Standup Zone Forum

Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: Josh on March 29, 2018, 04:45:10 PM

Title: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Josh on March 29, 2018, 04:45:10 PM
Good afternoon sup’ers,

I’m looking into getting a new board later his year. If I go with a 14ft it will probably be the Infinity Blackfish because I like the board and it is my local shop. 99.9% of the time I paddle out of Dana Point Harbor down to San Clemente or up towards Laguna Beach. I do not have any intentions on racing and am intreagued by unlimited boards for speed and glide when paddling in the open ocean. I can easily store up to an 18ft board in my garage and transporting it to the water isn’t a big deal because I’m a mile from the water. For those of you with experience, is there a major difference between a 14ft board and a 16-18ft board as far as speed and catching small bumps? If I go the unlimited route, it will probably be a custom because I don’t think I need the rocker of a true downwind board like the SIC or NSP. I also would prefer a narrower squared off tail over a pin tail for stability. I’m a firm believer in balance and speed. People always say narrower is faster but concentrating to much on balance and getting leg fatigue takes away from stroke and power. Was thinking of having Infinity doing a similar shape to their Blackfish but with a narrower tail and something around 18ft by 26”. What do you think?

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Luc Benac on March 29, 2018, 04:55:49 PM
Talk to Burchas in this forum.
If you are not going to surf it (I know it is popular in SoCal) then anything 16' or 17' without going on huge volume and weight is great for long distance in the ocean.
As an example my Ace-Gt is 17'4 and 31 lbs. If I could I would add a custom board, the same design but with a narrower, less rocker-ed nose for flat water and that's it.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: burchas on March 30, 2018, 09:30:50 AM
It sounds like you have a good idea of what you want. If you're mostly doing ocean and you have the space
I would say unlimited is definitely the way to go.

I was in your situation about a year ago, I have a custom Blackfish and wanted an unlimited version of it as well,
I talked to Dave about building me one but he wasn't really into it for whatever reason (probably too busy expending the brand).

I went with my own design, turned out awesome! just like you I opted for an all-water style board not geared specifically for downwind
so it can still performs in flat water situation.

At 16'x25" with a pintail-ish design it feels more stable than my 27" board and that's without the LA twin fin setup.
I kept it at 16' as I thought it would be the best of all worlds and I'm glad I did, still get the benefits of unlimited but with the ease
of handling of a 14', don't even need a rudder (though I built it with the ability to add one).

As far as stability goes, from all the boards I've tested before going with my shape, the pintail was not a factor as much as the outline and
bottom shape, you have a lot more canvas to work with on a 16' and generally speaking a 16 at certain width will be more stable than a 14
for the same width.

That's my 2 cents, I would definitely try to get in touch with TallDude here in the forum, he lives in your neck of the woods I believe and has
a lot more knowledge than I do both in shape and build.


Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: DavidJohn on March 30, 2018, 11:36:08 AM
How heavy are you?
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Bean on March 30, 2018, 12:57:05 PM
...Was thinking of having Infinity doing a similar shape to their Blackfish but with a narrower tail and something around 18ft by 26”. What do you think?

If don't plan on racing and you have the room, an Ul sounds like serious fun.  You should see what Dave Boehne can offer up. 
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: TallDude on March 30, 2018, 12:59:45 PM
Josh, You are welcome to paddle my unlimited anytime. PM me.
 Mine does catch the bump really well. Way better than my 14'. Mines 18'x25" needle to pin.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Josh on March 30, 2018, 01:20:11 PM
Thanks for the responses and info. I’m 6’ and 170-175lbs.

In response to Luc Benac, I have a 12’6” Bark that I catch waves with when it’s knee and ankle slappers at Doheny. Catching waves on a race board is very addicting.

Thanks TallDude! I will PM you soon.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Luc Benac on March 30, 2018, 01:22:58 PM
I’m 6’ and 170-175lbs. In response to Luc Benac, I have a 12’6” Bark that I catch waves with when it’s knee and ankle slappers at Doheny. Catching waves on a race board is very addicting.

