Topics

31

Gear Talk / Wetsuit in machine spin cycle?

« on: September 19, 2015, 11:08:53 PM »

Any downside/risks to running your wetsuit in washing machine machine spin cycle? (front load)

You know how wetsuits can suddenly seem to have become more porous at some point? The wetsuit will essentially be lying flat against the drum in the spin. I’m wondering if the water pressure trying to push through the neoprene will degrade the neoprene is this way. Or is that effect more from the neoprene degrading from age and other reasons to become porous?

32

Downwind and Racing / Bark Vapor

« on: August 11, 2015, 02:33:53 AM »

any beta?

from Outdoor Retailer show:
   http://www.supthemag.com/gear/boards-outdoor-retailer-2015/

The Surftech Bark Vapor is a marriage from the depths of legendary shaper Joe Bark’s paddling mind: why not put a prone paddling nose from the famous Bark Commander prone board on a SUP? The result is the Vapor, available in both 12’6″ and 14″ (both 26″ wide). According to Bark, this is an extremely versatile shape, most at home in the rugged open ocean but also fast on flat water as well. This board has the potential to become your everyday distance sled for riding bumps to surf races.

33

Downwind and Racing / Optimal DW hull shapes: concave or not

« on: July 10, 2015, 04:07:56 AM »

This 2008 thread on Foote 14’ Downwinder and DW shapes came up and was an interesting re-read.
   http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,2141.0.html

A few comments on concaves were mentioned like this one

…
These pics are a little off in that that they don’t really reflect that the board is actually pretty streamlined looking.  It is relatively slim at 27 inches, and the tail (which looks huge due to the wide angle lens) is actually only 5 inches wide.  The concave Bill was talking about is pretty deep up front, and just looks like it will send and accelerate a lot of water towards the tail.

I’ve been wondering about concaves for a while and really noticed something recently on a mild, ~20kn, but nice sharp clean bumps where planing was made easy. Very good planing conditions for little wind. I’ve been switching back and forth a lot between my 14’ Rogue Rage and buddy’s  14’ V1 Bullets, and did so back and forth on this recent DW. The Rage has a slight belly under the nose, similar to a 17’ V1 Bullet, then a pure fact mid section and a pronounced kick in the tail. 14’ V1 Bullet, which I’m sure most are familiar with, is concave up front going into double concave and little to no kick in the narrow tail.

We ride together regularly and have very similar speed. Making for a very noticeable distinction between the 2 boards. The Rage consistently managed to pull away from the Bullet in these conditions. In lighter conditions the Bullet typically picks up easier on a plane. In bigger conditions we tend to be closer together.

I’m thinking it’s the concave bottom up front. Conditions were so clean I could really pay attention to a few things and, on the Bullet, began to avoid the front touching the water at all and lost less speed. I felt if the front touched the water there is a “sticking” effect from the concave and it brushes a bit of speed off the plane or even drops the plane. Careful trimming could take care of most of it but even in clean conditions waves aren’t that regular and sometimes a bump mange to touch the hull and - boom, speed lost. The flat bottomed Rage with bellied nose  (and soft rails up front) just rocks on happily like a fast ball in a pinball machine.

Pretty much mid-80’s, ’85 I believe, I had a Cobra Radical 290 and 260 windsurf boards. Concave all over the place. Twin concave channels down the center and concave chimes with a lot of rocker. Cool board with great construction (as we now know).

Jibe machine, v comfy in chop, but not fast. As we now know in windsurfing flat bottomed hulls just blew them away. AHD boards then came back in vogue with a slightly concave bottom that was weirdly comfortable and pretty damn fast but those also gave way back to flat bottomed and no rocker in tail. Lesson learned, and clearly felt it the other day.

Meanwhile I need to spend more time on these 2014 14’ Javelin x26’s which have joined our gang quiver. Just need some more windy days (more of a spring, fall thing around here). Such a clean simple shape. I want to learn how to get the most of it.

New 2016 shapes going to be announced soon I expect, with some DW specific race shapes from Naish and Starboard.

So… what you board shape experts think? How to find the right tradeoff between helping the board jump up on a plane and the right shape to keep it on the plane?

