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Topics - StarboardSUPMan

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1
The Shape Shack / Shaped a new board for bigger waves
« on: July 15, 2021, 07:21:41 PM »
I wanted to build a board for bigger steeper waves.  Most of my boards have relatively low rockers and I wanted to try to build something different.  So when I went after this board I was thinking steeper hollower waves more rocker.  So the experiment began.

I started in Shape 3D (I've attached the Shape 3DX file at the bottom of this post) and wanted to stay in my safe zone for liters so I could ride this board in all conditions.  That meant I wanted to stay between 90-95 liters.  For some reason I really like boards 8’ long so I put that in as a parameter and 27” wide seems to work good as well.  That gave me a basic outline of what I wanted.  I wanted pulled in tail and nose for performance.  Finally I wanted a lot of rocker.  I researched other boards posted on here, one by SUPTheCreek with 7+” of nose rocker and 4+” of tail rocker.  If I hadn’t seen that board I would’ve thought that was way too much.  I settled on 6.7” of nose rocker and 4.2” of tail rocker.

This was my first board I truly started from scratch on.  Normally I would ask my local shaper for a foam block to start with, but he had gotten COVID and was way behind on boards and didn’t have time for me.  So this time I headed off to Home Depot to get some EPS foam sheets.  I could only find EPS in 2” thick 4x8 sheets.  So I knew I had to glue them together, and based on my board shape I would need 3 of the 2” sheets stacked ontop of each other and on the last few inches of the nose another sheet to make up for that 6.7”.  I also purchased a 1/8” sheet of plywood for the stringer.

First step was to cut the stringer out.  I printed out my Shape 3D board specs and cut 3 identical stringers out of the 1/8” plywood.  Then I cut up the 4x8 foam boards into 16” wide strips.  I lined those up and put a thin layer of epoxy between each sheet and stacked them 3 ontop of each other.  Then I ratchet strapped them together and let them dry.  Once dry I glued the stringer onto the ends and middle of the foam blocks and strapped them together.  Then I had my blank. 

I took a hotwire cutter and ran it down the board to get the profile.  Using the stringers on the end and in the middle kept my hotwire cutter on track.  Things were shaping up, I had my rocker.  Next up I cut out the template of the board.  I was getting excited I could start shaping the bottom contours.  I went with the tried and true concave in the middle, going to a double concave and finishing with a vee at the fins.  All of this I kept to 1/8” very subtle.

Rail bands took me a bit of searching.  In my last board I made knifey rails and I didn’t really love them.  They held well but they made recovering form a hard turn very difficult.  I like a fuller rail in the middle of the board.  I went on green light surf supply and they have rail templates.  This time I went with boxy and made them even a touch more boxy than what their template called for.  Since their template was for surfboards 2-3” thick and this was 4.1” thick SUP.  I compared the rails to my other boards I liked and they lined up pretty close.
For the fins I went with a more aggressive approach.  I did ¼” toe in on the front fins and 1/8” toe in on the rear fins.  For cant I put 9 degrees on the front and 5 degree on the rears.  It’s got a pretty aggressive look to it.  I put a 10” center box in for lots of adjustment as well.  I like thruster but want to try out different quads so I made sure to put those rear quad boxes back a bit further for extra grip.  Front fins I put at 15.5” off the tail.  Rears I put at 8.5” off the tail.  The center fin box I put at 4.5” off the tail with plenty of room for adjustment.

For Glass schedule, on the bottom I put on a layer of 8oz with a layer of 4oz ontop.  For the top I put a 8oz deck patch, 8oz and 4oz top layer. 

My hope for this board is that with all that rocker and fin toe it’s going to be able to stay in the pocket on bigger waves.  I’ve had trouble with my boards generating too much speed or being hard to turn once they get going too fast.  Paddle boards have a lot more glide then surfboards so I’m hoping that I can get away with all of this drag and still have a board that performs.  I don’t expect this board to be good on mushy summer waves this was designed to carve on chest+ waves.

I took the board out for it’s first run in small sized surf maybe knee to waist (I know I couldn't help myself).  As expected it didn’t fly down the line but I was able to pump it for speed and keep up with most waves.  I really enjoyed the ability to step on the tail and put the brakes on.  I was able to cozy right up in the pocket on a few waves by doing this.  Then when the wave picked speed up I could weight my front foot and off I went.  Honestly I thought I was going to experience a lot more drag and speed issues from this board.  I’ve shied away from anything this extreme expecting it to be a dog, but the board does good.  Turns are a lot easier I think the combination of fin cant/toe and tail vee all work together to make this board super easy to whip around.  I hope to get some video of it soon.

