Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: if you could only have one board (2021 version)

« on: July 20, 2021, 04:06:23 PM »

I’ve got the Starboard 10’ x 29 125L longboard, the more I use it the more I’m convinced it would be my one board solution if that had to happen!
I’m only 150# and yet I find it surfs better than it should because of the fine tail and rails. Even on cruising flat water paddle sessions with friends it seems to keep up fine.
One of the big pluses is the light weight and ease of storage and getting on and off the car. I’ve also got the 12’6 Generation but find myself heading for the ten footer most of the time.
Think I’d miss my small surf sups for bigger waves the most. Wing foiling has pretty much taken over my SUP downwinding passion.

17

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Wing Harness (NSI)

« on: May 18, 2021, 03:19:16 PM »

I use a super minimal harness using a modified kite harness hook over heavy webbing belt, would be great to ditch the stainless steel hook. My only concern with the NSI is the plastic buckle fastening the belt - if that lets go with a big pull from wing or board in the surf you lose the lot. I’ve sewn in a metal loop and pass through the fold back with a long section of Velcro, the final tail then tucking into the loop on the kite hook. Am I being overly cautious? Had a few big swims from leashes on downwind sups letting over the years, never a good feeling!

18

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Boom to non boom wing comparison

« on: May 14, 2021, 01:22:46 PM »

Hi Bill,
Would you be kind enough to post a couple more detail photos of your boom, particularly how you did the Velcro. Wondering what the stick on Velcro on the boom mates to.
Thanks

19

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: New Whip

« on: March 25, 2021, 10:29:51 PM »

If you are considering a wrap take a look at Faster Farther Surfski a guy in Washington that does the most insane wraps

20

Classifieds / Re: Starboard 2016 Ace GT, 17'4 x 27 $1500

« on: August 11, 2017, 03:45:58 PM »

Oops...too cheap ?

21

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

22

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

23

Downwind and Racing / Re: Bouf vs Slice (Ace vs Bullet) Downwinding

« on: October 30, 2016, 02:30:29 PM »

I've been downwinding Ace boards for quite a few years now, and recognize all the sentiments above, I believe that the trick to downwinding joy on the Ace is to minimize the 'boof', it was actually paddling a Surfski that really got that through my head. Initially in a 20 foot boat the nose is constantly knifing into the wave in front, or even ploughing right in, then stalling, filling up with water etc etc etc!
The trick imo is to stay super high on the wave, both the Ace and most Surfski's are actually already on the wave before you think they are, stop paddling super early.
The beauty of the Ace is that you can steer it so easily with foot pressure from the regular paddling position, weight on the left foot, it turns right, effortless and very
controllable. Cranking across the face of a downwind wave on an Ace is fantastic.
The Ace is a very different board to downwind compared to something like an SIC 14, it takes a long time to get the hang of and work out how to steer it and surf it.
The ability to easily change direction and stay on the wave and link small runners is amazing, much more intuitive to me than using a rudder, I own a 17 Bullet and before that had an F14 and an F16 all with rudders, so I have plenty of rudder downwind experience. In much more than 25knots I would rather be on a more traditional shape.
Sure you can simply go straight and boof and still go fast and enjoy it, but honestly that's a bit like someone trying to explain the Mona Lisa over the phone.

24

Downwind and Racing / Re: Downwinding with Jonathan

« on: October 30, 2016, 02:04:37 PM »

^ did you try the earlier flat hulled version?
If so, how does it differ?

And what about for windsurfing?

Hi Yugi, only very briefly tried the old version, it felt a little 'ordinary' to me. That's the thing that has surprised me about the new one, it feels so alive.
Had an opportunity to surf the board on Saturday, some reasonable waves, shoulder high and it was so much fun, despite the complex bottom shape the transition rail to rail is super easy and smooth - that actually does my head in a bit!
It doesn't have a mast base fitting but I've got no doubt it would be fun to windsurf.

