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Topics - JonathanC

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1
Classifieds / Starboard 2016 Ace GT, 17'4 x 27 $1500
« on: August 11, 2017, 12:36:38 PM »
Starboard Ace GT 17'4 dugout. Board has been used less than a dozen times, perfect condition, no dings or repairs. On Maui, looking for quick sale, $1500 ono

https://www.supboardermag.com/equipment_guide/ace-gt-unlimited-174-x-27-carbon-sandwich-2016/

Please contact me on jonathan.cowcher@gmail.com

2
Classifieds / SIC Bullet, V1 17'4. $500 Maui
« on: August 11, 2017, 12:26:33 PM »
17'4 V1 Bullet, dark green Kevlar upper half. Originally made by Mark R as his own personal board.
Some marks and repairs but sound and waterproof.
Board is on Maui and need to sell quickly so open to offers.
Please contact me on jonathan.cowcher@gmail.com

3
Random / Finally finished the tandem trailer !!
« on: July 09, 2014, 10:56:43 PM »
After cluttering up the shed for a few years finally had a real need for the tandem trailer, pulled the finger out, got it galvanised and here it is. Initial idea was something heavy enough to put my ASV Positrack (tracked bobcat) onto, it's about 2 1/2 tonne, but it's really just for carting around "stuff"!

Trailer has 16" Landcruiser rims with Cooper ST's on it. 50mm square axles, 4 electric brakes, breakaway system. Roller rocker suspension. Trailer frame is all 65 x 35, perimeter 3mm and cross bars 2mm, the suspension is mounted on 8mm plate and most of the side rail of the trailer has another run of 65 x 35 x 3 fully welded to support the 8mm plate. Drawbar is relatively short - can't remember exactly and is 100 x 50 x 4 with quite deep ladder type bracing underneath with 50 x 6 black flat as the tension member. Full pipe rails welded beneath for tying down and a perimeter frame of 30 x 30 2.5 to support the guards etc. Guards are bolt on in case of damage but hopefully the design of the 30 x 30 will tend to push any branches whatever away before the guards cop it.

Galvanised the chequer plate separately, it's fully Sikaflexed on after doing the full recommended primer/activator treatment, and because the cross rails are only 395 apart it's pretty bloody secure. No other fasteners seemed a bit scary but when I did some calculations based on the shear and tear strength of the sikaflex 252 don't foresee any problems.

It has a 3600 x 1700 tray, with the big off road wheels overall is a smidge over 2300 wide.
Surprisingly, the tare weight was only about 850 without the spare on. Thought is might have been more but with the tie down rail underneath and the perimeter frame it's really quite rigid, almost a space frame in bending.

Was fun building it but of course more work than I planned on, when will I ever learn...

But the great thing is that now I can get stuck into the off road camper/caravan project without the family telling me I need to finish one thing before I start another...of course there are always about 10 projects on the go but a tandem trailer frame and a pile of wheels tends to be a little more visible.

(sorry about all the metric measurements...actually wrote this for an Oz camper trailer forum but couldn't resist sharing it with my other family!)

4
Gear Talk / 12'6 or 14 for women paddling on flat water - what's best?
« on: November 29, 2013, 03:05:16 PM »
Don't want to open the whole racing 12'6 v 14 can of worms but for women who are paddling and racing recreationally on flat water and windy chop what is best?

Seems to me that aside from all the aspects of a 12'6 being easier to live with etc, unless you are bigger, the smaller board is just as fast or faster for the same effort.

I'm 68kg #150 and many of the recreational women paddlers in our Melbourne group are lighter than I am but possibly not as strong. My new 12'6 x 25.5 All Star Turtle Bay has blown me away, very fast, great fun on flat water, waves and even a ballistic open water downwinder. I'd kinda forgotten how nice it is to have a 12'6!

Seems that there is a trend for everyone to go to a 14 by default and before offering my advice to our local gang would love to get some feedback from experienced female paddlers out there.

5
Santa bought my 2014 boards!!

I'll report more after the first session....




























https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oiserxxi75vc6ea/KN1cQK95UI




6
SUP General / Trouble with Mexican locals...
« on: January 04, 2013, 01:46:10 PM »
Had an amazing three weeks at Barra de la Cruz with 5 other gringos, staying at Dave's place right on the beach.

Some of the wildlife was scary! The local people were so friendly and welcoming and I felt privileged to spend time there.

If you look closely at the photo of the scorpion with the bottle top - they are babies all over its back, all complete with tiny stingers :o

We named the the rocky outcrop on the water Elephant Pass.


7
Random / Swimming with whale sharks
« on: April 15, 2012, 11:46:40 PM »
I was lucky enough to have 10 days at a beautiful place called Coral Bay on the Ningaloo Reef, longest fringing coral reef in the world on the north west coast of Australia. Managed to catch some of the migrating Whale Sharks. Hope you like the video.

http://vimeo.com/m/40377905

8
Downwind and Racing / Spring Downwinder in Melbourne
« on: September 23, 2011, 06:35:43 PM »
Had a great downwinder a few days ago, starting to get some of our windy spring weather pattern happening, 30 to 40 knots and so much fun. Water is still 55 F and air temperature about 70 so the 'dips' are refreshing! I'm on the Starboard 14' Race Open Ocean and IMHO it doesn't get much better ;D

I didn't bother to edit, just grabbed three waves to give you a feel for the day, even left the real background 'music'...