Josh, then it's a no-brainer 16' or over will make you very happy. I am the same 6'-170.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: crazybula on April 02, 2018, 03:34:47 PM
Go unlimited. The glide from an unlimited board is perfect for the sort of paddling you described.
18' x 26" is ideal and will be stable whether you go pin or square-tail at your weight.
You'll have sore facial muscles from smiling with the number and length of the bumps you'll catch.
 ;)
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Area 10 on April 02, 2018, 04:16:25 PM
Yes, another vote for unlimited.

18 ft is pretty long though. If you do a lot of paddling cross wind then you might think about going a little bit shorter. Also, if you want to surf your board then 16-17ft is about the limit of control for most people unless you are a Laird Hamilton type.

I have gone 16ft with my ULs because I paddle a lot of very windy messed-up conditions and enjoy surfing my ULs as well as downwinding them. But if I paddled cleaner, less windy conditions, and was unlikely to surf the board much then I’d probably go a foot longer.

A 18ft by 26” board would be extremely stable. It might even be a bit too much board, if a Blackfish type design is what you are thinking. As a rough guide, I reckon that for every foot you add in length you can reduce a board in width by about 0.5-0.75 inches and maintain approximately the same stability. So a 18 x 26 board would probably be about as stable as a 14’ x 29” board of the same kind of design. Longer boards use more materials and so are heavier. Sometimes extra material is added to ensure stiffness over the longer length. So don’t order more board you need. My balance is crap and I paddle messed-up waters but if I was going as long as 18 I’d only get a 25” wide board.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: FloridaWindSUP on April 02, 2018, 05:25:41 PM
Riviera has had a badass looking 16'x23 custom on their "used" page for a while. I'd have been tempted myself, but they won't ship it outside of California. And I'm broke.

https://www.rivierapaddlesurf.com/collections/sup-used/products/rp-16x23-all-water-unlimited
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Eagle on April 02, 2018, 08:03:55 PM
If planning on paddling upwind or even on flat would not choose a surf nosed Bullet UL.  But for DW def yes.

Generally for longer distances 10+ miles something like the Touring Pin has worked fine for me.  Or even Dominator for flatter conditions.  14 is plenty for us.

18 is pretty long.  16 would be better for AW.  That custom Rojas 16x23 would be a nice efficient ride.  But would probs require reasonable skills to balance on.  A 25 should be pretty stable and 26 very.  Pros and cons to any choice.  So just depends what you want in a board.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: TallDude on April 04, 2018, 12:25:19 AM
Had a nice meet up and paddle this evening. Josh got to paddle my 18'x25 unlimited and I got to try out a used 18'x28" Ron House unlimited I just bought. The  Ron House needs some serious repair work. I just threw a bunch of shipping tape over the holes and paddled it. It will be a good open ocean, rougher water unlimited of me. It actually glides really well for being 28" wide. I think Josh is hooked on unlimiteds now....
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: burchas on April 04, 2018, 10:42:50 AM
Had a nice meet up and paddle this evening. Josh got to paddle my 18'x25 unlimited and I got to try out a used 18'x28" Ron House unlimited I just bought. The  Ron House needs some serious repair work. I just threw a bunch of shipping tape over the holes and paddled it. It will be a good open ocean, rougher water unlimited of me. It actually glides really well for being 28" wide. I think Josh is hooked on unlimiteds now....

Good Times :)

Now for the easy part: Just figure out which shape and dimensions to go with ;D
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Eagle on April 04, 2018, 06:08:33 PM
That 18x25 pin looks like a nice efficient shape for an UL.
Title: Re: 14ft or unlimited
Post by: Josh on April 05, 2018, 09:19:02 AM
Thanks again for meeting up Matt! Paddling an unlimited is definitely awesome. I am still amazed with the glide, ease of catching bumps, and how straight a UL tracks.
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