Messages

31

SUP General / Re: Where does SUP belong? 2010/11 Poll

« on: January 16, 2011, 10:41:28 AM »

Sure the ocean belongs to us all, but no one has the right to go wherever they want regardless of their skill level. The reason is simple.....if you're out of control with other people around you you run a risk of injuring someone else, and we do NOT have the right to do that. Now this reasoning doesn't just apply to SUP, but it should be observed across the boards of all sports. A new skier has no business heading out into the back country, whether it's within their rights or not. A new scuba diver should not be diving alone in rough conditions. New drivers don't belong on LA freeways. New longboarders and new shortboarders can injure other surfers just as easily as any SUP'er without proper experience and board control. New WW kayakers shouldn't be on class 4 rivers. It has nothing to do with your "rights", but everything to do with putting other people at risk of injury, especially since they aren't even getting the choice of whether or not they wish to accept that risk. SUP is here to stay, no matter how many "black eyes" it gets from inexperienced folks kooking it up.....but no matter how we surf, we should be trying to not hurt others, not simply not trying to hurt others.

CCSUP

32

Gear Talk / Re: Good Board for Rental Fleet

« on: January 16, 2011, 09:26:03 AM »

Kevin,
This is not kayaking. Many people do SUP alone. I've been in the paddling industry since 1989, on both the manufacturer's side, the guiding/instructing, and now the retail side. I interact with potential buyers and rentals daily. There's another saying that reference's the viability of statistics that Mark Twain famously said.....I'm sure there's no need to write it out. Sure 44% of kayaker's are female, and sure the average weight of a kayak may be 45 lbs....but that means that there are plenty of kayaks that weigh less the 45 lbs and has anyone separated out the data to see which particular boats most of the women paddlers purchased? I thought not. Bit of a straw man you gave me there.

Ya'll are doing some cool things, SUP's are not kayaks, and more SUP'ers paddle alone, and the number one complaint I hear from females about boards is about excessive weight....it also ranks up near the top for men. My wife, who is a massage therapist (that means she's strong....she does about 30 hours a week of deep tissue work), a rock climber, and a SUP'er cannot handle the boards over 40 lbs to get them off the rental rack and down to the water by herself. As a shop owner that leaves me with a couple of choices.....the boards that ARE lighter, just as durable, and  and just as cost efficient, or I can hire an extra person all the time (my wife won't be doing this herself for long.) Perhaps inland, where more folks getting into SUP come from a kayaking background, weight won't be as vital, but here on the coast, with surfers crossing over, heavy boards don't fly nearly as well.

Incidentally I put one of the rapidfires I use in my rental fleet on a scale....47 lbs. And they are fine for flatwater rentals....I just put a 10" fin on them and they track quite well, and handle the biggest people that come in.

33

Gear Talk / Re: Good Board for Rental Fleet

« on: January 14, 2011, 08:32:12 PM »

Even 45 lbs is heavy.....I have super durable softops that have held up well and never ding that are just as user friendly on the water, but weigh less than 30 lbs. And if you're not an average size male then 45 lbs is a no go....my wife, who is small, but strong, can't handle a 45 lb board off the rack and into the water for the renter.....we know, she's tried. Durable and affordable, yes, but out here on the "front lines" daily I am here to tell that anything over 30 lbs is a hard sell at any price. The ladies simply can't handle it, and most men don't want to. I've been paddling Corran's craft since the the Corsica Matrix he did for Perception (I think that's what they called it.) I had one of the first Scorpions in the NW many years ago when I still lived in Idaho. Though the Kix and the Sick weren't my favorite boats, the Glide was unreal, and the Disco was a great boat. Corran knows his stuff....and I know he knows weight is important, I still have the hangtag that Riot used my picture of Jeff Trauba tossing an Ultra Light Disco up into the air. I'd be stoked to bring the touring models ya'll are producing in....they have a lot of great and innovative features. But please, ya'll gotta put them on a diet!

34

Gear Talk / Re: Good Board for Rental Fleet

« on: January 14, 2011, 01:26:43 PM »

The Starboard Slickskin is a great choice....whopper outline in a true softtop. Another great choice, and what I'll be using this Summer in my rental fleet, is the Angulo "Suppah Slippah". It comes in a 9'8" and a 10'8", is a soft top, but has a good (ie not slippery) deck pad, and hard rubber bumpers on the tips and sides. The price includes a paddle, and they retail for $749 and $799 respectively. The plastic boards are great, except they are so heavy...it's really a detriment. I have a few rapidfires, and they are good for rentals being super stable, but they're nearly 50 lbs, and they're smaller than the bigger boards. The weights I saw for the new line is extremely heavy IMO.


~CCSUP

35

Events / Re: 2010 Ventura SUP Surf Contest Pics

« on: October 16, 2010, 03:01:35 PM »

Rockbottom....Fletcher is on a TL these days, when he still sits down!

~matt

36

Events / Last week to register for the Jesse King Memorial Race in Morro Bay on 10/23...