25

Downwind and Racing / Re: Downwinding with Jonathan

« on: October 28, 2016, 02:51:30 AM »

Great to see you on video downwinding again!

Does that board have the same bottom shape as the All Star? I wondered how that complex bottom would do when it comes to carving a turn on a downwind bump.

Thanks Argosi! Yes it does have the complex 'Allstar' bottom shape, I'll try to get some photos of it so you can see. I too was dubious about how it would surf, the tail is actually quite wide but fine, view from the rear is all central concave and very wide chines, actually not all that much meat left when you view it from the tail when it's on top of the car. It feels very naturally surfy during a downwinder, very easy to turn and trim across the wave face, hopefully I'll actually get to surf it in regular surf rather than downwind waves this weekend and be able to report more after that. It's really all about easy control, the rocker works well so that it doesn't stall if you step back but it does slow you down slightly, you know that feeling when you finally get a big enough wave during a downwinder that you can actually get right back and really fell like you are surfing, that all feels very natural and easy.
In reasonable winds it would be a fantastic board for downwinding beginners, probably great at the gorge, also being shorter the tendency to pearl is greatly reduced. I did a downwinder a couple of weeks ago on the 2017 Allstar 14 x 27, same day that PT Woody made the Ace vid (I think!), that's a really nice board but right now I'm having a ball on the 12'2,  it's a really fun complement to my Ace.
Have to agree with PonoBill, no doubt it's slower than the unlimited boards but to be honest paddling with DJ In the vid it didn't seem any slower or harder to catch waves on than his 14, first into the beach at the end of a run is pretty overrated IMO. There was plenty of wind so I could catch waves reasonably effortlessly, probably would have been a different story in 12 or 15 knots. One of our buddies who was on 17' Bullet was significantly faster. I'm just enjoying the simplicity and fun surfing ability of a smaller board.
Hey Bill, I actually thought of you and the old 12'2 SIC/Starboard when I got this thing.

26

Downwind and Racing / Re: Downwinding with Jonathan

« on: October 27, 2016, 06:07:55 PM »

Hi Bill, still kickin', going to Maui in summer so I miss you unfortunately.
I'm loving the little 12'2, it's so much fun and and way faster than any 30' board has a right to be. I was a little skeptical of the really complex bottom shapes of the Allstars (mainly through ignorance) but wow, this little board has blown me away. It gets into bumps easily, surfs beautifully and probably the best trick is it's ability to head deep into the wind, and of course it's super stable. I actually bought it as an all round family board but it's so much more. We had a super ballistic downwind run recently that was gusting into the 60 plus knots range and with some scary offshore gusts, I took the  Freeride and actually enjoyed the experience. Just so you know, I am sponsored by Starboard in Australia, but I always try to tell it as honestly as I can. Headstands, just go for it, what could possibly go wrong

27

Downwind and Racing / Re: Downwinding safety.

« on: May 17, 2015, 04:07:26 PM »