Let me know your thoughts.  Everything I said above is basically a guess I don’t really know if I just lucked out, or maybe this shape isn’t as extreme as I was thinking?

2
The Shape Shack / Thruster vs Quad test on new board
« on: February 07, 2021, 06:31:54 PM »
I just bought another board and it came with a 5 fin setup.  I've been wanting to do a thruster vs quad test on the same day, same conditions, same board for a while.
Today was the day.  I got the GoPro ready and brought my fins down to the beach.  Tried to show the differences.  Day was light offshore winds with knee high sets.  Had a blast on both setups and enjoyed both of their qualities.  Here is the video that I made.
https://youtu.be/TFdTsdfJniM

Here is a link with pictures to both of the setups and measurements on the fins (quads & thruster) future fin boxes.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dJ57hALBxqpA4LNJ9

Here are some of the notes I wrote down after the session.

A bit about my surfing style.  I am heavy back foot, prefer surfing top to bottom and really hitting the lip.  I mostly surf thruster setup on all my boards I have struggled in the past with quads.  I have ridden quads on my wide tail boards (L41 SimSup) but don't seem to enjoy them on my other boards.

Board specs.  8' x 28.25" x 3.5" - 95 Liter SurfTech Superfly
I had to run larger than normal thruster and quad fins to prevent the tail from slipping.  Possibly due to wide tail 18.25" wide at 12" up from the tail?

My biggest gripe about quads going into this is the lack of standardization.  It seems every board I own had a different spot on the tail for quads.  Most being right on the edges of the rail.  This board has the rear fins closer to the center like a Mckee setup I've heard so much about.  I hope this becomes more of a standard since I enjoyed the quads in this board, but quads in my other boards just did not work for me.  Thrusters seem to all follow the same template making them my go to for confidence and consistency.


Quads
Wider board is gonna like quads more.  You get more fin area where you need it.  Maybe 18” and wider at 12” off the tail needs quads?
It seems like I need to surf bigger quads than thrusters.  Bigger fronts and big rears which is more total fin area compared to thruster.
McKee fin setup with rear fins closer to the center of the board works much better for me rather than having them on the rails which makes them too loose for me.

Pros
Faster down the line
On a cutback you can push with your rear leg, blow the fins out and throw some spray.
Keep speed in a hard turn.   

Cons
I’ve had issues sliding out on hard bottom turns on bigger waves.  Bigger fins and McKee setup could help?
Has a tendency to lock up on me when I’m not on rail (when all 4 fins are engaged tracking straight)
Can’t pump the board for speed.

Thrusters
I mostly surf thrusters.  Standard g5 template has worked for me on most boards.  This board need a bit bigger fin setup.  I move the center fin up about an 1” for smaller days.  Makes turning in a small pocket easier.

Pros
Can pump the board.  Love compressing and decompressing to build speed
Very accurate and quick turns.  Top to bottom surfing.
Easy to put the board on rail and hit the lip.  Never get that locked up feeling
No slipping out on hard turns
Can confidently commit to your turns in bigger days

Cons
Can’t blow out the fins nearly as easy (fun on small days)
Lose significant speed in turns.  Hurts you on small waves.
Feels stiff if you’ve been surfing quads (I felt this right away when I switched)
Doesn’t work as well on wide tail boards

Overall the quads felt like they had more speed and flow on the smaller knee high waves.  The turns were smoother and carried the speed back into the pocket.  With the thruster I could really whip the board around, at the cost of speed.  Quads let me play around more and throw some spray.  I look forward to doing this test again on waist-chest high waves to see the difference.

I can see a benefit to quads on days where the waves are fatter and more crumbly where you have more time to do turns with more flow and arc.  And also on days where the waves are hollow and barrelling where you just want that speed and there is no time to pump the board.  Just drop in and go.  For barrelling waves I've also noticed with thrusters it's harder to hold into the face of wave when it starts to get really steep.  Having 2 big fins engaged will probably help with that.  I play on testing this in the future and get out of my comfort zone.

3
General Discussion / Common SUP Board Repairs
« on: January 26, 2021, 04:18:30 PM »
Thought I'd just share some common problems I've found with both used boards and having damage to my daily riding boards.  These tips might be helpful if you go to check out a used board or even a new one.