34

SUP General / SUP accident

« on: June 05, 2015, 04:15:05 AM »

We had our first SUP death here this week.
   http://mobile2.lematin.ch/articles/556ff14187da8b4d55000001
(google can translate for you)

Probably hydrocution most people think (Vagal Inhibition due to Submersion - Immersion Syndrome). If so it’s only going to happen when overheated and just futzing along - not likely when making  an effort apparently.

It’s the first accident I’ve heard of this type so I’m guessing it’s pretty rare. Is it more common than I thought?

A lifejacket, especially of the huge collar type, would definitely have helped. Damn! The lake police will be all over us again, they were getting pretty lenient recently. I’m guessing a leash could help. Hard to tell.

Always wear a leash anyway.

35

Downwind and Racing / Optimal width of a downwind board

« on: May 28, 2015, 11:32:15 AM »

For windsurf boards, kite boards, wakeboard, boats, even skis too, we all know a wider surface picks up onto a plane quicker. All have evolved to shorter and wider. Downside, like surfboards, being they bounce around more at speed. A gun shape cuts through rough better.

Yet the crop of 27” wide downwind 14’er are faster than the 28” or 30” wide ones. 26” faster too and racers are on 24” or even less. Could be the shape of course.

Obviously a narrower board is more optimal for paddling with a shaft held vertically (looking from front or back). There’s that.

I’ve always been interested in where the optimal blend of this tradeoff lies. In another thread it was suggested the new Bark downwind board was tested in narrower than 28” but wasn’t faster. Anyone have access to any real data on this? I’m sure there are plenty of opinions. Optimal width would be depend on rider height and weight of course.

Personally I like the new boards coming out with bottom optimized for planing and stability so one can take them  narrower overall. I'm also a fan of hard rails right to the tip. At least love the ones I've ridden with these.

36

Downwind and Racing / 2015 paddle length for racing, downwind and allround fitness

« on: March 08, 2015, 03:34:52 PM »

As this seems to change every year here is a thread for this years trends.

The generally accepted paddle length for race seems to have been steadily declining. What are we at now? Is height plus 10% about  the norm?

But what about downwind. Before we heard go a little longer for downwinders. Has this come down too? Is race height becoming acceptable for downwinds?

37

Downwind and Racing / Mediterranean downwind

« on: March 05, 2015, 02:22:56 PM »

On a thread some time back on best places to downwind I called out [just east of Marseilles] La Ciotat to Six Fours. The Mistral honks there probably over a 100 days a year.

“Brutal beach”, as the Six Fours plage is better known as gets its name from Robby Naish who, when he showed up for a race in the 80’s during a proper Mistral, remarked: “Wow. That’s brutal”. Right on the beach the surf shop, Nexpa, is run by Didier Leneil who some may remember for stylishly winning the festive 2012 French Beach Race Championships. Knowing the beach he’s from that win didn’t surprise me at all, even if most of competitors were 1/2 his age.

Here’s a vid he just posted of the La Ciotat - Brutal Beach run.



What’s interesting is that’s pretty much a zero wind fetch, 18km run (just over 10 miles). So you can see what kind of waves a Mistral whips up over a 10 mile stretch.
https://www.google.ch/maps/@43.1279858,5.6937018,11z?hl=en

We got a bit of a Mistral situation going on now which you can see live here
   http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/isobaric/1000hPa/orthographic=7.59,42.32,1024

Normally it curls more to it’s left as it leaves shore off of Marseille (lining up La Ciotat to Six-Fours straight dowwind). This one is way more Easterly. We benefit from the top end of the Mistral on our lake.

38

Gear Talk / Laird Surrator

« on: January 12, 2015, 06:44:13 AM »

so it begins...

39

Gear Talk / Paddle length(s)

« on: September 24, 2014, 04:19:31 AM »

I'd like to hear from those of you who have fiddled around with different lengths paddles. I've been pretty static, shortened a bit a year ago (and moved to a thicker board). Keeping things simple with a one paddle quiver (and a backup paddle which is on loan) I haven't done much experimenting. I got something simple that seems to works. I am just curious if I am missing out on trying something new.

I'm currently using 9" overhead overall paddle length. My blade, QB Kanaha, is fairly short and squat by today's standards. Basically, handle on the ground, my nose is at blade neck and I can just see around the blade (any shorter and I wouldn't). I'd optimize my paddle length for downwinders. I'm not racing other than the casual event. Not surfing.

