Messages

106

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

« on: April 12, 2012, 03:20:20 PM »

Gotta agree with PB that the SIC ruddered boards make paddling in the wind easier, than with a board with no rudder.  The rudder allows you to rest one side, especially if there is a strong cross wind.  My Naish Glide 14' 2012 model does pretty good into the wind and very good downwind but it would be even better if it had a rudder.  Dollar for dollar, I think the Glide 14' in AST is a great board and changing out the fin changes the characteristics of the board.

Hey PB, can you share a bit more on the changes to the Bullet V2, heard it's wider with less rocker, it that true? Don't mean to hijak the thread but then again, I'm guessing the Bullet V2 could be a great up and downwind board?

Hijack away!  The SIC boards have always looked attractive - and the Maliko 14 sounds cool -- but all seemunavailable here on the east coast of the US.  I guess one question brought up by the excellent posts above is how possible is it to add a rudder to a board like the new Glide -- are there any good aftermarket systems out there?

In answer to a previous question about what I don't like about the 12'6" Bark -- riding big swells fast, the nose is a handfull (it wants to roll), and side chop seems to catch that nose and throw it around alot (and slow the board down) if it is even a few degrees off dead into the chop - a penalty which is magnified when trying to make headway into significant wind.

I am only about 4 hours from Wilmington, where there are a lot of 14' boards, so I guess I should make the trip and try some of them.

107

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

108

Random / Re: Book Suggestions - Revisited

« on: March 21, 2012, 06:53:58 AM »

I highly recommend Kem Nunn's books -- novels set in the California surf scene as if they were written by Robert Stone or a contemporary Herman Melville.  The guy can flat-out write.  Start with "The Dogs of Winter" or "Tapping the Source".

109

Gear Talk / Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

« on: November 27, 2011, 03:29:56 PM »

That's really nice, thanks. I don't recognize your handle or your initials--who are you?

Hey Bill -- The review from AGK is from Andy Keeler (me) - I was an early buyer from the KeNalu website.  Just got back from surfing in small surf with the paddle in Nags Head -- the acceleration is noticeably better!  Thanks again for a great paddle.

110

Gear Talk / Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

« on: November 27, 2011, 07:49:24 AM »

A quick report from another happy KeNalu paddle user.  After a couple of years of using a Werner Nitro (3-piece version) I now have about a dozen days on the medium-sized KeNalu.

The only objective data I have is that I have recorded the 2 fastest (non-wind-aided) runs ever on a 7/10 mile sprint near my house out of about 50 runs over a couple of years  -- 3-6% faster than the previous record. 

More importantly, subjectively the paddle is just more fun and seems to encourage more energetic paddling.  The light weight is great and I like the small diameter.  People have written about how clean the catch is, and while I don’t claim to understand the science behind it I can confirm this.  I tried the Werner the other day in small surf, and it seemed to really stick on the catch (like the water was much denser) compared to the KeNalu.

I have no regrets about the purchase – if anything happened to this one, I would buy another. 

111

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

« on: April 05, 2011, 02:47:54 PM »

Thanks for the information, Headmount!  I'll keep experimenting -- maybe I can make a little more angle off the wind when I get better board control on the runners. 

112

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

113

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

114

Technique / Re: Out of the water fitness

« on: October 10, 2009, 07:12:25 AM »

Hi Tim -

I know from the 2 months a year I get to paddle in the ocean that it really gets your heart rate up, so land paddling may be really easy for you.  For me, during the 10 months a year I am only near flat water, I have no trouble getting my heart rate up to 150-160 with the big stick on a skateboard, whereas I have to concentrate really hard to get anywhere near that high flatwater paddling (I'm basically lazy).  It's true that hills help a lot. I'd say borrow a skateboard and give it a try, and work a few uphills in.

Andy

115

Technique / Re: Out of the water fitness

« on: October 09, 2009, 07:14:29 PM »

Skateboard and a Big Stick:  http://www.kahunacreations.com/  -- similar muscles, lots of fun, get to carve.