1.  Cracks around the handle.  This by far is my most common issue with boards.  Almost every board I've owned or had an issue that started with the glass splitting or separating around the handle.  From here once water gets in things progress.  If you are unlucky enough to have a board with any type of wood in the deck construction which is common, the water will soak through the whole board.  Best case delamination around the handle.
2.  Delamination.  This is a very common issue.  I always check by boards by pushing down in areas like the deck where I stand, around the vent plugs, fin boxes etc.  Delamination will only get worse so early detection is key.
2.  Fin boxes.  Cheap boards just rout a hole and pop in the fin box with some epoxy.  With any force these will crack and start letting water in. 
3.  Vent plug / Leash plug.  Same as above just epoxy holding they develop cracks or splits and start to let water in.
4.  Rail damage.  This is usually more obvious but I've seen almost undetectable splits that can leak if you don't really look close
5.  Nose/Tail damage.  As above this is also obvious but these can develop pinhole leaks as well.

Fix repair.
I fix any plastic to fiberglass repair the same.  No matter if its the handle/fin box/vent plug or leash plug.  I start by first drilling holes all around where the plastic meets the fiberglass about 1" apart.  Letting all the water drain prior to any glassing.  I'll then give it a good sanding with between 80 - 120 grit sandpaper to ensure good adhesion.  Then I'll take cabosil or any type of thickened resin and inject them with a syringe into each hole waiting for the resin to squirt out of the hole next to it.  Keep working around the board.  Then I'll put masking tape over the holes and flip the board over.  If you don't do this the resin keeps draining down into the board and you'll have to repeat this step.  Then for the last step I'll put masking tape over the plug and trim it as close as I can without letting resin run down into it.  Then I put 3 layers of glass matte, one just covering the plastic part and each additional one going 1-2" wider than the previous.

For any rail or other board damage I determine how best to get the water out.  Drill holes or just lean it in a position so it will drain.  Then sand the area down to make sure there is good adhesion.  Then lay 1-3 layers of fiberglass matte over the repair.  The first layer I make about 1" wider than the damage.  And each additional layer 1-2" wider than the last.

Delamination repair starts with determining the cause.  Did water get in, was it heat related?  Perhaps the vent plug failed?  From there I will mark with a marker the area that has delaminated.  I will take a brand new sharp sheet rock blade and cut out the delaminated part and remove the fiberglass.  It's important to cut the area well because pulling up on the fiberglass could delaminate more area.  Give it a good sanding and feather the fiberglass edges back 3-4".  From there make sure everything is dry and put 1-3 layers of fiberglass matte.  The first should just match the patch you cut out.  Then next 2 should overlap 1-2" from the previous layer.

Just thought it would be helpful for someone taking a look at buying a new board so they get a better understanding of things to look for an the work involved in fixing it.

My newest board I bought for $200 so I was fine with some repairs.  Turns out the handle delaminated and water soaked a lot of the deck area because they used a wood in the construction.




4
The Shape Shack / Board Thickness Effect
« on: January 21, 2021, 12:16:53 PM »
I am thinking about shaping another paddle board and wanted to get a better understanding of the impact that board thickness has on surfing.

My current understanding is it will impact the rails as the thicker the board the thicker the rail.  You can somewhat combat this by thinning the rails out or doing a domed deck.  But I feel like I'm missing something.

My question that I'm struggling with is 2 part.
1.  What would the difference in surfing be if you took the exact same dimension for a board (length 8', width 28", same rocker, etc) and built one 3.5" thick and another 4.5" thick?
2.  What would the difference be if you took a board 8' x 28" x 3.5" at 95 liters and you built another at 8' x 26" x 4.5 at 95 liters?  Now the board is 2" narrower but thicker to make up for it.  26" would be less stable, would it turn better, or would it be too thick?

Just looking for a better understanding on this.

5
Gear Talk / Board progression over my 12 years of paddle boarding
« on: August 29, 2020, 06:28:45 PM »
I decided to do a video to document my progression in paddle boards over my 12 years of paddle board surfing.

https://youtu.be/YGyW_9nZzx4

Here are my notes for those that would prefer to read.

