Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - ODJ

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5
1
Gear Talk / Having trouble choosing a board...
« on: June 05, 2019, 01:28:55 PM »
Getting back into surfing. Live in Northern CA, Bay Area now. Will mostly surf at Bolinas which is small, beach break, low energy most of the time. 43 years old, 190lbs (probably 200lbs with the wetsuit, etc.) and fit. I used to surf in Southern California; Oceanside Hsarbor, Sunset Cliffs, Boneyards..started on a 10'6 King's Knight years ago, the a 9'6 David Craig, then a 9'2 David Craig, 9'0 Tim Stamps and an 8'11 King's Crossover. Haven't surfed in a few years due to living in landlocked states, but have a 14' Bark Dominator I paddle in the bay, harbors, lakes, etc.

Looking for something that isn't necessarily high performance, but also don't want a log. Would be nice to find something in the middle so to speak, that would be good for the small, mushy, low energy days but also would still perform adequately for the occasional bigger day. Don't need anything super aggressive, not doing crazy cutbacks and slashing turns, but would be nice to drop in, make nice bottom turns and carve a little down the line. These days it's more about catching waves and having fun for me.

Checked out a few boards at a local shop today:

Jimmy Lewis Kwad 9'7 (154L)
Jimmy Lewis Hanalei10'8 (160L)
Starboard Widepoint 9'5 (153L)

All of these boards seemed a big big for me and what I used to ride, but these were the recommendations from the shop after a pretty length discussion about my experience and the break(s) I'd be riding out here. Their top recommendation was the 10'8 Jimmy Lewis Hanalei, but it seems like a pretty dated design. Also seems like a massive board, but they swear it's a very maneuverable and fun board. Haven't ridden a surf SUP that big since I started started SUP 8 years ago or so, and have always gone smaller and smaller as I got better, but I also don't have access to the types of breaks I used to surf in SoCal, and I'm older as well. Thoughts and suggestions on a board for a guy my size who's getting back into surfing but really only has access to some pretty mellow beach breaks?

2
Gear Talk / What clothing are you wearing in the Bay Area while paddling?
« on: December 04, 2015, 08:47:56 AM »
New to the Bay Area from Denver, and previously Southern California. Wondering what you guys are wearing when paddling around in the Bay, harbors, marinas, etc. on cold mornings up here. I'll be paddling out of Richmond, Alameda, San Rafel, etc., usually early in the morning. Are guys wearing full-on wetsuits or going with something different up here? I'm guessing something like a 3:2 would get pretty hot even if it's cold out, but might be nice if you fell in. Thanks in advance!


3
Gear Talk / New (used) board...SIC X-14
« on: November 30, 2015, 07:10:26 AM »
Finally back living along the coast (was landlocled in COlorado the last 2.5 years). I'm in Northern, CA near RIchmond in the Bay Area and live miutes from the water. Found a used SIX X-14 (the newer model that's 28.5" wide). Plan on using it for pretty much everything in the Bay and seems like a good all-around board. Couldn't justify spending $2700 for a new X-14Pro even it it was narrower and lighter. I figure for $960 it's a no-brainer. Wondering what others think of this board for paddling out in the East Bay, mostly for fitness and may be enter a race now and then just for fun, without the intent of being ccrazy competitive and just to have fun? I'll post some pics of the board once I get home. It's in great shape and came with a nice fin as well.

4
It looks like I'll be hitting the road again as a travel nurse. Been in Colorado the last 2 years and although I love it, I miss the coast and the plan is to travel up and down the California coast as a travel nurse. It's been a while so I don't know what's new and what's changed with surf SUP's. In the past I've owned a couple King's, David Craig and Tim Stamps customs. Boards have been 8'6", 8'10" and 9'0". I'm 6'2" tall, 190lbs and in good shape. So given my plan to travel I'll probably see all different conditions. What do you think would be a good size board to travel with? Maybe another 9'0" or even a 9'2"? I know people are going shorter and shorter these days, but given I'll only have one board for everything, what's the best size?

Thanks in advance for the replies!

5
I'm on a quest to find the best fin set up for a new board. I've been demo'ing fins and have surfed the following set ups so far with impressions. Board is 8'10 x 29 x 4.25 and approx. 120 liters. It's basically a blown up short board. I'm 6'2, 190lbs.




Stock set up with 6.5" Futures Performance center fin and small side bites: Very loose set up, board was very maneuverable and could whip the board around really easily. Fun in small surf, but even in the small stuff I was able to slide the board out pretty easily. Fun in the small stuff but would not be fun in bigger surf! Also lacked drive with this set up.


