Messages

406

Gear Talk / Re: Bay Area stand up paddling???

« on: July 25, 2007, 07:01:08 AM »

Those specs sound right in there.  Very similar to this board from my first response:



How much wave riding do you see yourself doing in relation to bay paddling?

407

Gear Talk / Re: Bay Area stand up paddling???

« on: July 24, 2007, 05:38:15 PM »

Hi again,
The first two boards we owned were the SOS 10'10 (Big Blue) and the Jimmy Lewis 11' ( x 30").

The JL is an excellent board to learn on, but as you are 20-25 lbs lighter than I am, I think it is too big for you.  The 200 lbs + set loves this board.

I would highly suggest either the Big Green or the Big Red to the right rider, but we never found any love for the Big Blue.  The board has a lot of Vee that carries way forward.  This (among other factors) makes it track very well, and it would be a great cruiser.  On a wave, however, it felt very locked to us.  No fin that we tried changed this (and we threw in everything we have).  The guy who bought it from us loves it, as do others, but since you asked me....

In a month, you will have no problem cruising on the 10'6, even in choppy water and some wind.

It is a shame if a shop limited your stoke in any way, but truth be it known, it won't matter when you hit the water.  Fun is fun, and from the first stroke and that deep breath of sea air, you will feel it...really feel it.  All that other stuff stays on land with the doubters, haters and those who say nay.

Again, welcome!

408

Gear Talk / Re: Bay Area stand up paddling???

« on: July 24, 2007, 04:11:38 PM »

My feeling is that you will be happier if you go with the 10'6.  I should make it clear that I have not ridden either of the C4's, as for some reason none of the Maui retailers have received theirs yet.  That said, I have had the opportunity to hop on many of the other production 11 and 12 footers, and IMO they are bigger than you will want or need for surfing and casual cruising. 

Best, Randy

409

Gear Talk / Re: Bay Area stand up paddling???

« on: July 24, 2007, 11:50:36 AM »

Hi Ebby,

where can I find a bill foote SUP board on the web

The 11' Foote is co-branded with Lightning Bolt Maui:

http://www.lightningboltmaui.com/index.html

A direct link for Bill:

http://www.footemaui.com/

A link to all product manufacturer links:

http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=21.0

regarding "bent" stand up paddle, this is in reference to the C4 (or Pohaku Beachboy Paddle)website's faq but apparently I'm learning here now that the bent-shaft stand up paddle is the "norm" for Stand Up Paddling?

A bent shaft refers to a gradual permanant curvature in the shaft of the paddle.  Only a few paddles use this.  All (including bent shaft paddles) Stand Up paddles have an angled bend just above the blade (I believe 11 degrees is the norm). 

410

Events / Re: Dave Kalama wins Maliko to Kahului harbor race yesterday on Maui

« on: July 24, 2007, 07:34:18 AM »

I keep thinking about lance armstong's title of his book, "it's not about the bike"

I think a second title line of "...but this handmade Trek sure is nice" would have been a good addition

Dave Kalama won the second annual paddle board race on his standup. He had the fastest time of any craft in the race. Beating Jamie Mitchell time. Jamie is current world champ in paddle board racing.

One amazing thing is the athletic depth of the guys you mentioned.  Most by now have seen this video of Laird shot this winter at Ho'okipa / Lanes http://youtube.com/watch?v=6eUfT8r1PsU , but less told, these two guys both paddled out prone on longboards to share the sesh with Laird, and slayed it.
In my mind the single most impressive action of the day, was Kalama taking off on insane Lane's lefts.

411

Gear Talk / Re: Paddle length?

« on: July 23, 2007, 08:49:35 PM »

Is your paddle two piece?  If it is you may want to gradually cut it down to find the perfect length.  12 inches over your head is on the far max side of things.  Consensus (if there is one) seems to be between 6 and 10 inches, with most manufacturers suggesting either 8 or 9.  That said, cut it down an inch at a time (if you can), tape it, paddle it, and season to taste.