Great video DJ, thanks for posting.
I had an incident a few years ago on a Maliko run, my first time on an OC1 ever, in fact first time even sitting on one....straight into a Maliko, what could possibly go wrong
LPB on an SIC F16, about a third of the way in we decided to swap craft, I'd been having an absolute blast in the OC1 but was getting pretty tired, screaming hip flexors from never having paddled in that position before. It was windy enough that at one point LPB's lightweight f16 did the take off over head cartwheel thing and landed on the OC1 and in the midst of tangled leashes and the swap the f16 got away. Real fast, gone.
LPB jumped onto the OC1 and pretty quickly hunted down and grabbed the F16, I was in the drink with my paddle and he was a couple of hundred yards away, of course we were way off shore.
So I start swimming with the paddle, and swimming and swimming but he kept on getting further and further away. He realised and got into the water and held both craft and with his body acting as a sea anchor I was able to catch him.
Of course we were in warm water, so little short term risk of hypothermia. It very strongly highlighted how much good sense paddling with a buddy makes.
My experience of doing Maliko runs is that it is very rare to stay with your buddies, in Melbourne we almost always stay together and re-group regularly, particularly if there are weaker paddlers. It was quite a shock to me initially when everyone just took off on the Maliko runs, but saying that, the local crew were incredibly supportive and helped me down the first couple of runs.
If I'm on the shuttle and there is someone who has never done the run before, I will always stay with them, just a little bit of good karma.
Find that sticking with the group is quite a different experience, sharing the fun and the experience of the day can often be more rewarding than beating the gang, just my personal 2 cents worth.
I've been taking my adult daughter downwinding recently, open water, no one else out there - ever, very dark blue water and white pointer territory. Boy does that ever sharpen the care and preservation instincts. We stick close close together, I have PLB, phone, both wear regular foam paddling variety life jackets and I carry a length of strong tow line and a flare. Paddling with her has actually made me more careful when I'm on my own, used to be pretty cavalier but going through the risks in my head has sharpened the survival and risk instincts.
I find a good quality paddling pfd is not a problem and doesn't restrict my paddling, sure you are a little warmer in hot weather.
In fact I prefer the regular pfd now to the inflatable, nothing to go wrong, bit of a buffer to prevent rib dings, must be getting old!
Paddling a surfski has made me more safety conscious when it comes to SUP.
Stay safe folks.

28

Gear Talk / Re: Best hat for wearing surfing?

« on: July 11, 2014, 04:41:42 PM »

I really like the Pro-Tec hats, made by a Japanese woman living in Byron Bay in Oz. They may look a bit 'un cool' but they are comfortable and stay on, even for the complete 2' deep beach break pounding I'm about to cop

http://www.protecsun.com.au/

What hat?  All I can look at is that wave!!!

Gotta love outback Western Australia - and that was the bad day when it was too big and scary for me on the reef break Found out I could hurt myself just fine in the beach break though, so no problem.

29

Gear Talk / Re: Best hat for wearing surfing?

« on: July 11, 2014, 03:45:35 PM »

I really like the Pro-Tec hats, made by a Japanese woman living in Byron Bay in Oz. They may look a bit 'un cool' but they are comfortable and stay on, even for the complete 2' deep beach break pounding I'm about to cop

http://www.protecsun.com.au/

30

Random / Re: Finally finished the tandem trailer !!

« on: July 10, 2014, 03:49:18 PM »

Was wondering what happened to the big old girl from 'The All Aluminum Tour of 64' good to hear she will soon be back and ready to go.

If you can cope with some more here is the latest shed adventure.....


Spent the last couple of weeks building a camper body with a mate for his Nissan ute.

He decided to get rid of the steel tray and start from scratch, 120 l additional fuel tank suspended under the camper body, 90 l water tank inside, slide out drop down drawers for fridge and kitchen unit. Double bed inside that can slide out to sleep under the awning. Full length roof rack on top and maybe a rack down the back as well.

It will all be clad in aluminium composite panel and has full length opening doors on both sides, it's turned out to be 2600 long by 1900 wide (somehow managed to grow a bit along the way!)

He has done a lot of work on the old ute, it was a one owner farmer vehicle that ended up missing a door and living in the paddocks, odometer stopped working about a decade ago but best guess is somewhere between 3 and 400,000k doesn't blow smoke or burn oil. It's the coil spring version, a beauty!

We tried to keep it as light as possible, most of the frame is 1.6mm or 2mm - ended up tigging quite a lot of it to get full penetration but avoid too much heat. We put in heaps of "stand tubes" drilled through the frame and inserted 1/2" tube tig fused at each end, means that you can put 3/8" bolts through and do them up tight even with the thin walled tubing without any risk of crushing. Thats what will hold on the roof rack, tanks etc.

Pretty sure the whole frame will end up similar or even lighter than the heavy steel tray that was on it to start with!

It has quite a bit of overhang being 2600 long but the end is basically just the double bed, weighs nothing. Extra fuel tank, water tank, battery, kitchen all as far forward as possible.