Futures Controller Quad Set: These fins just plain sucked for me. Very stiff feeling, long, drawn out, wide turns. Not my cup of tea.


FCS 5" center fin (that fits into a standard center fin box) & side fins from an AM2 thruster set. This set up was decent, maybe the best so far. Loose, but not so loose that it would slide out on me like the first 2+1 stock set-up. Average drive, but if you look at the shape of the side fins, they do have a smaller base, so they probably aren't the driviest fins, but they do make for some snappy turns when you lay hard on a rail.

I am considering re-visiting quads, as I am looking for a lot of speed and drive, but still want to make a somewhat tight turn. I have really never ridden quads, and in all fairness the Controller set I demo'd are the only quads I've really ever tried. When I look at the thruster set up with the AM2 side fins and FCS center fin, you can see the AM2 fins have a small base, which may be why the board feels less drive-y. Kind of thinking if I go quad or twin I should look for a fin with more base to get more drive, and less rake to keep it maneuverable?

So what do you guys think? Try some more quad sets? Something that has a more traditional shape as opposed to the Controller set that had huge, wide front fins and vertical trailers. I am thinking I will just go to a surf shop with a Futures Fin Tree and demo the Stretch quad set, the Tim Stamps quad set and the T1 twin set with a trailer fin. Also tossing around the idea of trying a twin set up with some drive-y, side fins and a 3-3.5" center trailer. I am more of a front footed surfer, and am looking for something that will give me the most drive and speed, yet offer enough hold for bigger stuff as well. Any ideas, thoughts and suggestions are always appreciated!

6
Gear Talk / Cheapest, decent paddle bag?
« on: December 19, 2012, 04:50:51 PM »
I'm looking for a paddle bag, something that the entire paddle will fit into, not just the blade. I have owned both Dakine bags in the past, the higher end bag and the sock version. Seems like prices have gone up since I last owned one. I paid $20 for the sock in the past. Anyone know of any relatively cheap paddle bags out there?

7
Gear Talk / Thoughts on Futures Controller Quad fins on an SUP?
« on: December 17, 2012, 09:04:19 AM »
Has anyone used these on their SUP? Considering them for my board.

Dims: Front Height: 4.50" Base: 5.05" 2D Area:18.24"
         Rear Height: 4.53"  Base: 3.89" 2D Area:12.06"


8
Gear Talk / First impressions...King's Custom Crossover 8'10 x 29 x 4.25
« on: December 16, 2012, 02:01:03 PM »
I posted pics of the board the other day in a thread but had not ridden the board yet. Today was the first day out. I was hesitant given the recent downpours here in the San Diego area, but couldn't help myself.

I went out at Oceanside harbor early this morning. Conditions were not the greatest, but the wind was minimal and initially offshore, not glassy, but not victory at sea either. Not much push behind the waves, and they averaged about thigh to waist.

Just to give you an idea about me, I am 36 years old, 6'2, 188 lbs (this morning sans wetsuit)  and have not been on an SUP in about 5 months. I recently moved away from Southern California, quickly moved back, and for about the last year and a half have been in school full-time while also working full time. Life has been busy and a bit hectic, not leaving much time to surf. I would consider myself an experienced intermediate. The board I had before this was a 9'0 s 29 x 4 Tim Stamps Ninja Bump. I regretfully sold it when I moved. Before that was a 9 x 29 x 4 David Craig, Joe Blair 8'11, 9'6 x 29.5 x 4.25 David Craig, and before those I had a 10' Kings Knight model.

Not the greatest conditions today as I mentioned, but rideable. It's been a while since I've been out on an SUP and was nervous as to not look like an ass. Paddling out the board performed beautifully, and was pleasantly surprised at how well this board punched through whitewash. I have been pretty fortunate to have learned how to get through decent size whitewash and thought the Stamps did a good job at it, but the King's performed a bit better. This is expected I guess, since the the Stamps Ninja Bump is technically a noserider, with a rounder, flatter nose compared to the very pulled in nose of the Kings. Either way I was pleased with how well the board busted through whitewash while getting out given the time I've been away from the water.

