Topics

16

Classifieds / Axis 1020/500/short fuse

« on: July 24, 2020, 01:04:34 PM »

Axis 1020 front wing, 500 rear wing, short (680mm) fuse, wing covers for both wings.  Excellent rig to learn to wingfoil – worked great for me (I’ve moved on to higher-aspect Axis wings).  All in very good condition – a few scratches on the edges of the front wing, but not even close to affecting integrity or performance.  $525 plus shipping (probably about $30 in the US). Can throw in an 18 inch Axis 19mm mast if you want (without base plate or doodad).

Photos at   https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2p5w6b6zbyi2fye/AADknxPKi1_QYaXIucRnnLNpa?dl=0

17

Classifieds / F1 Swing 6 meter

« on: July 04, 2020, 07:55:12 AM »

F1 6 meter Swing – used ~20 times between March and July of 2020.  One repair where it hit the foil wings – repaired functionally (used ~10 times since the repair with no issues) but not beautifully with kitefix mesh and glue.  Pics show closeup of repair.  Otherwise very good shape. Comes with bag, leash, pump adapter.  $535 including shipping in the USA.

Repair:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/g26e8sumh7yre9c/repair.jpg?dl=0
Repair wider view: https://www.dropbox.com/s/f3gfeu7tzbhoizi/repair%20in%20context.jpg?dl=0

18

Classifieds / Hot Sails Maui Hotwing 3.0

« on: April 18, 2020, 09:31:11 AM »

Hot Sails Maui Hotwing 3.0 – unique two-piece carbon boom that is kind of a cross between the Duotone boom and handles.   Photos at https://tinyurl.com/y7d4lj2r   Video (not me)  @ https://www.seatexboards.com/hotwheels-no-hotwings/   . The wing feels pretty similar to my F1 Swings, but it turns out I prefer handles to booms.  Used twice on the water and once with a skateboard, perfect shape. Asking $429 shipped in the USA (paid $639 shipped new).  akeelerbiz@gmail.com

19

Classifieds / SUPSports 8'11" carbon Hammer with windsurfing track

« on: January 26, 2020, 03:29:27 PM »

Great All-around Standup paddle board with windsurf abliity – 8’11” 148 liter US-made carbon SUPSports Hammer.  Works paddling into waves up to shoulder-high, paddles well in flat water, and has a US box for attaching a windsurf sail that is perfectly placed (and appropriate carbon reinforcement to protect against boom/mast dings) .  Board is in excellent shape.  Wardog has closed down SUPSPorts, but you can see (an 8’5”, not an 8’11” like mine) on the water at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF5zMLoUkC8

Photos at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2q21d13f21z8shd/IMG_9118.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8y9f6x1nfs6ysnc/IMG_9120.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4252y1ulwz93wza/IMG_9121.jpeg?dl=0

Asking $525.  Located in Manteo, NC (northern Outer Banks)
akeelerbiz@gmail.com

20

SUP General / visiting downwind paddler in the Gorge -- a couple of questions

« on: July 19, 2016, 06:57:49 PM »

Hi Zoners -

I'll be in Hood River next week and am planning to rent from Big Winds and use their shuttle for a couple of downwinders. A couple of questions I can't find easy answers to:

1. Is a neoprene shirt enough warmth for late July for most people, or should I pack a shortie?
2. Will I need to bring shoes to enter and get out of the river, or do bare feet work OK for most of you?

Of course, I'm also grateful for any general or specific advice.  I've done 25-30 downwinders on a 14-foot fixed-fin board above 20 knots, but in smaller conditions than what I think I'll see there.  The Big Winds board selection looks good, and I'm assuming that their paddles are also OK.

Thanks for any help.

Andy

21

The Shape Shack / what glue/epoxy to attach a handle?

