Messages

1

Random / Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]

« on: January 29, 2017, 10:04:12 AM »

If the press wasn't doing everything in their power to delegitimize Trump and all the Kool-Aid drinkers on the left would engage in some critical thought there wouldn't be half the hand-wringing going on or out cry from abroad or leaders not meeting.

This is stupid.  Trump is delegitimizing himself.  Trump is also incapable of critical thought, which in my opinion is his worst quality. 

2

Random / Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]

« on: January 25, 2017, 02:24:25 PM »

How long before folks who voted for Trump start feeling like they made a mistake?  Any yet?  1 month from now?  Thats the silver lining, if there is one.

You do recall that pretty much everyone but the skinny bit of hardcore on both ends of the spectrum considered the choices they had were to toss their vote away, vote for the status quo with someone they considered a greedy evil liar, of something different with someone they considered a greedy, evil liar.

Where's the mistake? The hardcore on both ends are getting exactly what they expected, and so are the people in the middle.

The regret I expect is within the Republican party.

Thats a good point and I agree.  I suspect that if we revoted in a months time, the outcome would be different.  That's what I meant by a mistake.

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Random / Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]

« on: January 25, 2017, 07:01:00 AM »

How long before folks who voted for Trump start feeling like they made a mistake?  Any yet?  1 month from now?  Thats the silver lining, if there is one.

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Random / Re: What a got damn shitshow. [warning politics]

« on: January 12, 2017, 10:12:48 AM »

To the panic stricken:

I wonder if any of you will actually understand what Trump is doing as president.
I doubt it.

That would require curiosity.
Curiosity doesn’t happen with prejudice.

Pity.

There will be quite a lot going on.
You will never allow yourself to see clearly, for it will be contrary to your beliefs.

Well at any rate…. you will have much to scream about.
Getting back in shape is never painless.

There is nothing to understand.  Thats my beef with Trump....there's nothing there.  Golden showering, grabbing by the pussy, racist, sexist, narcissistic, nepotising, Big-business screw-the-little-man, white-supremacist, global-warming denying, anti-scientist fuck hole that he is, its the fact that he is dumber than a board that scares and bugs me the most.  At least we know where he stands on all the other stuff. 

5

Gear Talk / Re: No late drops please

« on: December 14, 2016, 07:30:30 AM »

3rd plug for the Rawson 8-4.  I mostly ride a Starboard 8-0 Pro or Hypernut 7-2 in the summer, and then switch to the Rawson in a winter suit or when its really big.  The board is a confidence builder.  I'm 170 lbs, so about 185 in a winter suit.

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NorthEast / Re: Maine shop Closing

« on: December 06, 2016, 04:51:42 PM »

Closing at least for 2017. I hope to keep doing lessons and rentals, but the retail space will be gone.  Lots of reasons behind this move, but the biggest is I've hardly spent any time with my family in 6 summers and my oldest boy is now 13, so time is precious.  Its all good and I am excited to discover what the future holds.  Im also psyched to spend about 10 times more time on the water this summer!   

7

NorthEast / Maine shop Closing

« on: December 06, 2016, 11:42:51 AM »

Soposup will be closing its doors at the end of January.  All paddles and boards are 35% OFF.  Prices on the Inventory page are already marked down (does not include Kialoa, Werner and QB paddles).  www.soposup.com

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Gear Talk / Re: Suggestion for Sunova, get rid of the LIFTSUP handle.

« on: November 05, 2016, 09:43:12 AM »

I'm not a huge fan of the Liftsup, but it does have a big advantage over other handles; no big toe-breaking hole in the board, right where you plant your front foot.  On any board under 8-6, I'd rather have no handle at all. 

9

Gear Talk / Re: Lahui Kai Race Boards

« on: July 20, 2016, 09:40:17 AM »

  Odd how the prices vary btwn 1100-2000 USD within the same model line though.  Normally the price remains the same.  Could be they have a big current oversupply issue and need to dump product before 2017.
 We have no brand associations like many others - so it is so nice to pick the best model from any manufacturer without any master servant concerns. 

I'm not super smart about quoting, so bare with me. 

A) you brought up "master-servant" out of nowhere…because its your pet project to root out corrupt dealers.  The implication of master-servant is that dealers are the pawns of the brands they sell.  Thats not my speculation.  Thats interpretation of your words to the best of my abilities.

B)You thought it was "Odd how the prices vary…"  So we agree that is it curious and suspicious.

C)  I don't know what Slagging is.  I'm simply expressing my opinion.  A not very controversial opinion I might add. 

On a personal level I find your attitude really lame and I admit that its bumming me out immensely.  I have enjoyed being a part of this community and learning from all the people on this site.  I am proud to pretend that I have made some small contributions of my own to the site.  I am 1st and foremost a paddle board enthusiast.  I love the sport enough that I have made it my vocation.  I have tried in all my posts to be honest and forthright, and to declare myself whenever I felt there could be a conflict of interest.  Being portrayed as dishonest is a really big deal to me. 
This feud we are having is ruining an otherwise beautiful day.
I will take SUP Zone off my task bar for at least  little while, as I cannot help but pop in every now and then so long as its there. 

