Messages

226

Gear Talk / Re: New Blue Planet 'All Good'

« on: June 30, 2019, 09:47:17 PM »

OkiWild. Just to add to the never ending quest and confusion over fin options, I should mention that Robert Stehlik of Blue Planet who designed this board, told me that he prefers running the center fin all the way back in the box.

Interesting... I first stood on a SUP exactly two years ago, so I'm still learning a lot where it comes to the differences between this and the typical short board. At first, I started using the fins in the standard thruster set up, just like I would on one of my short boards. To do this required the center fin to be as far back in the box as I could get it with the screw just in front of the tab slot. Measuring some modern short boards, placement was around 7.25" from the leading edge of the rear fin to the leading edge of the side fins. Yesterday I found that I was running about 7.5" on the Ninja Warrior. 

Set up like this, the board feels great in bigger, hollow surf, but tight in lower power surf. Not enough speed to put it hard on a rail, but it doesn't really want to pivot, either. Pushed forward to 6.5" or even all the way forward, the board pivots easily in small stuff, but I find that I can slip the board if I push too hard, making it a tad unpredictable. The GL2's have a narrow base, but I've tried wider base fins, same result.

I've hurt my knees pretty bad from surfing, and really just want to carve lines now. Sliding the tail around off the top is a lot of what caused this, and I'd like to stay away from it as much as possible.   

From that I thought "quad" because that's what so many were riding on a SUP... Hated quads on short boards, but figured there might be something different about SUP. Incredible speed and hold on the rail, but too much hold in most cases. Tried a couple of different sets with smaller rear fins, and while it was OK, it just didn't click with me for the average day we have here.

So I've decided that I'm sticking to the 2+1 in thruster or smaller center fin. Larger center fin was ridiculous for me. Seemed to really kill rail to rail transition time, the bigger the fin, the worse it was.

I'm really happy with the GL2's and have them in the Ninja and NP10. I might also buy the Collin McPhillips with the wider base, and shorter center to see how that works. Have about $1k wrapped up in fins now, and getting kind of tired of it. All of the boards feel good and are completely acceptable. I'm not really a "switch fins" kind of guy. I like to find something that works overall, and never take the fins out...LOL   

Always open minded, and open to all suggestions.

227

Sessions / Re: Spring Small Wave Blues

« on: June 30, 2019, 04:51:51 PM »

That was nice video.

I've got a question. Were you surfing those waves with a 3 fin setup? If it was me, I would experiment and surf those waves with a 4 fin quad setup.

BTW, thanks for sharing your video.

Thanks NW. Yes, a thruster with Futures GL2 fins. Center fin leading edge 6.5" behind side fins leading edge. I've tried this board with the GL2 quad and it felt really stiff to turn in the small stuff. Needs a big open face and power for those. Ho-Stevie quad with pretty small second fins turned much better, but feels like a Japanese shopping cart (all four casters swivel) if not on a rail. Single fin pivots just like you'd expect it to. For days like this, the center could stand to be moved up a little, or a smaller center fin, for sure. Thought it was going to be bigger than it was... 

228

Gear Talk / Re: New Blue Planet 'All Good'

« on: June 30, 2019, 04:36:01 PM »

Awesome. Thanks.

Working on different fin stuff. When I was a surfer...LOL...I never cared about fins. Coming from the glass-on fin era, I always surfed boards with the plastic or whatever they came with. Could you make a board better? Sure, but the board was always so much more capable than what I could do, so I never got interested in fin stuff. With SUP, that's all changed, and I've found that fins and fin placement make a huge, huge difference, especially with the center box.

Since it's flat, I spent days this last week measuring fin placement on short boards vs. where they "like" to be on a SUP, and trying to understand why moving stuff around makes the difference it does. 

229

Sessions / Spring Small Wave Blues

« on: June 30, 2019, 06:15:54 AM »

This spring has been a nightmare. The westerly wind band that blows between Hawaii and here is way south, so the swell has been really small. The local wind has been south to southeast, making the coast facing east too beat up to surf, but the swell is too small to wrap into wind-protected areas...

Wind finally dropped a little and switched to SSW, so I was able to surf Friday, Saturday, and today, taking a little video today with POV. Still small at waist to chest, but took probably 35 waves, so I'm set for a few days ;-)

Just under 5 minute video. Really short rides, so actual surfing is slowed to .7 speed.

Riding the Blue Planet NP10 at 10' x 28" x 128L. Awesome board for these conditions.

230

Sessions / Re: Talldude surfs Nuc's break... and had fun..