« on: August 29, 2015, 08:35:16 AM »

I have an older StarBoard with a non-recessed handle that is hard for my wife (and me) to carry.  I made a strap using tubular webbing and surfco-type stick-on attachments  (like these  http://www.socialskateboarding.com/p/surfco-ez-plug-kit-clear?gclid=Cj0KEQjwsIWvBRCnzevvor2g4L8BEiQAAN234Yzeug5UGqipNeiRsvglcWtUr5HE5aUFX1qqUAa94TUaAkVH8P8HAQ  ).  The stick-on adhesive was not strong enough for carrying a close-to-40 lb. board, but since it failed I have tried gorilla glue, JB weld, and marine epoxy,  and one of the attachment fails after 10-15 uses.  Can somebody please tell me a good way to attach these so that they will stay?

Thanks!

Andy

22

Wind Powered / windsurfing an iSUP vs. a regular SUP?

« on: March 30, 2014, 06:14:21 AM »

I like sailing my 12' Ron House coastal cruiser in 12-25 mph rolling bay swell, plaining most of the time.  About to get a 12'6" inflatable and wondering if it is worth getting a mast base attachment for it for versatility.  Can anyone who has sailed regular SUPs of about 12' and inflatables (Naish or Starboard)  comment on how the inflatables work in planing conditions (DJ??). 


Many thanks.

Andy

23

Gear Talk / New all-around board: review (long) and pix

« on: April 26, 2013, 07:07:40 PM »

I wanted one board that I could have fun on in a variety of ocean and sound conditions, including windsurfing.  I was getting tired of deciding what to put on the car heading out to the beach or down to Hatteras between a cruising/downwind board (a Surftech Bark 12’6” Competitor) and a more wave-oriented board (Starboard 10’5” wide point).  I also like to windsurf from my house in big rolling chop in the sound, and wanted something that was a bit faster and looser than my (still-great) first board, a Starboard 12x32 Big Easy.
 
After reading a lot and looking at some boards, it looked like one of the 12’6” all-arounders like the C4Switchblade, PSH hull surfer, or Riviera Coastal Cruiser might work – but getting them retrofitted for windsurfing would take some work and money.  On a flyer I got in touch with Ron House, who shaped the Riviera board, and ended up having him shape a board.  He was great to work with, and got into the spirit of the project (I had not realized he shaped a lot of windsurfing boards back in the day).
 
Big shout out to DW from this forum, who was very generous and helpful with his experience and advice in terms of how to build and spec an SUP that sails.
 
I’ve had the board for a while now, and am quite pleased with how it came out.  For one thing, it’s beautiful and the craftsmanship is outstanding.  I ended up with a board that is 12’  by 30”.  Here’s my take on how it handles different conditions:
 
Flat Water:  not as fast as the Bark, but when you get well forward on it, it’s not that much slower.  It feels slippery in the water and gives gratifying acceleration compared to either of the 2 starboards above that I compared it to.
 
Rough water: an unexpected bonus of this board is how well it handles wind chop and random, sloppy conditions.  It is a significantly better rough water board than the Bark, especially in directions that are neither directly into swells or dead downwind.  I commute to work sometimes on this board, and if I have to get home (only about 9/10 of a mile) in a headwind or crosswind it does great.
 
Downwind: I haven’t done a downwind in the ocean or in winds above about 20 mph, but in 12-20 mph it catches sound runners every bit as well as the Bark, and is much more controllable when it’s surfing a swell.  The rides might possibly not be as long, but they are for sure more fun and more relaxing.  However, as soon as the swell gets any size to it, you have got to do a lot of up and back movement to avoid pearling the nose.  More about this later in overall reflections
 
Waves: I don’t have as much time in waves as I’d like to make a judgment, and I pretty much suck at surfing anyway.  The board handles well going out through NC beachbreak, and catching waves early is easy because of the speed.  To get it to turn on smaller waves you have to get pretty far back on the tail.  In larger surf (stomach to head high – that’s as big as I go out in – I find I have to get way back on the board on takeoff really fast to avoid pearling and spectacular wipeouts.  That is in comparison with the Starboard 10’5” widepoint, which doesn’t require getting as far back as quickly and also (at least for me) turns on small waves without being as far back on the tail.  But when I have gotten way back and stayed in control, I am starting to get decent bottom turns.
 