Background. 
Started surfing at 15 on a fun shaped board. 
Progressed to a performance longboard. 
Never a good paddler. 
Lived in MA so only surfed 3-4 months a year
Low wave count and always struggled due to lack of waves
Mostly east coast gutless waves with no push.  When it did get big I didn’t have enough experience to even get out.
Stuck there for 6-7 years
Introduction to paddleboarding
Paddled out to a bunch of older guys on 9-10’ paddleboards and they were catching everything in sight.  Small waves, set waves, the boards moved so fast they could paddle left or right and catch a wave 200 yards away.  I was blown away, they could even do turns in the whitewater.
My First Board
First thing I did was rent a board to try it out.  It happened to be a 10’5 x 31 Starboard Drive.  At first I ditched the paddle and just prone paddled and it worked great.  The glide was amazing and early wave entry was so great, you could catch a wave that didn’t even break.  When I got confident I started to stand and use the paddle.  After 3 days of renting the paddleboard I was hooked and ready to buy.  I noticed my wave count went through the roof.  Before the paddleboard on a good day I would get maybe 5-10 waves, now I was getting 50+ wave in the same time.  Also the length of the ride drastically increased, instead of 5-10 second rides I was getting 15-30 second rides with time to turn and walk around to the nose/tail of the board.  With time to experiment I was able to start to learn how to surf.  I ended up purchasing a brand new Starboard Driver 10’5 and I was off.
Move to Florida
A few years passed and I decided to move to Florida.  We ended up moving to central florida but took trips to the east coast beaches.   I knew I wanted a paddle board so I started by renting again and discovered anything above 9’5” would not fit in the hotel we were staying in.  I needed something portable so I rented and purchased a Riviera Nugg 9’2 x 31.  This board has been the best board I’ve ever owned for east coast surfing.  Just all around a great shape and a do it all board.  Flat water, small waves, big waves, nose riding, performance manuevers it could do it all.  This board opened my eyes to the possibilities in SUP surfing.  If I could only have 1 board in my quiver it would be without a doubt a Riviera Nugg or a board shaped similar. 
The quest for performance and L41
After a few more years I decided it was time for an addition to the paddle board family and started looking into a L41 SimSup.  I heard great things and wanted to try one, but there were none at that point on the East coast.  So after some rave reviews and researching online I took the plunge and ordered a custom 8’4” x 31 – 130 Liters.  It was the best looking and highest quality build of a board I’ve ever owned.  When it finally arrived I was blown away.  My first test ride on it was on a lake and I floated me so well and was quite stable for the step down I took.  A wide nose and wide tail lend themselves to stability.  It still had some good glide as well.  When I got it out in the waves it was fantastic.  The quads really let you maneuver the board and do some serious turns.  The board would plane instantly and down the line speed was insane.  This board showed me the path forward in performance and what could be achieved on a SUP.  Prior to this I would do longboard pivot type turns, this board I was doing tail slides, hitting the lip, cutbacks.  Everything exploded it took me a solid 6 months before I had everything down.  The other lesson this board taught me was to get your foot back when you want to do a turn.  Not back a little, back as far as you can, back to the kick pad.  If you don’t you fight yourself.  I’ve spent many a day learning this lesson. 
Next Set of Boards
From here one thing changed that put my SUP progression into Hyperdrive.  We decided to move to the east coast and bought a house right on the beach.  Now instead of 3-4 trips a year, I could surf every day.  So from here I started to experiment with a variety of shapes and sizes picking boards up on craigslist for cheap usually 300-400 and would end up selling them for a similar amount.
8’0 x 30 – 120 Liter performance shape. This board showed me the path to a performance shortboard SUP shape and how to pump and start to do power turns where you throw spray.
7’4” x 31 – 130 Liter Holiday Custom.  This board was my favorite board for 2 years.  Fat and Wide with quads you could still get that instant speed on powerless waves and it allowed you to really snap a turn and have fun with it.  As soon as the waves got chest high though the board was too much for me, I couldn’t slow it down even with my foot over the tail.  But I had other boards for those days