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Gear Talk / Re: Lahui Kai Race Boards

« on: July 20, 2016, 06:37:24 AM »

raf - do you think the SB carbon sandwich boards are priced competitively vs other brands like Naish SIC JL etc - or overpriced at all?  The price surcharge here is around $1600 Cdn btwn the SB CS product and the others.  It appears no other 14' boards have retail price tags even over $4k - let alone around $5400 for a 2016 AS23 CS.

Many people on here and elsewhere complain a lot about this pricing discrepancy.  As a dealer and enthusiast - is it better not to have lower prices for the consumer vs really high ones?  Or do you fully support SB and its pricing policy?  As consumers and enthusiasts we prefer low prices so we buy used and demos boards because the depreciation hit on carbon boards is massive.  We know of no one who is prepared to pay $5400 plus taxes for a 2016 AS CS.

Even so - the amount we paid for a used 2016 AS23 CS was quite a bit more than we have ever paid -> but thankfully was still much less than a Hybrid retail.  A bit ridiculous actually.

http://shop.kalavidasurfshop.com/starboard-all-star-14-x-23-carbon-sandwich/dp/2745

Getting a little off-topic, but I know this is really what u are after, so…

We don't stock full carbon Starboards as we find them to be overly expensive for a minimal weight savings.  The Hybrid construction is a much better value.  I would have a very hard time justifying 4k plus for a couple pounds weight savings.  My general opinion is that all the major brands are overpriced.  A carbon race board for $1200 sounds like a very good deal.

Thats the simple answer.  The more complicated answer is that I could sell hundreds of $700-$800 boards every year.  The margin on all boards is about the same.  The problem is that I don't like to see boards come back through my door with an unhappy customer.  I know from experience, for example, that boards in the $800-$900 range (MSRP) tend to have a higher rate of returns.  So the question is do I want to sell 3 boards for $800 (and risk having unhappy customers and/or warranty issues) or 1 board at $1300 (losing 2 potential sales) and feel pretty confident that customer is going to be happy for a long time, and hopefully come back and buy again next year? 
If you want to pretend that all dealers are solely motivated by greed and profit (which is frankly insulting), then the above example I laid out still holds.  If you can entertain for a moment that we are actually motivated by our love of the sport, and that dealers actually have their clients' interest at heart, then you might come around to the idea that dealers are actually a great source of knowledge on the relative value of different boards, constructions, design etc.  I know its a stretch….

You aren't "curious and suspicious" but the massive price discrepancy on the Lahui Kai site between the different 12-6 boards?

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Gear Talk / Re: Lahui Kai Race Boards

« on: July 19, 2016, 02:11:31 PM »

raf - you say you are "curious but suspicious" and you have "seen a bunch of Sup Atx boards, and I was not overly impressed with their quality".  Apparently their main line of boards is not priced nor designed to be high performance race boards.  The LK brand was specially put on the map to compete against higher end pricey race boards.  Brian is well aclaimed as a very excellent designer who spawned many successful SB boards.  Have you as a dealer ever firsthand paddled any LK boards?

I have not paddled one "as a dealer".  I also haven't paddled one.  I agree with everything you wrote above.  Well, except maybe the prosecutorial tenor of your query.  Oh, and by quality I was referring to the construction, not the performance.  I thought that was obvious.

My shop is in Maine, so we are practically neighbors!

 

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Gear Talk / Re: Lahui Kai Race Boards

« on: July 19, 2016, 11:47:36 AM »

From a dealer perspective, I don't much like it.  It is an inexpensive board, so hard to compete with. 

I usually don't base my posts from a  dealer perspective though.

From an enthusiast's perspective, I am curious but suspicious.  I was also struck by the price discrepancies between similar boards on their site.  Also, I've seen a bunch of Sup Atx boards, and I was not overly impressed with their quality, but I think the price points are very good for people to get into the sport with.  The shapes seem good. 

One of our local racers who rode a 12-6 Starboard Allstar last year ended up with a Lahui Kai 12-6 and by all accounts is quite happy with it.  Another of our local paddlers tried it and was also pleased with it. 

Eagle - out of curiosity, where are you paddling (i.e., europe?)?

Raf
SB dealer
shop owner

13

Gear Talk / Re: Lahui Kai Race Boards

« on: July 19, 2016, 10:56:27 AM »

TWe have no brand associations like many others - so it is so nice to pick the best model from any manufacturer without any master servant concerns.  When one only always talks positive about one brand and has nothing positive to say about others - it seems odd and curious. 

nice cross-thread plug! 

14

Gear Talk / Re: Big Sunova USA Sale going on.

« on: July 16, 2016, 06:13:50 AM »

Bic Ace-Tecs are arguably some of the highest quality boards made.  The machines they created to make these boards are so expensive no one else can compete.  Its only because they sell a bajillion that the cost is competitive.  Biggest downside is the mold line on the edges, and good luck fixing a ding.

Sorry for off-topic post
Raf
former Bic dealer
Sunova dealer

15

SUP General / Re: Angulo Soft Top - How to repair?

« on: July 15, 2016, 09:21:40 AM »

90% sure none of the bigger brands that sell softies actually make them in house.  I've cut a SB Asap in half and dissected it.  Core is a very light glass/epoxy layup, with crap styrofoam middle.  Almost any hard impact will suffice to crack the glass.  Thats why these boards get heavy pretty fast if used hard.

I'd peel the soft skin back and make sure the glass is ok (if there is any).  Then shoe goo.