Show Posts

1

Random / Unsung Heroes

« on: October 01, 2015, 02:55:32 PM »

I though I'd start a thread for such types. Doesn't have to be just watermen.

2

SUP General / Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson the new Johnny Utah

« on: September 11, 2015, 01:55:32 PM »

Not Really

3

Gear Talk / Surf paddle blade shapes

« on: July 30, 2015, 04:03:12 PM »

Well I've been dealing with a troublesome shoulder, so that has led me to delve into the nether reagons of surf specific paddles shapes. So leaving overall paddle length to another discussion. I'm focusing on the blade. I'm also restricting shaft shapes to oval only. Round is a total deal breaker for me. The Epic gear was my starter surf paddle. Basically at 8 1/2" wide, I didn't know any better. Before I injured my shoulder I had gobs of paddling power available, but there were still many times when I would make a nice reach to start my stroke and have the paddle "bog" or full on get stuck in the mud. Particularly when getting sucked up the face of a large wave, or after clearing evil white water and basically still going backwards frantically trying to make progress in the right direction. Another "symptom" of too large a blade was the fact that my hands were starting to hurt like hell. I was reading an interview with John Zapotoky where he was revealing his philosophy about blade shapes. "I wanted a shape that stayed close to the board, not a big wide thing like the Duke was using" So it started me thinking more towards a thinner, smaller blade, with less initial catch, and also to get away from the Teardrop. I liked the direction Werner was going with their Nitro, but it had two draw backs, no oval shaft, and a fairly shallow 7 degree blade angle. It's supposedly more "surf" friendly but for my situation I want all the angle I can get. I want forward drive though the stroke as a number one priority. I will gladly deal with whatever small draw backs exist in a more pronounced angle. I liked the looks of the old Kiloa Pipes and picked up two on sale. It made a world of difference at 7 1/4" wide, BUT,,, I was still having shoulder issues, and some bogging.. I finally made the leap and cut down the Pipes to 6 3/8". Non-teardrop with an oval shaft and nice 12 degree blade angle. For me that is the magic formula. I can make a full pull from front to back in all situations, the cadence is increased, but it seams much more preferable to a slower lugging, if not stalled scenario. My shoulder seams to be getting progressively better, instead of worse, and my hands don't hurt.

Aside from catching more waves, I believe an increased cadence also gives many addition benefits in the surf. One would be of increased stability, as long as you are employing the principle of Active Bracing vs the beginners method of Static bracing. If you are a static bracer only, this small of a paddle won't work well for you. If you look at an exaggerated example for illustration purposes. lets say you could make 1 full stroke per second or, (again exaggerated) 5 strokes per second. The higher the stroke rate the more available opportunities you have to transition your paddle energy to an active brace at pretty much any location in the stroke rang. At the slower cadence, if you are battling some white water along with some strong wind chop and your great big paddle blade stalls out in front of you, and you need it to the side or back for an immediate brace you're essentially SOL, aside from taking it completely out of the water and doing a static, slap brace. I watched this BIC sports video when I first started, and didn't really get what he was saying about active bracing at the time. It wasn't till I heard the " for surf, never take you paddle out of the water" sound bite that the light bulb came on. FYI If you have a Pipes and cut it down this narrow you will hit the core, so you'll have to dig out a little and fill with some Epoxy to seal it up. I use the trusty West system fillers, 403 is a great one if you don't want to buy the entire line.

4

Random / Paradise or Prison

« on: May 25, 2015, 06:39:29 PM »

No waves so I vote prison. Seems all a bit odd of a place to me. Interesting none the less.

5

Random / Landmark James Taylor interview

« on: May 18, 2015, 11:06:16 AM »

Just caught about 45 min of this in the car on the SIRIUS. Found the full interview here, add free after the short opener. It's audio only and if you can listen on quality speakers, it takes it to the sublime level when James plays in and out during the interview. 2 hours of bliss. If you turn it on and just let it play while you are working in the shop you'll have a blast but you won't get much done cause you'll be rewinding in disbelief many times. This is baby boomer mythology from the horses mouth, archival grade. Many life lessons learned. The fact that James is even alive today is purely miraculous. He was a full on Heroin addict. David Crosby once said "We all did drugs at a heavy level, but what James was doing had us all scared sh!tless". His sobriety, clarity and self awareness now are inspiring.