Initially the board felt a touch tipper than what I remembered the Stamps to be like, but this may sound strange saying this about a surf SUP, it felt it had much better secondary stability. This is something that I hear mentioned more with race SUP's. but I swear I noticed it with the King's. Actually the board is ridiculously stable and took very little time getting used to it. It might have felt tippier at first, but in reality it really isn't and I think it may even be a little more stable. I had a few situations where I was hit with some chop or cross-swell and thought I was going to fall in and didn't. All in all a VERY stable board. I told myself I could probably have gone and inch narrower, but quickly reminded myself that this is my only board and didn't want to go too narrow, since I will be riding this board in everything. The board paddled as I expected/hoped. My old board was 9 x 29 x 4 at 116L, and I did sink it a little bit and it did paddle a touch slow, and was not the best choice on small, lifeless waves, but it absolutely ripped with anything that had energy/push behind it. Keeping this in mind I told Dave I wanted something the same length or a touch smaller, wanted a thinly foiled tail but ALSO wasted to try and squeeze in a few more liters just to give me a little more float/paddle power. Basically I was trying to do what most people do when they go to a shaper, and create a board that paddles well but isn't too long, is stable but still rips in surf and is responsive. Essentially you have to give up one thing to get another and can't have it all! It did take Dave a little while to figure out where he was going to squeeze in the volume (we ended up with something like 120-121 liters I think) while still keeping a thinned out, thinly foiled tail so it would still be very responsive in the surf. I originally wanted a bump in the tail and step rails, but once I saw ti come off the CNC shaper I nixed those options to retain volume!  I think the Crossover was a great choice as a template to start with because compared to the King's WCT model, the Crossover is a bit fuller through out, especially up front, and this is where I think Dave squeezed in/hid the extra volume I was looking for, but still has very aggressive, almost shortboard look to it. When I stand on this board I sink it to the edges of the deck pad, maybe a touch more.

At first glance I though the board had too much rocker and nose kick, and was concerned that would affect glide and the way the board paddles, but that thankfully ended up not being the case. Because the Crossover model has a little more width in the front 2/3'rds of the board compared to the very aggressive WCT, I think this is really what still allows this board to paddle well relative to it's size, and would have no problems taking this board to a place like Sunset Cliffs, where it isn't uncommon to paddle a bit of distance from peak to peak in search of waves, or to get away from the crowd. Understand that it wont paddle like a 10'6 longboard style SUP, but for it's dims I really feel like this board paddles very well, and feel the slight width in the front just behind the nose with the added volume balances out the amount of rocker and nose kick in this case. Also, the rocker and nose kick on this board is absolutely perfect for steep beach breaks and late drops. Other boards I have owned that had less rocker and nose kick required me to sort of 'ride a wheelie' down the face on late or steep drops, and would put me in a bad body position for making my bottom turn. I was lucky enough to pick off a random chest high wave that rolled through today, and dropped into it pretty late, not even close to pearling and just concentrated on making my bottom turn.

So how does it surf? Well, in addition to taking late drops incredibly well, I really have to say this board is just a flipping blast to ride. There really wasn't much energy behind the waves today, and the first two waves I got I though the board was a dog, and said to myself, damn, guess I screwed up this one ( I was very insistent that Dave foil out the tail pretty thin, and thought that we took it a little too far), later on dropped into a slightly larger, waist high wave with a little more energy behind it and the board really came alive. Right away it just felt like this board went from rail to rail ridiculously easy, was a very fluid transition, very natural feel, and really felt like I could control the board really well, and even pump the board and generate speed without the paddle in some cases, which I have found tough to do with boards in this size range. I really have no real evidence or proof to this, but I really do think the thin tail is what makes this board feel so responsive under my feet in the surf. My old board was only 2 inches longer, same width and less volume, and this new board feels more sensitive. It also feels narrower in regards to the way it transitions rail to rail even though it's the same width. I decided to try it out first with a 2+1 set up, since that's how I rode my last board. I had a 6" Futures Performance center fin (came with the board) and just some random side bites I used on my Stamps. This was the same fin set up I was using on my Stamps board in smaller and/or weaker surf. I set the center fin a little forward from the middle, which is what I usually do. Board was very loose, and felt great. I even was able to hit the lip, stay up on the lip for a bit and hang out as it crumbled, then drop back in, something I have never been able to do before.

