A longer look at surfing a 14'er... so much fun in the right waves!

[supthecreek]

too big to fit short beachbreak, but get a good sandbar and give a big board a run!
My breakthrough on this board came when I committed to the stomper.....
amazing how easy it is to throw a 14' board around and even noseride a bit!
It has earned "preferred status" in my quiver now... I can't wait to try a bit bigger swell

[johnysmoke]

You should check out the new inlet in Scituate, pretty fun sand bar out there, would be perfect for fourteener surfing.

[SUPcheat]

Heh, Heh! 

You're all ready for beach break carnage in the competitions!

[Night Wing]

I think you're 13' x 30" Search loves those small waves. I'm interested to see what your Search can do in bigger waves.

As always, thanks for taking the time to shoot the video and share it here on the Zone site.

[Fog City Rider]

Dude! Shredding!

[TallDude]

Sometimes on the right wave, on my 14', I can get in the pocket, a little forward, and just stand on the rail and go for a train ride. I stand near the tail in the line-up. The board feels pretty loose there, and it's easy for me to spin into a wave. It just open up a whole new world of surfing for you. 

[nalu-sup]

Hey Creek, you have hit a whole new level of respect in my already high opinion of you. I have surfed a 14 footer, and more recently a 16 footer, and you made that look way to easy. I think that some credit must go to the board, which is far thinner and lighter than the massively thick downwinders that I was riding (my F16 is over 7" thick), but the talent you showed in making that board come off the lip was pretty amazing.

[supthecreek]

Thanks Nalu, that is kind of you, but I will give the board the credit, it's a full on surf shape that works well.

Tall Dude and you are on Race and DW boards that I couldn't even paddle, let alone surf!
I am always impressed when I see someone rip waves on a raceboard... that is a skill set to be admired!

Thanks johnnysmoke.... let me know, I'll come up to surf it with you!

I have never surfed the smaller version 12' Search, but I'll bet that it would be the one to ride waves!

Here are some shots of the Search, that show the refined shape.
It has been my goto flat-water board... now a favored surf option 

[Beasho]

When the swell gets really big the long stick is the ONLY way to go!  That looks great.  Might work even better at Denton's peak than my 12 footer. 

[Night Wing]

I think you're 13' x 30" Search loves those small waves. I'm interested to see what your Search can do in bigger waves.

Oops. The above should have been 14'. I have DEFINITELY got to get a new pair of trifocals. Good thing I see my opthalmologist in 22 days for a prescription change.

[PonoBill]

That shape looks a lot like Bob's 14er. Very surfy. It would be great on a downwinder, not so great for flatwater.  That's a really good idea for Sunova to find niches that other production manufacturers have either abandoned or never filled. What you see is all you get from Naish or Starboard. Having custom and semi-custom capability is a big differentiator.

[SUPcheat]

Kirk of L41 has been using a 12 something by 29 as his weapon of choice for a while.  Also looks like a stretched out surf shape.

[Tom]

I like the look of the rocker as it floats in the water.

I had an early 14' Kings race board that had side bite fins It was a blast to surf but was scary in that once it was going it was hard to stop. If you couldn't kick out over the wave, your headed to a beach landing.

[stoneaxe]

That shape looks a lot like Bob's 14er. Very surfy. It would be great on a downwinder, not so great for flatwater.  That's a really good idea for Sunova to find niches that other production manufacturers have either abandoned or never filled. What you see is all you get from Naish or Starboard. Having custom and semi-custom capability is a big differentiator.

I said that to creek the 1st time I saw it. I need to get on it. I suspect I'll really like it. It's actually a little wider than my 14'...I think creek said 30"...the Vec is 28". But the rails are very thinned out on the Search. It's no surprise it surfs well.

Time for a 14' surf safari creek...once i get my Vec fixed anyway (just started major fix). Almost every river mouth with any exposure is going to generate waves that will freak you out on a 14'er. You know where these are. We should go hang with Mr Hanson next ENE swell...paddle out to pic 1 from his surf shack. I had an easy 1000' ride there on the Vec way back in 2010 and many very long rides since. Flat beaches can be fun too though nothing like a rivermouth...Nantasket and Newport are both fun on 14's.

[Badger]

That shape looks a lot like Bob's 14er. Very surfy. It would be great on a downwinder, not so great for flatwater.  That's a really good idea for Sunova to find niches that other production manufacturers have either abandoned or never filled. What you see is all you get from Naish or Starboard. Having custom and semi-custom capability is a big differentiator.

I said that to creek the 1st time I saw it. I need to get on it. I suspect I'll really like it. It's actually a little wider than my 14'...I think creek said 30"...the Vec is 28". But the rails are very thinned out on the Search. It's no surprise it surfs well.

Time for a 14' surf safari creek...once i get my Vec fixed anyway (just started major fix). Almost every river mouth with any exposure is going to generate waves that will freak you out on a 14'er. You know where these are. We should go hang with Mr Hanson next ENE swell...paddle out to pic 1 from his surf shack. I had an easy 1000' ride there on the Vec way back in 2010 and many very long rides since. Flat beaches can be fun too though nothing like a rivermouth...Nantasket and Newport are both fun on 14's.

I got to use the Search 14' for about a week last year. It's definitely not a downwind board. It lacks the glide needed for planing downwind. It's also incredibly slow in any kind of chop, so much so that it is actually dangerous if you happen to be downwind of your destination. Even a fairly strong paddler could easily be blown out to sea never to return.

It does surf though. I surfed it in waves from knee high to head high. It can be fun in the right waves, although due to it's lack of glide, it won't catch them any earlier than a 10 or 11 foot board.

I'm looking forward to hearing what others think of this board. I think it's a good concept that just needs some refinement. I'd like to see how this board would go if it was 2" narrower all around. I think it could be quite fast if hard rails were added and the nose and tail were not so full. This might make downwinders possible and improve its surfability.