I hope that helps.

Randy

412

Gear Talk / Re: Bay Area stand up paddling???

« on: July 23, 2007, 08:44:02 PM »

Hi Ebby,

Thanks for stopping by.  Here are some suggestions I had made for a similarly sized rider in an earlier post:

You could certainly start and learn well with these two:


C4 10'6
Bill Foote (Lightning Bolt prouction model) 11'

(also if you see yourself cruising a lot, or the bay is very choppy, you may want to lean towards one of those).

Or these if you want to push yourself (or see yourself mostly in waves).  You will wobble and fall more as you learn, but it is definitely doable:

C4 10'
SOS Big Green 10'
Jimmy Lewis 10'
Paddle Surf Hawaii 10 foot "All Rounder"

Here is a snip on size rec's from the C4 site on their models:

Which board is right for me? 
The 11-6 is a beginner board, and is also a high performance Tandem board
used by Brian Keaulana/Kathy Terada, current World Champs. Its great for
learning or for a really big guy over 250lbs.

10'6" is a great high-performance sub that is built for good surfers,
with a bigger guy in mind, 200-225 lbs. It can be used for as a beginner
board for someone 150-190lbs.

10'0" is a sub that is built for good surfers 140-180lbs. It can be used
for as a beginner board for someone 120-140lbs. Dave Parmenter just won
the 2007 Noosa Surfing Festival for SUP surfing Event on this same
board!!! Finals had the likes of Bonga Perkin's, Josh Constible, Brian
Keaulana, Dave Kalama and Mick Debetta.

By bent paddles, are you referring to the bend at the blade (all standup paddles have this bend)  or a bend in the shaft?

413

Gear Talk / Re: Shaft Flex

« on: July 23, 2007, 04:22:01 PM »

Hi Kalani,
Glad to have you here with the Oahu scoop.  Congratulations on your beautiful online mag.  I have you bookmarked.

This is the Laird model, and it is pretty flexy.  I just replaced a lost paddle, and have been gradually cutting this one down, to see what length feels best.  My last one was at 6-7 inches above my head, which I loved when riding waves (great for leaning on hard in bottom turns, for bracing etc), but not as well for flatwater and catching waves.  In the photos this was at 10 inches over head, and that is too long for my liking overall, but feels super powerful in the flats.  I have also tried a few wood paddles now.  Most recently, I tried one of Malama's paddles and it was really nice feeling.

One interesting thing is to feel how much stiffer the shaft feels with each inch you cut off.  It is noticable.

Best,
Randy

414

Gear Talk / Shaft Flex

« on: July 23, 2007, 11:28:32 AM »

Check this out.  Here is a sequence (they are grabs from video that No Worries shot with a new vid cam) of me pulling hard to catch a little one in crumbly onshore conditions yesterday.  Look at that shaft flex.  I don't think that this could be lens distortion either as it is bending in the wrong direction for that, and is not present in shots 1 and 4. 

415

Gear Talk / Re: Ulimate wave board

« on: July 23, 2007, 09:07:57 AM »

Hi Mauisup,

Beleive it or not, off the shelf production models are already available down to 9'2 (you might have blinked )



So much has to do with personal preference, riding style and body dimensions.  That said, I know what you are getting at.  Will things continue to trend downwards?  I think that there is little doubt that there will be a market in the low 9' high 8' range for men and mid 8' range for women.  Noseriding and longboard style boards will likely also remain.  You may even need a gun for those huge days (notice I said you, I'll watch).  Maybe a small quiver will be in order!

416

SUP General / Re: sup..

« on: July 23, 2007, 08:07:47 AM »

Yes, the name SUP makes me cringe.  I hadn't considered the hip hop factor, but The Notorious SUP could be problematic.