My understanding was that for downwinders one would typically use a slightly longer paddle length than a racer. Downwind boards are thicker and getting a catch well up front is key. Is this correct? Is Dave Kalama still using a longish paddle compared to flat water racers?

I have observed racers going much shorter these days and someone mentioned a recent clinic with Annabel Anderson where she was cutting attendees paddles shorter. I'm wondering if I should try shorter again.

Some advice I have heard was go shorter if your shoulders hurt and go longer if your lower back hurts. I don't have any shoulder complaints whatsoever. Only once, just the other day, did I get a slight twinge in my lower back when sprinting. I re-focused on my technique, hinging at the hips, and it went away. Completely, no pain after, the next day, or in any subsequent outings. Was just a momentary strain but I guess it's a little hint at a limit.

Thoughts?

40

Gear Talk / new Focus race board

« on: September 22, 2014, 04:33:52 AM »

Mo Freitas was on a cool looking Focus race board at Huntington beach. Anyone seen it or have any info on it?

Looks like a race board that would downwind well. I like pointy noses.

41

Gear Talk / Windproof wetsuits?

« on: September 19, 2014, 02:45:41 AM »

Cold weather SUP downwinding, kiting, windsurfing, and worse, hanging around wet in cold wind, is when one gets cold. The wet outer fabric of a double-lined suit evaporating in the wind is the logical source of the chill so my next cold weather wetsuit would be better off windproof, right?

Anyone tried the ION (Nexkin), Neil Pryde (Mesh) or other version of smooth skin windproof?

Some add a lycra over their full wetsuit in the hope of adding windproofness. I can't really see how this helps as a wet lycra in the wind is kind of cooling. Are there any stretchy but windproof lycra's one could add on top of a classic double-lined wetsuit?

42

Downwind and Racing / Downwind: stepping on coiled leash

« on: September 15, 2014, 08:31:30 AM »

Stepping back quickly on the board when downwinding I'm finding myself stepping on the coiled leash too often. Any hints and tips on what I could do to mitigate this or different leash recommendations?

How about a leash which is only coil for half it's length? I thought the FCS adjustable racing leash might have been an option but it was shot down in another thread.

43

Downwind and Racing / Downwind boards on a lake. How absurd is that?

« on: August 21, 2014, 05:55:23 AM »

Less than ideal, you would think. Yet on our little lake (well, one of the largest in western Europe  Lac Leman  http://cdn.worldheritage.org/articles/Lake_Leman ) we have a little crew of friends on serious 14' downwind boards growing quickly. 3 friends and I got a SIC Bullet and 3 Jimmy Lewis M14's in the middle of this last winter and ski season (also the windy season). Half a year later and our crew has already grown to 12. Another M14, a Rogue Rage and the rest Bullet 14's. A few more are already on order.

We get some decent downwind conditions sometimes, sadly more regular in winter. Very easy carpool connection points and even one great landing spot where one can leave boards at a friendly windsurf club/bar while we take a bus back to get cars. Bus runs every 10 mins. Great for solo trips. Our usual runs are 20 or 30 Km and work either way in the two dominant winds (12.5 or 19 miles).

Obviously the DW boards are ideal for downwinding. We like planing and riding the waves. We wish we had more great days of course but we get out on it often enough. Turns out one can have fun on boat waves too. We have plenty of those. Summer afternoons the lake can get very choppy which DW boards handle gracefully. They aren't half bad on glass ,even when paddling with others on race boards so we all have them as quiver-of-one boards. OK, we aren't racing.

Turns out to be the ideal do-all board, even on a lake.

44

Gear Talk / What board is this?

« on: August 18, 2014, 07:27:31 AM »

Photo from the Ultimate SUP showdown
   

What board is the pintail with tail rocker in the center between the Fanatic and the Starboard?

45

Gear Talk / Paddle shaft flex

« on: July 23, 2014, 07:54:47 AM »

I was wondering about the flex of the Ke Nalu shafts as compared to what I am currently using. Specifically the difference between the Elite 90 and the xTufS.

I know, and am happy with, the flex of my Quickblade SSI36 (90 sq in blade size). Which Ke Nale shaft would come close in feel?

I think I read some explanation that the xTuf has a different nature of flex to the Elite. I guess I'd prefer a flex which I can load as much as I can and springs back crisply. Boing! Which is what I think my Quickblade shaft is doing.

Thread name is purposely vague so more shaft flex discussion can come here.