Naish 7'8'' Hokua, first few sessions...

[tautologies]

Initial thought on the Naish 7'8'' Hokua. My background..not an epic surfer at all...have been paddle boarding for a few years...kites in waves quite a lot....I'm a fan of Iggy's shapes...have been riding his shapes for a long time...I've tried and owned boards from Naish, PSH, C4, Blair, Laird, NSP, Amundson, and some others....I'm a big fan on Naish tho...so calculate that all in...

Last year I took a chance on getting a 7'9'' Mana...and it worked super well, then I lost about 35lb, and saw some promo pics of this short channeled quad SUP from Naish..and suddenly someone on this page published pics of the board...and I started drooling. I am now 180lb...and I was worried it wouldn't hold me since we always see these pics of skinny kids ripping it up...

So, I do have an affinity for trying different setups, I like channels (from my kiteboard) so the 7'8'' sounded like something I wanted to try...in anycase....

The board looks awesome...wood veneer, articulated handle, weighs about 20lb, low rocker, good nose rocker, skinny bat tail, quads with channels...comes in a really nice daybag...killer for keeping thew boards ding free out of the water...

I've had the 7'8'' out three times now. First time was in 20-30 mph on shore...it was breaking my cardinal rule of trying gear for the first time in decent conditions...and there were no waves..but I could paddle it, and the board felt reasonably stable....for a 7'8'' 29'' wide board...it didn't have any problems floating me, and I was actually surprised at how well it did...that said, I am not sure when it becomes problematic to paddle it...the website say 190lb...I think that sounds reasonable..maybe even a little over..not too much tho..ie good incentive for me to keep the lard off. The Naish website says you have to be an expert on the heavier side..I'm not an expert SUPer...not by a long shot.

Second time I took it out was flatish-on-shore..not much wind, but a little bumpy and the waves were sucky...but the board worked wonders. I had a great time learning the board, and getting the feel. It does feel different than the 7'9'' for sure. In small surf just find a wave with a little pitch in it...it can go in super small waves, but for me likes a drop. In this respect is it similar to the 7'9'' (or any other small SUP I have tried).

Today I had it out in knee high to well overhead.

Short version: The board is a ripper!!

Handles the steep drop better than the 7'9''. It turns better...faster...more controlled at speed, and has more drive riding it. It is much easier to turn and set on a rail. In waves where the 7'9'' feels like it flattens out, the 7'8'' is in full control. Now take into consideration I am not the best SUPer in the world...so take all of this for what it is worth.

...but the 7'9'' is super easy to nose ride...and I can't really see that happening on that board...well, I have been surprised before....but I do need to stick some versatraction on the nose...

Take off on this board..you can move forward once you have speed, but usually not needed.

It does punch through whitewater very well....small whitewash just paddle..bigger, go into surfstance....
I can catch white wash..get into a wide surf stance, and lean on the paddle...maybe not as easy as the 7'9''...but not really a problem..

The only problem I hae is once the wave has passed and if there is a lot of whitewater, it moves around a lot and it lowers the flotation (air in the water)

The board it self is pretty flat, with a good nose rocker..the tail is thin, and the volume is situated in the center of the board..pretty neat...

I think even if the 7'9'' does turn very well, this one seems to be taking that further. The control I felt making the drop on an overhead wave was reassuring. This board will be fun fun fun....but I do need more time on it...


:-)

[Dwight (DW)]

I felt my rear fins in the quad set, slip catch, slip catch, on a bottom turn. I think they are too small. At 3 1/2 inches, they are unusually small for a stock quad setup. I replaced the rears with FCS Q1s. So far, they feel great. I saw a photo of Q1s in Robby's 7'8, so that's why I tried them.

[tautologies]

Was that on a bigger set?
In the smaller sets the board felt loose and nice, honestly, in the bigger sets it was pretty bumpy, and I was pretty much hopping to the bottom of the wave. I am used to those fins from kiteboarding...maybe that is why. I didn't notice any slipping, but then again, I only had the board out in decent waves for the first time today...

I have set of Halo fins that might work...but I'll keep the stock ones for now....

[Dwight (DW)]

It was a waist high wave.

[tautologies]

are you sure it will not dig in once you get some speed on it?

This is my experience from the other channeled boards I have..same small back fins, feels loose and nice in small, once I step on the rail, it just digs in and turns fast?

Just so it is said, I am no expert at all...I'll definitely experiment a little with different fin configs once I get more time on the board...which reminds me..it is glassy / waves outside...time for a early lunch break...

Hawaii is awesome.

[Puamana4me]

nice review.