8’4” x 28” – 105 Liter Lokahi. I found this board on craigslist for a steal and I wanted it cheap because I thought 100 liter boards would be impossible for me.  I was quite wrong the transition was pretty easy, sure I fell but the board more than floated me and had tons of glide.  In 1 week I had it wired where I could ride it in 15mph onshore chop, catch ankle high sets.  This board is where my performance took another step forward.  This board was a pro board through and through, sharp pulled in nose, razor thin pulled in tail, aggressive thruster setup.  This board was meant for speed and it needed a more powerful wave to really work well.  I still keep this board as sort of a gun on bigger days.  This board gave you feedback like no other board, if you pumped the board you could feel the speed generated.  If you wanted to turn it would turn as hard as you wanted.  I could turn it so hard you would lose the wave.  It was mind bending.
8’0” x 27 – 95 Liter brusurf.  Same as above I got a deal because I was still convinced sub 100 liter board was impossible.  This board had a less pulled in nose and swallow tail and ended up being just as stable as the lokahi.  However I did notice that I was starting to sink the board, not underwater but I was getting closer.  This board is an amazing board, this was my next step forward in progression.  With the side fins place up a little further on the board and an adjustable center fin I was able to loosen up the thruster setup and really get some performance turns.  On a big day I would have the center fin all the way back but on the smaller days just moving it 1” forward made a night and day difference and really let you perform.  The only place this board lacked was overhead waves, it was not quite pulled in enough and would get going too fast and out of control.  It also let me try out quads since it had a 5 fin box setup, and made me conclude that quads were not for me when it came to performance paddleboarding.  Perhaps a different configuration or a different board, but they were too loose and unpredictable rail to rail.
7’7 x 27 – 85 Liter Custom. Finally I decided it was time to try my hand a shaping a SUP.  I decided to take the plunge and bought all the shaping equipment and just did it.  I couldn’t find a cheap board and new boards ranged between 1500-2000 so I decided for 350 bucks I’d take a risk on shaping one myself. It didn’t come out perfect but I was more than satisfied with the result.  Naturally when it was completed we had no waves but I still took it out for a float test.  It floated me better than I expected, but my ankles were wet.  Stability was fine, it was noticeably less stable than my previous board but not significant enough that I couldn’t handle it.  When we finally did get some knee high surf I was pleasantly surprised with how well it did.  My friends couldn’t believe that I could still catch as many waves on it, and catch them just as far out as my previous boards.  Being lighter and more pulled in it turns on a dime.  It’s still a new board so I can’t wait to see how it does in bigger surf but so far so good.
Next Steps
I always keep an eye on the paddle boarding pro’s and I’ve been lucky enough to do SUP training sessions with Zane Schweitzer and Sean Poynter.  Having said that I think when you start to get onto a board that truly sinks down to your knees or hips and you need to paddle to bring it up, you start to lose a lot of what brought me to SUP surfing in the first place.  Early wave entry, glide, wave count, etc.  At that point I would think a surfboard would not only give you a lot less board to move around and provide more performance but also the ability to duck dive and get out easier.  I understand why the pro’s surf those low volume SUP’s to win contests.  But I’m not competing I’m out there for my own enjoyment.  Having said that I will probably keep pushing it until I do get an un-rideable board.  But the great thing is there are still tons of shapes and combinations to try in-between. 
Conclusion
I wanted to make this video to talk about my personal SUP progression and give some insight into why I made the decision to keep pushing my limits and going smaller.  The most important thing at the end of the day is that you’re out there surfing and having fun.  I surf with longboarders, shortboarders, kayakers you name it and as long as everyone’s having fun and catching lots of waves and that’s what it’s all about.  Getting out there an enjoying yourself on any type of craft you ride.