6

Random / Dweezil Zappa's baby sitter was Eddie VanHalen

« on: May 07, 2015, 05:35:53 PM »

He had to live with an unusual first name, but there were perks

7

Random / The Motha' of Invention

« on: April 07, 2015, 06:27:17 AM »

If you are of a certain age demographic Eddie Van Halen may have come along a little to late in the game to have any cultural/ musical significance. However, if you have any interest in how "inventions" come to be via inquisitive, innovative, inadvertent, immigration, imagination this is worthy of a watch. Eddie's contribution to guitar playing comes as much from the various innovations he made with his equipment. How he developed them is very interesting. With all the talk of retirement and education etc it's a compelling example of always staying engaged. I was never a Van Halen worshiper (I'm more blues / R&B oriented) but he has a fascinating mindset and way of approaching his "vocation". I guess all you need to avoid is the drinking!....... Oh yea It was Larry Carlton to first "record" a hammeron.

8

Gear Talk / Elictric skate board - great cross trainer

« on: March 31, 2015, 06:36:50 PM »

I have been looking at electric boards for a while and found this Fiik to be a winner. It took me a while to embrace the pneumatic tires but now I am a firm believer in them. There is so much energy in the LiFePO batteries that the increased rolling resistance is a non issue. Combine that with the ability to bomb into grassy medians to avoid traffic, roll over man hole covers and steel grates, sticks , rocks etc., makes it a huge safety enhancement. Highly recommend. It's the ultimate non impact exercise, as long as you avoid the big impact.

9

Random / Bill Hicks the lost comic

« on: February 23, 2015, 12:00:55 PM »

Interesting story. Letterman banned him from show, died of cancer at 32. Leary, apparently, constantly ripped him off.. while he was alive. His wiki page is worth a read.

10

Gear Talk / Super Small Surf paddle recomendations

« on: February 04, 2015, 09:18:29 AM »

Any recommendations/experience for small surf paddle blades, as well as shapes, like tongue depressor style, ping pong paddle style. Definitely has to have an oval shaft. thanks.

11

SUP General / epic drops at .... you know

« on: January 26, 2015, 12:03:30 PM »

12

SUP General / Hitler Hates SUP

« on: January 21, 2015, 07:13:10 AM »

This was originally posted by corran back in 2010. couldn't get it to repost. Worth reviving. Probably have to watch in full screen to catch all the script. Also important to restart after the adds are done. If you miss any of the initial dialogue it's not nearly as good. It's brilliant..not all the Hitler vids are...

13

SUP Gear Reviews / Newly Acquired / On Order / SIC Fish 9.6 x 29.5 145 ltrs

« on: January 04, 2015, 07:05:08 PM »

SIC Fish 9.6 x 29.5 145 ltrs.

Pro's
Fairly stable for a sub 30" board
Super fast down the line
Not a lot of rocker so it catches waves fairly well
Turns very well

Con's
Doesn't have a "ledge handle" kind of annoying, and for long walks REALY annoying.

Not as stable as a modern wide body shorty 32" plus, but again it is a fast board on the rail.

Biggest design issue is the exaggerated fish, although it provides speed, handling, and stability enhancement the one major consequence is the board is really sluggish to swing around for the 180 and go, drop. I can swing around my 10'8" JP Fusion faster than this board. With a pin tail board just step back, sink the tail and swing around. With the fish when you sink the tail there all this drag going on. It can be compensated for but far from ideal.

Summary, I bought this board on impulse because it is polarly opposite of my preferences, style and comfort zone so I could push my self and progress, however, this board is currently "on probation" It is a lot of work in rough conditions. Ideal conditions it's piece of cake... that's not my world most of the time.

http://issuu.com/siccatalog/docs/15_sic_cat_epub

14