Messages

31

Gear Talk / Re: Starboard 2014 Carbons - Overly Fragile or just mine?

« on: April 03, 2014, 05:19:12 PM »

Tony, maybe you bought a dud?
Sorry about your board.

My 7'7" has a few cracks and one moderate pressure ding, but no water leaks.

Yeah, well that is what I am wondering! The 2012's and 2013's shared the same construction and are bulletproof from what I've seen, but I know they changed the materials a bit for 2014, so maybe they are just fragile now? But still, a carbon board that dents from finger pressure just seems bizarre and really defeats the purpose of carbon!

32

Gear Talk / Starboard 2014 Carbons - Overly Fragile or just mine?

« on: April 01, 2014, 10:58:18 PM »

I picked up a 2014 7'7" Pro in Carbon last month on Maui, and back home on the water the other day I noticed the thing has dents everywhere (especially on the top of the nose near the upper part of the rails) despite the fact that I bag and baby it. Looking at it at home tonight, I can actually dent the surface just about anywhere just by poking it with my finger or by squeezing the rail with my hand. Comparing it to my 2012 7'" Pro in Carbon which doesn't have a single dent after 150 or so sessions this just seems weird. Same story with the 8' Pro in Carbon I had before that, plenty of use, even lent it to several friends, not a single ding or dent. I know they changed their layup a bit for 2014, so I wonder if they have just gone really light or if my board is defective?

Anyone having a similar experience?

33

SUP General / Re: What's with the banner ads- Girls from Ukraine ?

« on: March 15, 2014, 08:23:23 PM »

Haha this guy got busted. Too funny.

34

SUP General / SUP Like a PRO

« on: March 15, 2014, 08:21:22 PM »

Sorry if this has already done the rounds...

35

SUP General / Re: See Kai Pitted Then Stuffed at Jaws

« on: March 13, 2014, 09:19:39 PM »

I watched this day live from the Bluff...

I also watched that yellow boat capsize...  8:14 in the video above or check the news clip below.

36

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Mainers going to Hawaii!

« on: March 09, 2014, 10:04:55 PM »

That part of the island has the best weather in Feb.  If they drive north a few miles they will see Honolua bay - one of the best waves in the state.  (No Sup's allowed).   They can drive that road all the way around to the north shore.  It's a must do at least once.  Not a busy highway, spectacular scenery. 

Just be sure to check if the road is open the whole way before you go. We took a friend around the top after checking S-turns to show him the drive and the road was closed for paving after all the sketchy one lane sections. There was nothing to indicate that along the way, so now you had all the traffic turning and heading back west against traffic that was still heading east with no idea they'd be turning around soon too. Some sections of that road are sketchy for folks going one way with no opposing traffic, and it quickly turned into perhaps one of the most frustrating driving experiences of my life. There was one unlucky bloke who had pedaled his road bike all the way out there on his last day on the island intending to complete the loop and catch his flight home, thanks to the road closure he was screwed and had to go the whole way backwards and missed his flight.

37

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Heading to Maui - Anyone flown Alaska w/ a SUP lately?

« on: March 09, 2014, 09:58:41 PM »

15 days in a row of great surf, 1.5 windsurfing days which wasn't ideal, but given the waves I won't complain! Even watched that boat flip at Jaws last weekend!

Took two SUPs, two paddles and two windsurf rigs in one big bag with wheels ~90lbs and it was $75 each way. No hangups.

Sucks being home 

38

SUP General / Re: Post your Bail shots!

« on: March 09, 2014, 05:53:07 PM »

In case you ever wondered what this looks like to other people, allow me to illustrate:

39

Gear Talk / Re: What SUP Surfboards are you riding and why?

« on: March 09, 2014, 05:39:43 PM »

I'm with Cardiff. I just switched from the 2012 SB 7'7" Pro (98L) to the 2014 version (92L) with no tangible difference in stability. In fact, with the flatter deck it feels more stable despite the lowered volume. It chatters more on the wave without the dome of the deck helping out, but the thinner rails are much faster.  Compromises....

You'd be surprised what you can paddle...

Just for shiiitttss and giggles I paddled a custom 7'6" x 24" x ~80L board the other day, and I could do it. The hardest part is getting up and moving because the board sits 6" below the water with my weight on it, but once you are moving it isn't a lot less stable than the 7'7". The technique seems to be to tummy paddle to get the board above the water then pop up really quickly and start paddling. It was Surprising really. I'm about 185 lbs.

40

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Heading to Maui - Anyone flown Alaska w/ a SUP lately?

« on: February 23, 2014, 10:39:04 PM »

Got both boards here, 7-7 & 8-0, two paddles, two windsurf rigs, $75 on Alaska no issues or damage. Non stop waves the last two days. Bliss.

41

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Heading to Maui - Anyone flown Alaska w/ a SUP lately?

« on: February 19, 2014, 07:27:50 PM »

2 sleeps!

42

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: PNW in June?

« on: February 19, 2014, 07:27:33 PM »

If you have time, some of the best SUP surfing on the whole coast can be had up here (best is not to be confused with the warmest). Major difference is we have more sheltered spots that really improve the SUP experience by cutting down that chop factor. WA/OR/CA are more of a wide open coast. Take the ferry from Port Angeles and then you've got another 3-4 hours drive.

43

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Heading to Maui - Anyone flown Alaska w/ a SUP lately?

« on: February 15, 2014, 03:45:03 PM »

It's not clear in either case whether these are AST or Carbon boards, but I suspect the prior. So renting really isn't an option.

OMG The horror!   

Ohhh Dave the AST rider!!!

44

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Heading to Maui - Anyone flown Alaska w/ a SUP lately?

« on: February 10, 2014, 12:07:37 PM »

Just call Alaskan?

Haha, have you tried calling an airline lately? I did a month or two ago... the hold message said, "The approximate wait time is 1.5 hours...." and as some noted, what someone tells you on the phone has little bearing on how they interpret the policy at the ticket gate.

45

Gear Talk / Re: Why not rack on edge?

« on: February 10, 2014, 11:06:12 AM »

I had the board strapped to the roof rack in two places over top of the cradles. When the cradle broke, there was slack in the strap since there was nothing pinning it on edge anymore, and this it tomahawked up and down over the side of the car whacking and denting one of the pillars. I don't recall exactly as this was 5 years ago or so, but I don't think it completely fell off the car as the one strap and cradle was intact. Had the board been strapped to the cradles only, and not the roof rack, I suspect after the first broke the stress would've broken the second as well and things would have been worse.