Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: magentawave on June 27, 2014, 08:56:24 PM
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I'm thinking I want my next board to have a more drawn in nose and tail and I sure like the looks of the Blane Chambers designs that I've seen Noah Yap and Tom Carroll shredding on. Anyone surfing one of these? What model, size, etc. are you riding? Do you like it?
Thanks
Look how FAST he's going at 2:57!!!!
http://vimeo.com/84653843
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Sorry, don't have one like that but I do have a custom 8'6" and stock 8'9" PVC Hull Rippers from Blane. Both are fast and loose. The custom 8'6" can be unstable in rough conditions but that's what makes it so loose. Blane also has some new designs that are very different from most shapes that you see. He's always trying new ideas that are very innovative. Check his Facebook site.
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I surf with a guy at La Jolla Shores who knows Blane and buys his boards all the time. He swears by them. He's also small and pretty skilled.
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I've got 4 all arounds ranging from 9-2 to 11 and they are surfy and
straight forward, easy from the first wave. Though longboard looking,
the back of the board from just forward of the fins to the tail has a
thinned out shortboard rail.
My latest is this 9-6 by 31 custom.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s672/jayspics09/imagejpg1_zps35e0cd6e.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jayspics09/media/imagejpg1_zps35e0cd6e.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s672/jayspics09/image_zps74075635.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jayspics09/media/image_zps74075635.jpg.html)
It does require proper foot placement to turn. Where the longboard shape can be
turned with various rear footings this shape needs your foot on the button. But
then it's up you to see how far you'll push it.
Blane sent me this shot to explain.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s672/jayspics09/image_zpsde1a97d6.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/jayspics09/media/image_zpsde1a97d6.jpg.html)
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I'm not small at 200 pounds and as far as "skilled" - I was/am a pretty good regular surfer but I still get humbled every time I surf on a sup. :P
Do the boards this guy has have Blanes latest bottom with the big chines? How much is Blane charging for a new board?
I surf with a guy at La Jolla Shores who knows Blane and buys his boards all the time. He swears by them. He's also small and pretty skilled.
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I saw his FB page and see he's into the chined rail now. I also saw that he's making some pretty small boards too.
When you say the 8-6 is unstable do you mean its unstable when paddling? Do you know the volume of your two Blane boards and how much do you weigh?
Sorry, don't have one like that but I do have a custom 8'6" and stock 8'9" PVC Hull Rippers from Blane. Both are fast and loose. The custom 8'6" can be unstable in rough conditions but that's what makes it so loose. Blane also has some new designs that are very different from most shapes that you see. He's always trying new ideas that are very innovative. Check his Facebook site.
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Is it distortion from the photo or does your 9-6 have a slightly asymetric tail? What is the volume of that board?
I've got 4 all arounds ranging from 9-2 to 11 and they are surfy and
straight forward, easy from the first wave. Though longboard looking,
the back of the board from just forward of the fins to the tail has a
thinned out shortboard rail.
My latest is this 9-6 by 31 custom.
It does require proper foot placement to turn. Where the longboard shape can be
turned with various rear footings this shape needs your foot on the button. But
then it's up you to see how far you'll push it.
Blane sent me this shot to explain.
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The picture DOES make the blue Blane board look like it has an asymmetric tail?
The Blane foot position picture is interesting to me, since I am still kook grom trying to figure out how to turn. My Vernor has a narrow, diamond tail that goes from round rail to a thin, flat square-ish rail on the back, I suppose that is where the step goes for turning. I have turned on it a few times inadvertently, but doing it on purpose is going to be quite a step up in control for me.
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I've been thinking about a bigger board lately.
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The tail is asymetrical and it's plenty loose. I'm 200# as well and the board
is stable enough to use in less than perfect conditions. The price was reasonable
a little less than 1400. Sorry, not sure on the liters, probably ~130.
The chined rails and tail are Blane's ideas, I'm not so technical to explain it all,
but it works, very fast. It does take some getting used to finding the sweet spot
for the back foot. I'm and old school surfer with single fin roots so it's not a forgiving board if I get lazy and try to turn without stepping way back.
It's not what I grab for small waves. When there's going to be longer drops I like
some more length, just a personal preference.
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I'm not small at 200 pounds and as far as "skilled" - I was/am a pretty good regular surfer but I still get humbled every time I surf on a sup. :P
Do the boards this guy has have Blanes latest bottom with the big chines? How much is Blane charging for a new board?
I surf with a guy at La Jolla Shores who knows Blane and buys his boards all the time. He swears by them. He's also small and pretty skilled.
I think most of the newer boards he's bought have the chines but he has so many boards from over the years it's hard to tell which board is old vs new. Not sure on the price...
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Thanks guys. :)
Chines work on these wide beasts so I like that he has incorporated them. I'm currently riding a beat up but still light weight 8' L41 S4 and you can really lay that thing on a rail thanks to the radical chine. Assy's work too although I haven't tried one on a sup yet but I sure liked them on a couple windsurfers and surfboards I've had.