6
Technique / Quad Issues on new board
« on: January 24, 2020, 05:25:00 PM »
I just got a new board with a 5 fin setup.  It's a 95 Liter Brusurf 8'0".  Smallest board yet for me I'm 180lbs 6'2". 
I have been surfing a thruster setup for the past year and started that way with this board, but decided to try quad today. 
For Quad fins I left in my 4.5" high standard G5 fins in front and put in smaller 3.5" trailing fins. 
The grip felt good no sliding, bottom turns were good.  I had to focus on keeping my rear foot over the tail pad.  However once in a while I would get going too fast and I would feel like the board would lock up and I couldn't turn it.  I'd miss the section where I wanted to turn and have to wait for the board to slow down to become unlocked.  It was a strange feeling but during those moments I felt like I could only hang on and wait it out.  Anyone else experience that or know what to do?  My only thought to solve it was I need my foot back further to control it.  Could it also be I have all 4 fins in the water at the same time where normally I only have 2 fins engaged on a turn? 

Here's a poor quality video of me on a SurfLine cam so you can see I can turn the board with quads just fine most of the time.

https://youtu.be/5xYJlqu0WbI

7
The Shape Shack / Finally Shaped my first board
« on: February 02, 2019, 07:40:09 PM »
I originally bought a used SUP for 200 bucks and rode it for a year and then kind of outgrew it.  So I decided to re-shape it into a shape I’d been thinking about for years.

I always like the tear drop shape with a skinny nose and wider tail.  Inspired by the Nugget surfboard made by McCoy from Australia
http://mccoysurfboards.com/surfboard-models/nugget-info

I went a little more extreme thinning the nose out.

Starting board specs.
8’2” x 31.5” x 4.5”.  Between 120-130 liters I estimated.

Re-shaped board specs
7’8” x 28.5 x 4.5.  Right at 105 Liters.

This was my first time attempting to shape a board.  I’ve done some repairs before on the deck pad, tail and the rails but never the entire thing.

First thing I did was download Shape 3D and start playing around with some shapes.  Finally I came up with something I liked and would fit into the dimensions of my existing board.



After deciding on it I printed it out and went into the garage and starting marking up my board with a sharpie and a 4’ level.  Marked the center line, this board had a stringer so it was easy to find.  Then marked out every 6” and put markings on where the new board would be. 



Once I finished everything I got a 6” metal cutting blade on my jig saw and just followed the line.  I took a little too much foam off in some spots but put it back on with some gorilla glue.



Then I took a thin cutoff disc and scored the fiberglass 8” back from my cut around the entire board.  Then I peeled off the glass using a putty knife to not remove too much foam.  From there I was free to re-shape my new rails.

Here it is roughed out





Here it is a little finer but still some spots that required filling.



Finally a first coat of fiberglass.  It wasn’t pretty and I need to sand and re-apply.  I sanded through in a bunch of spots trying to get it smooth.  Lesson learned spend more time getting the foam perfect and less time sanding glass!  After 2-3 times of glassing/sanding cycle I started to really dig the shape.



Time to install the center fin box.  4.5” up from the tail



Onto the side fins.  Rears 6” off the tail, fronts 14” off the tail and 1.5” off the rail.  On the fronts I did 1/4” toe in with a 8 degree cant.  Rear fins I did 1/8” toe in with 4 degree cant.  I decided to do that from some recommended numbers from the forum.  I marked a few of the recommended setups on the board and went with that looked best to me.



Then did 2 hot coats to get everything leveled out to where I was happy.



Finally did a 2 tone red/white paint job. Should have bought better masking tape had some bleed through.  Finished it all off with 2 coats of clear coat on top



Last step was to install a BPS Deckpad from amazon paired with a Go Stevie kick pad on the tail and it was time to hit the water.









The first day the water was like a washing machine.  Still able to stand up but not great for learning or building confidence.  I was able to stand 3-5 minutes at a time and then ended up falling.  Lots of moving water.  Reducing the front width of the board takes some getting used to.  I caught 3 waves, 2 were survival waves where I just tried to keep upright, but the final one gave me a nicer ride and I was able to do a few turns.  I tried it with a thruster setup with the center fin all the way back and it felt stiff.  Took a few nosedives but it was tough to say if it was the board or just the choppy conditions.

Second day I rode it with a quad setup.  Much faster and looser more of what I was looking for.  Waves cleaned up and I could get comfortable with my stance.  Stood with a staggered stance with one foot up front and one back helped.  I really have to put my foot way up front to drop in on a wave, further than I expected.  I needed to put some grip up past the vent plug so I could force the nose down on steeper drops without slipping off.  Once in the wave though the board is fast and maneuverable.  Still a lot to learn, but I always love a challenge.

I will update as I get more rides in on it.

Hope you enjoyed the build process.

8
Classifieds / 8'2" x 31" Surfcore SUP - Cocoa Beach - $450 OBO
« on: December 11, 2018, 12:26:25 PM »
8'2" Surfcore SUP

8'2" x 31" Wide. Between 120-130 liters. I'm 185lbs and it floats me no problem.

Great board. Has 5 fin boxes so you can surf as a thruster or a quad. Fast down the line, great for Florida waves. Stable in chop. Has a nice concave throughout. Great glide to catch waves early.

Here is a video of the board in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD__vybVMCA

The board has some repairs but all have been properly glassed over. The board is 100% water tight and ready to surf!

Selling because I got a smaller board.

Located in Cocoa Beach, FL
Asking $450 OBO.