Windsurfing: the board significantly exceeds my expectations relative to the Starboard 12’  (and the 10’5”, which is crappy with a sail).  Unlike the starboard, it actually planes, and top end speed is significantly higher.  There is a sweet spot way back on the tail where you can sink a rail and really carry speed though a jibe and bank it off the swell in front of you – but it is pretty much impossible to actually fall on a jibe given the board’s volume and it’s ability to respond to foot pressure in chop and waves.  Going fast strapless is really fun and you end up moving all over the board with your feet.  I have not windsurfed it in ocean waves – just in big rolling chop in the 15-25 mph wind range (I use it mainly with a Hot Sails Maui 6.5 superfreak, which is a great SUP sail and seems to handle pretty much any wind up into the high 20s as long as you tune the downhaul).  If I did it again, I would have Ron put the mast track (a US finbox) a few inches further back – it is placed so that the back of the box is at the midpoint of the board – but with the universal as far back as it goes, it handles fine.  (Note: I lost my interest in shortboard windsurfing when I started kiting 8 or 9 years ago, and don’t want to simulate that experience – I like to sail by my house, from launches too crappy to kite in, or in cross-off and gusty winds.  This board sails like a really good-windsurfing SUP, not like a shortboard).
 
Overall reflections – it seems to do everything pretty damn well. I suspect that downwind performance and surfing would be better with some more tail rocker, which might make it less imperative to get as far back on the tail to avoid pearling.  I would guess that more tail rocker would have cost some flat-water speed and also windsurfing speed and quickness to plane, and I would be willing to make that tradeoff.  But I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out, and am still kind of amazed that one watercraft can let me have fun in so many different conditions.
 
 

24

SUP General / Advice on convincing a dog to paddleboard?

« on: March 25, 2013, 03:43:25 PM »

Hey Dog-paddling Zoners --

I have read the threads and admired the pictures of all of you SUPping with dogs, and my puppy is now 6 months old and 42 lbs.  Unlike all my previous dogs, Della is very skittish around water and my first attempt to get her on -- or even near -- the board on a warm sunny day was a failure.  And that was just on land 15 feet from the water.

Any tips or advice on getting her comfortable around water and onto a board (we live right next to a sound, but it has been cold since she joined us in December).  I am prepared to be patient (or at least try really hard to be patient) but I would really, really like Della to flatwater paddle with me.

I've seen good advice here on life jackets, deck pads, and so on, but most of you have said your dogs took right to being on the board.  Anybody had to do any training / persuasion?  The Dog WHisperer SUP segment was pretty worthless.

Thanks!

Andy

25

SUP General / Another etiquette question -- distance from fishermen

« on: October 23, 2012, 05:17:16 PM »

This afternoon I launched on the north side of Jenette's Pier (Nags Head, NC) and saw that the waves were much better on the south side, so I paddled around the pier at least 40 meters (probably a bit more) out seaward from the fishermen at the end of the pier.  One guy started screaming at me to go further away from where he was fishing, yelled names at me, and then cast right at me (the pier is about 40 feet high, so he came within about 15 feet of me).

No one else seemed to mind, and this guy was clearly a dickhead.  His attitude seemed really unreasonable to me -- I wasn't lingering -- I would have been in the way of any particular cast for no more than 30 seconds.  But I am willing to be respect their rights if I am really screwing up their fishing -- how far away from anybody fishing should a paddler have to stay?   Anybody who knows anything about fishing have an opinion?

Thanks,

Andy

26

Wind Powered / "Pocket downwinder" all-around 12-6 with a sail?