« on: October 15, 2010, 10:31:32 PM »

....go to www.centralcoastsup.com and follow the Jesse King Paddle Race link for downloadable forms. Flatwater demos the day of the race, surf demos the day following.

CCSUP

37

Events / Starboard Surf Demo Day....

« on: October 08, 2010, 06:59:26 PM »

.....the day after the Jesse King Memorial Race. Sunday the 24th of October, at 24th Street beach in Cayucos, CA. Come one and come all, here's your chance to try many boards back to back in the surf. 24th Street is an SUP friendly beach break just as you get into Cayucos, off of Highway 1, about 4 miles north of Morro Bay. This demo is condition dependent, so cross your fingers and toes and hope for good weather! For more info go to www.centralcoastsup.com for our contact numbers and give us a call!

CCSUP

38

Events / 2nd Annual Jesse King Memorial Paddle Race

« on: September 28, 2010, 06:18:46 PM »

In Morro Bay. Short course and Long course (about 5 miles.) Categories for under 12', 12'6", and unlimited. Tight turns on flat water, with strong potential currents. Also open to paddleboarders, kayakers, and outriggers. Good surf nearby, and great demo potential as several reps will be there with their lines. For more information, and registration go to http://www.centralcoastsup.com/Jesse_King_Memorial_Race.html.

Thanks....C ya in the water!

CCSUP

39

Events / Ken Harmount pier to pier...Avila, California

« on: September 09, 2010, 09:26:11 PM »

6.5 mile fun race, or the 13 mile there and back endurance...your choice! Register at the site....registration info here.... http://www.centralcoastkayaks.com/Events.html

We do have a couple of boards left to rent for the event if anyone needs one...special $15 rate and we deliver it to you at the start!

Junior guard fundraiser, so come paddle for a good cause.

CCSUP

40

SUP General / Re: Tired of the crap

« on: September 04, 2010, 06:22:40 AM »

Don't let the haters get ya Bill....after years of kayak surfing up and down the coast, and SUP surfing, one thing I've learned is that it ain't worth it to get worked up.... That only hurts you. The vocal ones are almost always those who can't surf anyways and are releasing thier own frustration. The good surfer's know they're gonna get their waves and aren't so petty as to begrudge anyone else. I just smile and tell them I'm sorry they're so unhappy and that they have my pity.....the look on they're face's as more words try to get out than is physically possible is priceless and puts a big smile on my face as I paddle into the next wave!

41

SUP General / Re: Clueless Shops....

« on: September 03, 2010, 10:00:27 AM »

Having been in a surf shop for over year before I opened my own SUP shop, I can verify that surfboard sales are pretty stagnant. One overriding reason is the very strong used market....it's not that people aren't buying surfboards, it's that they're buying them used for hundreds less, or going straight to the shaper and cutting out the shop. SUP doesn't have that used market yet, but the day will come.....that when the well established and well regarded shops will survive and those thinking there's a quick buck in a rising trend will be out.

42

Gear Talk / Re: Thoughts on softtops?

« on: September 02, 2010, 11:00:47 AM »

Check out the Blair sponge boards. Not a true softop, but a full pad wrap, even around the rails. Also a less expensive layup underneath the pad. Super tough, same proven shapes, still surf like dynamite, and a few hundred less.

43

Gear Talk / Re: Recommendations for BigGuy moving down to wave only board

« on: September 02, 2010, 10:49:08 AM »

Surfed the 10'1" Blair this am..... Catches every little bump, turns on a dime, easy to stand on.

I'll still mostly be on the smallest of his boards, but it sure is nice to be on a big board that still performs.

On the pad, I was on his sponge version with the smooth EVA on the whole deck, barefoot and it didn't seem slippery at all, but roughing it up a bit it super easy.

~matt

44

SUP General / Re: Clueless Shops....

« on: September 02, 2010, 10:14:07 AM »

Have y'all checked on the price of a new longboard lately? You're looking at $800 at least, more for custom details, pinlines, etc. Even new shortboards are around $600. Take into consideration the extra materials and labor in a SUP board and it makes sense. Take into consideration the extra durability of most SUP boards and the higher resale value and it could even be more economical.

And while sup in waves can be challenging initially, it's still way easier than learning to boardsurf. And the progression is way quicker too. (plus you can catch way more waves, but be kind in crowded Linwood!)

45

Gear Talk / Re: Recommendations for BigGuy moving down to wave only board

« on: August 31, 2010, 03:37:34 PM »

On the blair's, you really can't go wrong! I'm a bit smaller and am on his 8'11", but I have put a number of guys on his 10'1" and they universally are stoked. He's out right now, for another couple weeks I think, but I have the sponge version in my shop, which cuts you're drive from the bay down considerably. Come try the sponge anytime....the difference isn't enough to note for demo purposes, and as soon as his boards arrive I will be trekking down for a resupply! We're in Morro Bay and have both flatwater and surf a few blocks from the shop.

matt