So overall, even though it wasn't the best conditions today and the surf was small, I was very pleased with the way this boar performed. In bigger surf I am sure this board will just shine. I really think Dave is onto something here with this shape. I do realize that there are a lot of guys on here that ride ridiculously short boards and rip in the surf, and hope to be able to go even shorter someday. But I think if there are others out there like me, who are trying to surf more aggressively/progressively, are taller/bigger guys, and can't afford a quiver and/or don't wan't to totally suffer when it comes to paddle power, lack of stability, and/or just want an all-around board that is geared more toward performance and will absolutely rip, but still float you and get you in waves and from peak to peak a little easier. If this is you, than this seriously is a great board to consider. I think for where I am now with my surfing and only having one board, this board is perfect, and will also allow me to progress and go to the next level without being hindered by the size of the board. Compared to other boards in the 9'0 range that I have owned or ridden, this one is the absolute more responsive and most performance oriented board, but still paddles great and is very stable. I am very excited to get it out in some bigger, more powerful surf.

As a disclaimer I have no affiliation with King's aside from being a happy customer. The way I was treated by everyone at King's was second to none. I am seriously considering having Dave shape me another board, a 7'10 Simmons-style board. He has an 8'0 Simmons-inspired shape that he said I could take out sometime, and think I will take him up on the offer! Would be fun to have something for small, crummy conditions that would compliment the board I have now.








9
Gear Talk / Picked up my new board today...King's 8'10 x 29 x 4.25
« on: December 12, 2012, 04:35:04 PM »
On my way out the door, but snapped a few pics with the cell phone before heading out to the farmer's market. The bard came out really nice! I didn't realize how much rocker it had up front, but that should come in handy in the winter when the surf gets bigger at the steeper beach breaks! Cant wait to get out and ride it and figure out the fin situation. As always, Dave and Rhonda and every one else at King's are top notch and wonderful people to deal with!












10
Gear Talk / I was told that boiling a handle would release the epoxy...
« on: November 24, 2012, 09:01:42 AM »
Was calling shops the other day looking for a spare Kialoa handle since I have to shorten a paddle I picked up recently. No luck, and have to get one special ordered apparently. One sop told me that they know of a guy who boiled the handle for 10 minutes and the handle came right off. Anyone else ever hear of this? Would be great to do that. After a clean up with the Dremel I could reuse the handle.

11
Gear Talk / Which epoxy for a Kialoa handle?
« on: November 20, 2012, 05:32:10 PM »
What's the best epoxy for gluing a Kialoa handle? I recently picked up a Methane off the classified section and need to shorten it.

Thanks!

12
Gear Talk / X-trak no longer making pads for SUP's?
« on: November 20, 2012, 10:31:51 AM »
After my post regarding what fellow zoners thought was the best traction pad, I started calling shops around me. One shop told me that X-trak is no longer making SUP specific pads, which is a shame because they said they were a shop favorite because they were closed-cell foam and didn't soak up water and were very grippy.

13
Gear Talk / Best traction pad?
« on: November 19, 2012, 05:30:53 PM »
I am having a board made but am on the fence about traction pads. Never really gave them much thought until a fellow zoner brought it up, and made me wonder about it. I have pretty much exclusively used the 3M deck pads on every board I have ever owned. Never had an issue with them as far as slipping, but will agree that they do soak up a lot of water and take a while to dry. I have gone out into the garage the next morning and still had the deck pad be wet from the previous day's session, and one board started smelling a touch musty.

Seems like there are fans of the OAM traction pads, but these are open-cell foam just like the 3M pads, so I am guessing they hold water, too. Others seem to like the X-track pads, and have to say these look nice, but have never used one. They do look thick, which may not me what I am into. Are the OAM pads thinner than the 3M? Even if the OAM is open-cell foam, it may be a matter of compromise, since it wouldn't hold as much water.

Suggestions, comments and recommendations are always encouraged and appreciated! Thanks!

14
Gear Talk / Fins recommended for an 8'10...
« on: November 18, 2012, 03:58:04 PM »
I am hoping to pick up my 8'10x29x4.25 121 liters very soon from King's. Having it made with a 5 fin box set up, Futures. Have really every only ridden the original Gerry Lopez GL-1's in both quad and thruster sets. I noticed that the GL-2's are a little smaller, which is great because unless it was big out, I thought the GL-1's were a bit too stiff.

Was wondering what most people are running on their performance SUP's these days for quad and thruster set ups? I've attached a pic of the board below (waiting for it to be glassed) so you can see the basic shape.






15
SUP General / Got to watch my board being shaped today!
« on: November 14, 2012, 06:43:38 PM »
Here are a few pics of the 8'10 x 29 x 4.25 King's board that I am having made. Looks like this board is going to rip!












Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 5

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal