand.

[Eagle]

Seems well suited to open ocean racing and downwind vs flat water racing.  Board should go ok in flat water but do not be surprised if others start to pull away.  If on CL ask the seller if you can give it try - if they really want to sell - they will.   

"Now that we have Gerry's new race boards in stock I sent him an email seeing if he could provide us with any imput on the Kaiwi-Kai 14'0. Following is the letter I recieved and well worth a read."

http://www.jmsup.com/1512/gerry-lopez-kaiwi-kai-14/

[dingfix]

I've used mine on flatwater a few times now, it's smooth, stable, faster than my 12'6.  Really enjoying it.   Maybe a dedicated race or flatwater board would be a little faster, but I'm not into racing.   I rode through some sizeable boat wakes and it stays stable and composed.   For my needs it's great, and good value too.  Not understanding the "awful on flatwater" comment.