« on: September 22, 2012, 07:37:04 AM »

I have been following the "Pocket downwinder" thread in the "Downwind .." section with interest.  Does anybody know, or care to speculate, how these boards would sail if you put a finbox on top and beefed up the actual finbox?  I have been using my starboard 12x32" big easy to sail upwind and then ride bay swells back downwind -- my guess is that these boards (e.g.  Ron House coastal cruiser, PSH hull paddler  12-6s) would be a little quicker and maybe turn a bit better at speed.

That attraction is to have one board you can throw on top of the car and use for everything you find (which can be highly varied here on the Outer Banks of NC).

Thanks for any opinions, informed or otherwise.

27

Downwind and Racing / upwind/downwind "earn your turns" board advice needed

« on: April 12, 2012, 09:28:05 AM »

Hi Zoners -

My apologies if this has been discussed, but I couldn't find it:

I live by a waterbody that is usually windy and choppy, and it is fun to paddle into the wind (at least up to the low 20's) and then catch a few wind-driven runners back (it's about a 15 mile fetch, so we get some good size rollers).  I have been using a 12'6" surftech bark.  I am interested in getting a longer board that would work better for this, as well as for general rough water paddling.

I will also  use the board for some regular downwinders, but the upwind/downwind balance is important for me.

Anybody have insights into the balance between upwind/crosswind characteristics and downwind abilities?  Rocker?  width?  bow shape? Rudder or no rudder?  Specific boards? 

I'm about 180 lbs. and an experienced but not overly talented paddler.

Thanks for any insights.

Andy

28

Downwind and Racing / question - how close to straight downwind does your course need to be?

« on: April 05, 2011, 07:26:03 AM »

We did about a 4 mile Roanoke Sound downwinder in 35 mph winds gusting into the low 40s yesterday – my first time paddling in over 20 mph and only my 3rd downwinder.  I’m hooked – catching the waist high runners with all that wind was amazing, and being able to feel acceleration on a runner (maybe imagined) just from holding the paddle out flat beside me was pretty cool.

However, I thing we were about 20 degrees off true downwind in the course we chose (across the sound from the east side of  Roanoke Island (NC) out to a park in Nags Head).  I spent a lot of time paddling on the left side and constantly trying to go right on the waves in order to stay on course. My question is – how close to true downwind do you need your heading to be in order to easily hold your course? Most of our potential courses are point to point across open water, so figuring this out will be really helpful to planning.

Thanks for any experience or advice.

Andy

29

Gear Talk / Help requested - tradeoffs in all-conditions distance boards?

« on: August 09, 2010, 05:59:38 AM »

I am looking for a board as part of a two-board quiver (the other will be focused on surf) for all around use in both open ocean and protected coastal waters (the Outer Banks of North Carolina).  The ability to paddle well in wind and on various courses in wind-riven chop, as well as open ocean swells, is important.  The ability to do downwinders in short-period wind swell and get in and out through shorebreak would be nice too.  Race-winning speed is less important (I’ve been paddling a Starboard Big Easy for a couple of years, and whatever I get will probably seem fast in comparison), but fast is good.  If I could surf small waves during coastal runs, that would be a bonus.

Some 12’6 and 14’ boards are advertised as flatwater or lake and bay boards.  Others are meant to be focused more on downwind, and there are also “Battle of the Paddle” boards that are meant to be able to go out and back through breaking surf.  Now there are at least two 12’6” boards coming (The C4 Switchblade and the Paddlesurf Hawaii Hybrid) that are represented as doing all of the above and also having some surfing ability.

The existing boards that seem to fit the bill (and have reasonably durable construction) are the Surftech Bark Competitor 12’6” and the Starboard surf Race.  Does this seem accurate, and are there others?

From what I can tell from reading, the best design will probable have some kind of displacement bow and switch to a planning hull in the back part of the board – is that right? I would appreciate any advice on what would work best as an all-around board (that is fast but does not need to win races) for these kinds of varied wind and water conditions, and what the tradeoffs are.

Thanks for any help!

Andy