9
Downwind and Racing / Starboard Ace 14' x 25"
« on: July 15, 2011, 02:04:22 AM »
Put my new Starboard Ace 14' x 25" into the water yesterday in sloppy onshore seas, it was blowing about 10 to 12 knots and cold...thought I might fall in but was pleasantly surprised with the stability of the board and blown away by the tiny lumpy little runners it could catch. Amazingly stable for a 25" board and DRY FEET!! The standing area is well and truly above water level with all my 148lbs on board.

Very keen to get it out into stronger downwind conditions and see how it goes, seems to be plenty of rocker to allow it to surf if you step back and its actually surprisingly manoeuvrable despite that chisel tail.

Without doubt, the fastest light wind downwind board I've ever been on, slightly "technical" but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Of course as far as I'm concerned, anything over 10' is a 'down wind board' just becomes a matter of how well they go, don't give a toss about what they were actually designed for.... :)

I did put the video up in another topic but thought this beauty deserved a topic of its own.






10
Downwind and Racing / Corduroy Downwinder
« on: June 22, 2011, 09:33:42 PM »
Ahh that's better, about 30 knots, swell small but pretty tidy and so easy and so much fun. Love the Starboard Race 14 Open Ocean ;D




11
Downwind and Racing / Wild old Melbourne Downwinder
« on: June 22, 2011, 03:01:54 AM »
Monday was a really wild windy night in Melbourne, gusts of up to 60knots and roofs blown off houses. Next day was forecast to be 30knots Westerly, well it wasn't that windy but man was the bay a chopped up bit of water! Made it very hard to catch anything with waves coming from everywhere. Getting a bit cooler now, water about 55 degrees which was warmer than air temp - somehow that didn't make falling in any more fun!

Three of us went from Pt Cook across to Sandringham about 12 or 13 miles, we copped a rain squall that was fun - check out Pete doing a headstand right at the start! Crazy bugger, pissing rain and wild sea, hard enough to stay on your feet let alone your head


12
Random / OC1 light downwind run - newbie video
« on: June 12, 2011, 01:08:20 AM »
Tried an OC1 on Maui in April and loved it, so when the opportunity came up for another go I jumped at it.
Cool beautiful winter day in Melbourne Oz and an 11 mile run with a light tail wind, magic :D



13
Downwind and Racing / Downwind run with Oscar Chalupsky
« on: May 13, 2011, 03:41:24 AM »
Buddy of mine sent me this link, he surfski's, SUP's, OC1's and OC6's.

This video is about surfski techniques for down-winding but it is fascinating and has a lot of relevance for stand-up downwind technique.

Really made me think about the number of times I experience that sensation of coming to a dead stop on the back of a wave then having to put all the energy into re-accelerating the board.

I've been trying to constantly trim the board across the face of the wave to maintain a higher speed than just running straight down the face but it's easier said than done. I'll never forget the start of the Maui Molokai race last year, very light wind and small swell but as soon as we set off Connor was zig-zagging across the face of every tiny wave - kind of wondered what he was doing as he disappeared into the distance...

http://www.surfski.info/getting-started/tips-other/item/1254-downwind-with-oscar-chalupsky-**-video-**.html

14
Gear Talk / Smaller paddle area - pros and cons
« on: April 17, 2011, 04:53:34 PM »
I know there is no 'correct' answer to this one but would like to get some comments to help the decision making process.

I'm thinking of getting a Quickblade Kanaha Elite Racer in the smallest size, the 90 sq inch one. Looking for a very light paddle for the 11 Cities Tour in September, 5 days in a row of about 28 miles a day on flat water in the Dutch canals. Figure something smaller will be better for that sort of distance.

I normally paddle with Kialoa Methane paddles for both flat water and downwinding, generally use 15" overhead for downwinding and 13" overhead for flat water distance and 9" overhead for surf. I'll be using a Starboard K15 for the 11 Cities Tour which basically means that i'll be only just above the water level so was thinking of going 12" overhead or maybe even 11 to reduce  shoulder strain a little.

Of course the other small blade option is the Kialoa Pipes, just have this little gnawing 'try a Quickblade' thing!

I'm light, 145lbs and 5'8" and 52 years old so looking to save the aching joints a little :) I tend to paddle with a high stroke rate.

Any feedback/comments thoughts much appreciated. 

15
Gear Talk / Rainbow Fins on my 9'8 x 29" Starboard Pro
« on: December 13, 2010, 09:51:04 PM »
Just tried out a new fin set on my Starboard 9'8" x 29 Pro. What a blast, the board felt stable, fast and super easy to turn. It's my 'big' board, I only weigh 145 and it was just an absolute pleasure today in clean head high faces at my beach break. Have to admit I haven't tried the fins that came with the board - just couldn't resist the new Rainbow Fin Co set of 6" centre and SpeedFins sides!

Mainly been surfing a Pocket Rocket for the last year and sometimes a 10'5 Drive. The Drive always felt too big for me so I just tended to use the Pocket Rocket all the time, but I struggled a little on days like today in fat waves and offshore wind with the PR, just couldn't seem to get enough speed up to catch the waves. Well that struggle is over! The extra glide of the 9'8 let me catch anything I wanted, thing that amazed me was how responsive it was for a board that length - even if I wasn't right back it just turned like a dream. Its made me super excited about the 8'5 Pro that will be my new small board - coming in a few days :D  

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