« on: June 29, 2019, 08:38:06 PM »

That's cool. When I started shooting POV is when I discovered that I talk to myself when surfing, too...LOL

231

Gear Talk / Re: New Blue Planet 'All Good'

« on: June 29, 2019, 06:28:26 PM »

Can you post a pic of the current fin set up from the side, showing rear fin relationship to the sides? Would much appreciate it.

232

SUP General / Re: SUP Booby Trap on YouTube

« on: June 18, 2019, 05:04:53 PM »

"If you are just learning to SUP surf, stay away from the lineup"

I have an even simpler rule. I call it "stay away from the lineup, period." It's one of the things about SUP that really appealed to me. Not having to do battle with 10 of the 30 other people to get a wave. Then not having to dodge through the remaining 20 sitting on the inside.

I now find myself looking at those lineups with a kind of pitty. Just wait until after the Olympics.

233

Random / Re: Any 1970's skaters out there?

« on: June 13, 2019, 10:44:56 PM »

I was never really into tricks, mostly downhill carving/sliding. Started my career in 1976 while living on Bordelon Loop on Ulupa'U crater on MCB Kaneohe in HI. Seems like all we did was boogie board, and skate down hills. Moved to Okinawa in 1979, where the real hills are ;-)  In the late 80's, I clocked one of my younger brothers at over 60km/h, passing cars, and everything.

Learned how to do ollies to get over obstacles, ride wheelies on either end, ride a little half pipe, etc., but that's about it for tricks. Work gloves with smashed soda cans taped to them...memories.

Just took a ride on a SwellTech surfskate yesterday, and at the age of 50, I was thinking about buying a new Sector 9 downhill long board... Now I find this thread... It's a sign ;-)

234

SUP General / Re: Innegra Rails or Kevlar Rails

« on: June 13, 2019, 10:17:18 PM »

BTW, I bit the bullet and ordered the guest board today, but I won't disclose what sup I ordered here in this topic thread.

Thanks for your business Night Wing, I hope you enjoy your new board.

Spoiler alert...LOL

235

SUP General / Re: Innegra Rails or Kevlar Rails

« on: June 12, 2019, 06:18:03 PM »

Hey Oki, I rented a 10' BP Nose Performer in Waikiki for a couple of weeks last August.  Great board!

Funny thing... I've hated longboards my whole life. Bought a couple of high performance ones here and there over the years, and sold them right away. When i got into SUP, something clicked, and I'd rather surf them than anything else. The NP10 is my favorite board. So much so, that I think about buying another one as a back up...LOL

@Night Wing  I haven't seen that one. What a horror show! They are tough.

236

SUP General / Re: Innegra Rails or Kevlar Rails

« on: June 12, 2019, 01:47:44 AM »

I'll say that the Kevlar rails on the Blue Planet boards are worth their weight in gold to me. A couple of hits on rocks that did nothing but chip the paint off, when I thought I was doing a ding repair for sure.

Then...a couple of weeks ago, I brought a knife a gun fight. Was supposed to be small, so I brought the BP NP10 long board, but it turned out to be head-high, hollow, and shallow. Pearled, and felt the board come to a complete stop when the nose made contact with the reef. Coming from short boards, I thought it was going to be a write off. Ended up being a couple of 1" cracks. I could feel where the EPS had been compressed about a half inch, but that's where the damage stopped. A little sanding, some glass, and paint. The boards are incredibly tough.

My days of doing skate tricks on surf boards are done, so I could care less about a few pounds extra if it makes a board more durable. Don't care about resale, and I hate fixing boards, so I want tough boards, and they all get rail tape.

237

Gear Talk / Re: Which paddle?

« on: May 29, 2019, 04:53:03 PM »

I have the Blue Planet Kai Zen V1 and V2 (in addition to several other carbon paddles). They are both oval. The V1 is the "soft" shaft, and flexes way less than even a "stiff" round shaft I often use for surfing. I believe the V1 is on clearance for $275 including a bag right now. I thought I'd hate the oval shaft for surfing, but the V1 soft is my favorite surf and all around paddle. But as with anything...YMMV.

238

SUP General / Re: Sunova 2-piece weekend Race Results

« on: May 29, 2019, 04:42:10 PM »

If you want your current board converted to a 2-piece,
I think it's possible if you ask nicely

Hell, I've converted more surfboards to two piece than I can remember... 


...I'll get my hat.

239

Sessions / Re: Fun Pre-Memorial Day Weekend AM Session

« on: May 28, 2019, 04:32:28 PM »

I don't know how you guys do it with conditions that cold. I would die :-)

Great conditions. Very smooth style.

240

SUP General / Re: Sunova 2-piece weekend Race Results

« on: May 28, 2019, 04:25:24 PM »

Takuji and Shrimpy (Shuri) went to the two-piece boards and love them. Seems these days, all I see them doing is foiling, though ;-)