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Bill Foote boards

Anybody know if Bill is actually making boards again?

Amex refunds you immediately because that's what credit card companies do. Nothing to do with Ke Nalu. If it was a legit purchase and you were shipped items, you dispute charge, Amex would refund you, deduct from shop and then shop are left to fight back for the money of sale. Very hard to win these cases, even if everything was done correctly, shops get screwed.

Don't know about Ke Nalu, but no communication is not a good sign.

I was never shipped anything.  So still have a really nice handle and Ho'oloa blade that'll just be taking up space in my garage.  I'd rather have gotten the new shaft.  (I'm pretty sure it's the paddle I purchased from you a couple of years ago actually.)

I've had contested charges sometimes take several weeks to clear up.  I've never had one clear in less than 8 hours. 

I'm just guessing, but I suspect not.

Just to cap this thread off, I do believe that Bill was right.  After 2 weeks with no update on the shaft I ordered, and no response from them, I disputed the charge with Amex.  It can sometimes take weeks to resolve a disputed charge, but Amex refunded me just hours later, which I assume means Kenalu is no longer in business. 

Have you check you junk mail? sometime my email provider accidentally put my important mail in the junk folder.

Ya, nothing there.  Thanks for the suggestion tho.  I just had that happen last week with something else I'd ordered online, so I've been pretty diligent about checking my junk mail more often since. 

ah I see -- kenalu is very much in business -- youre just throwing crap bc youre not happy with the disposition of your broken shaft situation.

xtuf shafts are 145$ -- complete paddle about 475$ and up

not sure where youre getting a complete paddle for 145$

ive used kenalu for some 15 years. ive tried other paddles and always happily returned to kenalu.

and ive had nothing but good experience dealing with lane vs your disingenuous post.

anyone wonder who the problem is here??

Why is my post disingenuous?  I never bad mouthed the company.  I simply asked if they were still in business b/c they never got back to me.  Responding to customer emails is generally good business in my industry, as is honoring your warranty posted on the company website.  Maybe that's not the case in your line of business.  And it wasn't like I sent an email saying, "Hey asshole, your paddle broke on me while on a surf trip to Costa Rica."  I simply asked if the "Forever Paddle" policy would be honored and sent a picture of the damage as they requested on the website. 

I got my Kenalu paddle for $275, brand new on sale.  A new 100 shaft costs $187, plus the $22-25 shipping, that's damn near what I paid for the paddle.  Sure, the X-tuf shaft is cheaper, but it's still $170 with shipping. 

For the record, I lost hope they'd honor their "Forever Paddle" policy, so I ordered a new X-stuf shaft on May 14.  They've taken my money but I have not received any type of update since the order confirmation email. 

Ya, the website is up and running.  I guess I just am having a hard time getting myself to pay full price for a shaft when the website advertises a "forever paddle" replacement policy.  Kinda hurts when the shaft alone costs almost as much as a new paddle.   

I decided to cut the broken shaft down (split upward from the blade about 2.5").  Have a feeling it's going to be way too short, but tbd.  Maybe it'll work for my smaller boards where I'm lower in the water.

And thanks TallDude for those links.  I'd been eyeballing some cheapy carbon shafts on ebay wondering if they'd be worth a crap.  I have a feeling the one you linked to are probably a better option. 

Thanks Bill.  I had a gut feeling this was the case.  There was another thread on here a while back about their blades being out of stock with no eta on getting more which added to my suspicion.

Guess I'll be retiring that paddle, which is sad since the blade and handle are in great condition even after years of use. 

As the subject line states, just wondering if anyone knows if Kenalu is still in business?  I broke a shaft and I've reached out twice over 2 weeks about their "forever paddle" policy and have gotten no response.  Thanks.

If I only had to have one SUP, and I only supped (I prone surf about 50% of the time),  it probably would be something like the Kanga or SP 25 to work on the largest variety of  waves.

It's been a while since I posted on the topic, but I'm really getting close to pulling the trigger on a Kanga.  This paragraph was pretty instrumental and I've been talking to supthecreek about it.  His review on youtube is very good.  Of course, his 'old guy' skills make any board look good.  I'm very jealous of his local point break.

Get it.  It's a great board.  I bought three of the Genration boards and the Kanga is the one I would buy again. 

Creek, it's interesting you said this.  I'm 43, a really big dude (think NFL tight end) with pretty good balance and I have the 9'6 Wedge and when I got it out a couple of times before the lockdown, I struggled the whole time!  Granted, the conditions were less than ideal, but I hate being the kook who can't stand on his board!  And weighing quite a bit more than you, and wearing a 4/3 suit, the 9'6 Wedge still felt corky, even compared to my custom 10x33" Kronos with the exact same volume.  It is super fast and maneuverable though, at least for the 2 rides in 2 hours that I got. 