The 7'9"  Mana is part of my quiver....and I love it...so you've really got me into giving the 7'8" Hokua a whirl.

[Dwight (DW)]

I'm no expert either. It's just you and I so far. I don't know anyone else who bought one. I'll keep you posted if anything changes.

[Reid SUP'd]

thanks for this post, this board takes fcs type fins right?  would switching out the shorter fins for stock size fns do the job?

[Dwight (DW)]

thanks for this post, this board takes fcs type fins right? 

Yes, FCS fins only.

From the Man himself, Robby Naish, on his 7'8 Hokua, you can see the M7 fronts and Q1 in the rear. FYI, FCS only makes ONE rear fin that has a vertical template, so there is no doubt he's running the Q1 in the back. The black swirly thing is the markings of the M7 front. M5 is blue. M3 is red.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l-fYya5BQUo/TNXwKIu_r0I/AAAAAAAAEDM/YCkxSCTPJzQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-11-06+at+8.03.19+PM.png

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l-fYya5BQUo/TL5FZS204iI/AAAAAAAAEAk/pKw2rCq8Wys/s1600/Naish2.jpg

[newton333]

i too ride the mana 7'9 as my main board and this looks like my next pick glad to hear comparison with the 7'9. how does it paddle ? like when u are not riding a wave?  is it slower then then the 7'9 mana or same? or faster? id really like to demo one but know one around nj has them. sweet thanks

[tautologies]

nice review.

The 7'9"  Mana is part of my quiver....and I love it...so you've really got me into giving the 7'8" Hokua a whirl.

I think the thing I might miss from the 7'9'' is the easy nose ride...I moved forward a little today, but I haven't put versatraction on the nose yet so it was a careful hike forward :-)
Floaters also seems easier on the 7'9''..but I think that'll come as I get more used to the board...

I did make some nice drops today, but it got a little bumpy at the end...

Just make sure you take into consideration that I am not the greatest SUPer in the world...so people that can do 360s and powered stuff off the lip might have a better idea on things...

[Reid SUP'd]

I finally got to take out a 7"8 yesterday, board was actually not too much of a challenge to stand on,  the conditions were not the best for this type of board, was about 15 kt+ offshore winds and the waves were mushy and shoulder high

the board does lack the glide necessary to get in early on waves unless there steep, I only caught 2 waves on the inside but once your on the wave this board rocks!  its so light and maneuverable, its getting cold over here so i'm sure I will have more fun with this thing once I get to shed some neoprene but I think getting this board dialed in with a 5/4 will make it even more enjoyable and better for me when it gets warmer.

The obvious thing that I didnt like was the lack of glide and how easy the board yaws,  you really have to time your paddle strokes with this board

But again, it was my first session in not the optimal conditions for this board, if I wasnt trying it out I would have taken out my 9'8 or 8'6 on a day like yesterday

There is only room for improvement and I cant wait to get closer towards mastering and unlocking more of its potential, these little boards seem to fatigue you much faster than the longer ones!

[Dwight (DW)]

The obvious thing that I didnt like was the lack of glide and how easy the board yaws,  you really have to time your paddle strokes with this board

In a few more sessions you won't remember what the problem was. It just magically goes away  

Big paddles overpower small boards. Using the smallest blade helps in my opinion. My wife uses the smallest blade they make, and then I cut more area off it to make it really small. She had her first day on the 7'3 this morning. After about 30 minutes of overpowering the board with her paddle, she got it dialed in and starting picking off lots of waves. http://ncpaddlesurfer.blogspot.com/2010/12/73-hokua-jackys-surprise-christmas.html

[tautologies]

thanks for this post, this board takes fcs type fins right? 

Yes, FCS fins only.

From the Man himself, Robby Naish, on his 7'8 Hokua, you can see the M7 fronts and Q1 in the rear. FYI, FCS only makes ONE rear fin that has a vertical template, so there is no doubt he's running the Q1 in the back. The black swirly thing is the markings of the M7 front. M5 is blue. M3 is red.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l-fYya5BQUo/TNXwKIu_r0I/AAAAAAAAEDM/YCkxSCTPJzQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2010-11-06+at+8.03.19+PM.png

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l-fYya5BQUo/TL5FZS204iI/AAAAAAAAEAk/pKw2rCq8Wys/s1600/Naish2.jpg

you know too much about fins ;-)

hehe

[Dwight (DW)]

Updated on fins.

I didn't like the fins I saw Robby using. It stiffened the board up too much. Probably good for the right waves, just not our waves.

GX-Q rears worked better for me.