I'll cast my votes for plain old "Stand Up" and "Board".  Stand Up Paddle Surfing is a huge mouthful, Beach Boy Surfing is a bit limited (and not as fitting on a lake in Utah), Paddle Surfing would have been nice, but, uhh, taken. 

417

SUP General / A change of scene

« on: July 23, 2007, 07:58:05 AM »

It seems that the attitude and demeanor of SUP'ers is different than your average surfer.  I haven't figured it out yet, but maybe its the  freedom that SUP allows us.  Freedom from the constraints of surfing in one spot as opposed to and 'area'.  Freedom from the crowds and freedom to stop and enjoy the ocean and not just the waves.

I read this post by iwaterman and wanted to build on its underlying question: What is it that has the stand up community so, well...emotionally involved in the sport?  From reading here it is obvious that many if not most of us have spent much of our lives in the water, so what is different with Stand Up?

For myself, the first answer is conflict, or the lack thereof.  The traditional lineup has become a tense place.  Certainly, there are exceptions, and there are those perfect, uncrowded, static-free days.  Too often, however, the resource shortage plays out, and soon sparks the flare up.  Maybe its being 40 now, but listening to a nearby skirmish in the lineup, a threatened beat-down, a send-in, it rattles my peace.  What's worse, surf culture has moved (at least in part) from the days of Endless Summer style adventure, to the recent MTV/North Shore type surf reality shows that have actively promoted and glamorized territoriality and surf aggression.  Enter Stand Up.  In the last few months we have seen lifetime surfers take up the sport (at first privately and hesitantly, but then as enthused participants), and seem almost euphoric about it.  Why?  In part, I believe it is because Stand Up has fixed for them something that they may not have consciuosly known was broken.  Relaxation, fun and silliness have returned to play time.  Hoots for a great ride, letting the person on the shoulder get their fair share, board swapping, the freedom to express enthusiasm for the day, the sport, the other guy.  In short, I think part of it is that we are acting in a way that is consistant with how we feel about ourselves.

Back in school, I had a Psych professor who was convinced that if you want to bring a group together, the best way to do it is to make them learn something together.  Such is true of Stand Up.  Something about plopping in the water for no apparent reason (yup, it happens to everyone) acts as a great equalizer, it keeps the cool level down, and focuses the activity on fun.

Best,
Randy

418

Gear Talk / Multi part deck pads

« on: July 21, 2007, 04:55:46 PM »

I was over picking up a deck pad at the Hi-Tech sale today, and ran into some friends who were hanging out with Sean Ordonez by the pad rack.  I pitched them my idea of a pre-cut multi part deck pad (similar to the traction pads used for shortboards, but obviously much bigger).  Sean said that he had some already being built (great minds and all that).  My thought was for a standard traction pad in the rear, inset into a larger deck pad with removable width strips (from the center) and removable length strips from the tail.  A quick mockup:

Sean said the one that is coming will be a 4 part pad (my idea had more parts).  It will be interesting to see what it looks like.  Needless to say, Sean is a great designer and a very creative guy.

Best, Randy

419

Gear Talk / Re: Fins, fins and fins

« on: July 21, 2007, 06:38:44 AM »

Check here:

https://www.surfingsports.com/greenough_stage6.asp

While you are there, drop Wardog (owner) an email.  he has spent as much time on Sean's boards as anyone, and is a fin designer himself as well. 

As for the Big Red, I agree.  This board is an excellent big board.  I paddled one out (after not having been on one in 3 months) the other day in microscopic waves, and had a ball.  The 9.5" fin was a bit forward of center.  Sooo fun to get on the tail and watch 12 feet of board come around.  Of note, I swapped boards with a friend who just bought a Big Green.  Even with the stock fin in it (read super stiff), it was really nice.

Hope that helps,
Randy

420

Technique / Re: Knee down stylienessitude

« on: July 21, 2007, 06:12:32 AM »

It is 10' x 28" x 4".

Best,
Randy