I also have the first round model of the 25 (it's a 9'4x33.  They slightly changed dims shortly after I got it) and I still need a couple of days of glassy conditions to figure it out.  My one day out with it in NorCal bad chop was not fun.  Probably should have gone bigger, but I wanted a board I could take on flights. 

I really want a 9'9 Kanga, but I think my other half will kill me if I buy another board!  And not to steal the thread, but any chance you've ridden both the 25 and Kanga and can give a comparison?     

Mike, I am toked you are happy with your small Wedge, and really look forward to your review!

I surfed my 9'5 today, but I continue to struggle on it.
I find it too corky, for even my bulkiness.

Fun to surf, but I really should trade down for a smaller one...
I'd be tempted to go 8'11, but that may be a different kind of challenge.
I hold to my feeling that the Wedge is for people with serious balance/paddle skillz.

Hi Mark

I live near Pismo and I'm referring to the Pismo Beach pier and reefs at Shell beach area.  These spots have gotten very crowded.  I usually surf Oceano dunes area but when it gets to big I head for the reefs. It's 1 hour north to Morro Bay and 1.5 hours south to Santa Barbara. I much prefer to surf close to home.

  I have made a decision. I'm just going to surf the local reefs a lot more this winter. Crowds and attitudes is just the norm here now.   

Yeah, I feel you on this one.  Seems like Pismo has always been crowded, at least as long as I can remember.  From my memory, it's usually a lot of college kids from Cal Poly on shortboards. My buddies and I would head to Shell Beach to avoid the crowds, but sounds like that ain't possible anymore.  But if it's your break, then it's your break.  Familiarity and respect should help, no?

I often look at the cams down there on Surfline just to see how it's breaking and have noticed there's rarely anybody riding stand ups at the pier.  I only asked about MB/Cayucos b/c I've been out and seen a lot more older guys riding longboards and Sups in that area.     

If you want to see the ultimate shit show, check out the Pacifica cam on Surfline on a decent day.  I don't know how anybody has any fun or catches any waves.  Even on a weekday at 11am, it's stupid crowded.   

Hey Will,

Just wondering where you're at on the Central Coast?  Morro Bay/Cayucos area or Pismo?  I live up in the Bay, but I learned to ride waves down there and still am down there at least a few times a year.  Seems there's always plenty of areas to surf in Morro Bay and not have to be in a crowd, particularly further north towards Cayucos which is where I prefer to go out, although right near the Rock and the Cayucos pier it's always ridiculously crowded.  Same at the pier in Pismo, but there's always Shell Beach and down by the dunes, right?  I've also gone out at spots in MB where there's a group or two of older guys out SUS'ing with no young groms around. 

This discussion is also funny for me as someone who bodyboarded before SUS'ing.  I never surfed prone.  While body boarding is more popular in SoCal and Central Coast (where my custom Toobs board was built), hardly anybody sponges in the Bay Area. Twenty years ago when I first moved here to the Bay, I felt like an outcast on my sponge and tried to make myself scarce.  My friends who surfed seemed embarrassed to be seen with me.  Also had to get used to surfers constantly heckling me for sponging, mainly because I sat inside and got all the waves they were too far out to catch.   

I'm often times the rarity on my stand up at my local breaks, although there's still quite a few people who SUS up here.  I tend to paddle out on my knees because I'm lazy and stay on my knees until I see sets rolling in.  Otherwise I'm literally towering over people.   I've noticed that now in my 40's with lots of grey in my beard, people don't talk shit to me much, but it also helps that I'm 6'5" @ 280.  I've definitely gotten a bit of stink eye near the Rock in Morro Bay, but nobody had the balls to say anything to me.         

The Triton is leaps and bounds a better board than the Allwave!  Way more fun to ride!  Even though it's big, it turns on a dime.  It's super stable and just an amazing board.  Can't recommend it enough. 

I had Bill shape me a custom with a bit more volume as I'm bigger and taller than you, and even with the extra size, it's still a lot of fun to ride.  I've only ridden my 9'10 Allwave once in two years since I got my 10'4 Triton.  No comparison. 

Last I heard from Bill, you'll need to buy it from Flight boards on Oahu.  He didn't have any himself.       

I feel like the waves get bigger the further south you go but my buddy sitting here told me I'm tripping. I just go out wherever I feel like it and where it's not too crowded and chase the peaks. If it's overhead or bigger it's usually too much work to get out. There's usually a SUP'r or 2 out and if not, I'm big and old enough now I don't care about getting heckled by the younger guys and as long as you follow etiquette it's usually all good.

It was a different story when I was younger and used to sponge there a lot tho. Almost got into way too many fights.

This post makes me nervous because next week I'm taking my 14' board up to Tahoe and will be driving 65-70mph through 100+ degree area for a couple of hours. I always worry about this but it hasn't been a problem in the past. Hopefully it holds up this time!