Any thoughts about his earlier PSH designs in the surf compared to his latest stuff?
Typically how wide and thick is Blane shaping his surf sups these days?
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I'm on the small side 5'8" 155 lbs. Hull Ripper board dimensions - 8'6" x 29 1/4" x 4 1/8" and stock HR PVC 8'9"x 29 1/2" x 3 15/16". Both have the chined rails and the custom 8'6" has an asymmetric tail to aid quicker front side turns. I think the chined rails aid in the turns, putting the rail on edge easier and also help to remove volume. Tail section has hard edge rails that provide hold. With your foot on the tail (like Blane's pic) you can snap some fast turns. Sorry I don't know the volume but it can't be too high as both HR boards ride low in the water for me. Paddling my 8'6" in windy (12 mph+) and choppy conditions takes some work. The hardest unstable part is maneuvering to get into the pocket, turning 180, and taking off late. Sometimes the bumps hit you and cause a loss of balance just long enough so that you can't get into the wave fast enough. I use a 4 1/2" twin fin set up that I can pop the fins loose in small stuff (head high or less). However in larger waves I normally use a thruster set up with 4 1/2" fins or the PSH quads.
I also have his earlier 9'3" Ripper and all around 10'3". Both of these boards are stable for me but have too much volume for me, boards ride high on the water, and turns are more drawn out. I have to move my feet a lot with these boards, back foot moves to the rail and tail during turns, front is close to the rail on the side I'm turning to. More foot work is required for these boards that have more volume to turn easier. I use these boards when conditions are rough or real small. All in all Blane's boards are made to surf and they do a great job at it.
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Thanks Banzai for the tech layout :). I ride all my boards, except the 11',
only with quads and twinned too. Best fit for the looseness.
My all arounds are 5 years old and are higher in volume for sure, corkier.
But at mostly 28" widths and with my 200# they turn just fine.
The new "destroyer" sits lower in the water, no corky feel. It is much more
stable board compared to the same size older board.
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I've never seen one first hand, but isn't the big innovation in these boards the convex nose? I don't see anyone else doing that. I've tried it on a couple of my shapes and will never go back to concave in the front half of a board under 8-6. Belly in the nose all the time for speed. I know people will say that is wrong. In my case its purely empirical.
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Big +1 here on belly noses (L41 uses them)...
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Count me in on the belly nose. I have it on my 8'2" L41. It handled overhead Costa Rica just great.
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My last two L41's were the first boards I've ridden in a million years that had belly up there. Its old school but it works and probably the only thing on on my L41 S4 Simsup that is actually "Simmonsy."
Do earlier Blane Chambers have belly in the nose or is that something he incorporated since he started doing the chine rail?
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Big +1 here on belly noses (L41 uses them)...
Yup, hull style entry is part of the mini-Simmons formula. It seems to help initial acceleration.
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Linter's "pig" style board seems the opposite: narrow longboard nose with Sim type butt. Is that counter-intuitive?
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Yes and a belly up front (or some V) also helps to cut through chop which is why most big wave guns have V up forward.
Big +1 here on belly noses (L41 uses them)...
Yup, hull style entry is part of the mini-Simmons formula. It seems to help initial acceleration.
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So my old 10'6 PSH AA is feeling it's age.....enough rail bangs etc that it's headed to dumpster in a year or so.
Looking for a replacement. No interest in the Wide AA....i like the 28 width.
Have used this board in the biggest the East Coast can dish....love the rocker and outline....it is a little corky, but stability about right for the big days with cross chops etc.
I like SURFInJ's....and was thinking asking Blane to do a one up, but the other board i have been looking at is the Jeff Clark 10'6...
The Boardworks PSH gun, and the Naish gun seem a litttle too "gunny"....12 PSH interesting, but 10'6 for East Coast prob enough
So looking for a 2 x a year board with the drawn lines flatter rocker....chines no problem....any thoughts?....
(More hollow i step down to a 9'6 ripper)
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I am thinking about a new 9 8 I ll be in town 2 nd week of sept. Anybody deal with Blaine lately I Hear he's using Eric A. To cut his blanks and Kirk P. glassing them . He wants 3/4 s up front i am ready to bite, but need to know if he's got his shit together , don't want show not have board ready and have go all soprano on him.
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Blane is down to earth nice guy and delivers a great product. He is an honest guy that will not let you down.
I think the hull shape in the front was developed to be a better paddling board but a friend that tried the original shape for paddling found that the board was good in the surf too. So Blane used the idea and modified it for surfing. The shape also allows the board to punch through the white water easier than a flat bottom. Most of the time when surfing the nose is out of the water so the shape of it doesn't do much, but when nose contacts the water it moves through the water easier than a flat bottom.
I know that he uses a machine to rough cut the shapes to provide accurate consistency and finishes them by hand. He does have help with glassing his boards although he does glass boards too.