9
Gear Talk / Wide Tail Board Sliding Out with Quads
« on: December 03, 2018, 06:18:48 PM »
I'm having a issues with my wider tailed board sliding out on my on bottom turns and hard turns in general.  I recently got a smaller more performance oriented board for bigger better days.  It has a thruster fin setup and really got me to lay into my bottom turns.  Then when I returned to riding my wide tail board I found I would slide the tail out if I put the same pressure to turn the performance board.  I've got a Future Controller Quad setup on the board.  I find I have to feather my turns on my wide tail board to keep drive and hold.  I can only put about 75% of what I  want to to keep from sliding out.  As I keep progressing and getting better I'm wondering is this just a characteristic of wide tail boards?  Should I switch my board over to a thruster setup instead, or is there a quad setup that will provide better hold?

The wide tail board is 7'4" x 32" Custom board.  The performance board is a 8'4" x 28 Lokahi Custom Pro.

Here are some pics of the boards trying to determine the difference.  Wide tail board the front fins are 20" apart, rears are 15" apart.  On my performance board the fronts are 15" apart.  The wide tail has a fin depth of 4.5" while the performance has 4.75".  Overall I have a lot more fin area on the wide tail board which I thought would give me the hold I need.















10
Gear Talk / SUP Board Shapes - Fitting into the pocket
« on: July 26, 2018, 06:41:00 PM »
I'm progressing in my surfing ability and it's brought about some new questions I have about board shapes.  I bought a L41 SimSup and things took off from there.  I've been trying all different type of board shapes and sizes since.  The one thing I've found my L41 is lacking is that ability to get in the barrel or get tight up in the pocket.  When I get to a critical section I seem to either dig a rail, or my board wants to flip itself over.  I know the general concept of more rocker, narrower board will fit the wave and hold better in steeper waves.  I've just have a hard time understanding exactly why that works.  I've tried doing some research but I'm still a little lost.  I was hoping someone with more experience than me could walk me through characteristics that make a board perform better on bigger barrelling days vs my normal Florida mush and why.

11
Classifieds / L41 SimSup 8'4" x 31" 136L - Cocoa Beach
« on: June 27, 2018, 06:53:04 PM »
L41 SimSup ST
8'4"x 31.5"
136L
http://www.l41surfcraft.com/models/

Bought new in August 2017. Surfed for 6 months. Selling because I scaled down to a smaller board.
Board is in great shape, surfs amazing.
Speed down the line is perfect for Florida beach breaks.
Stable in chop and a great all around board.

$850 OBO
Cocoa Beach, FL



12
Gear Talk / Longboard style SUP recommendation
« on: March 03, 2017, 06:08:00 PM »
I want to get opinions on other sups that are similar to the riviera nugg.  Not a lot of rocker 32" wide and setup like a longboard.  I mostly ride Florida east coast cocoa beach area and I like that the nugg is relatively short only 9'2" and still has great glide.  Length is important to me since I stay in hotels when I ride and need to get it into an elevator and into tight spaces.  I was considering stepping down to an 8'11" x 32" Exocet fish but I'm worried it's more of a performance oriented board.  I like how I can take the nugg out in 1' mushy surf or 6'+ overhead and still enjoy the day.  I also love how It can handle chop.  I go every day no matter what even if it's blowing 20mph I still paddle.  I hardly ever fall off the nugg.  I tried a Gerry Lopez stun gun 9'2 and it was way to unstable in chop for me.  I like to kind of wait for a wave and not constantly paddle to keep stability.  Riding that was more of a chore and it was considerably harder to catch a wave.  I'm not someone who rips, I like that I can get on a wave walk to the nose and hangout or pump the board and generate speed.  I like that I can have a relaxing ride or try to do some turns instead of constantly having to work for speed.  I'm 185lbs 6'2" in good shape 34 years old and just want something that can handle mushy surf up to head high.  I was thinking a carbon nugg or nugg turbo but I see a lot of other options, nsp has a cocoa matt and sunova has a shroom model that looks nice.  Just wanted input on other fairly short boards that have that same glide and ability to catch small waves.  The other thing I've considered
Is changing my fin setup to increase performance without losing glide.  Single fin or smaller thruster setup.

Here is a video of me on the nugg in cocoa beach on a very small but fun day.
https://youtu.be/kpxWr9YLS-Q

Thanks!

13
Gear Talk / Jimmy Lewis 9’2” Rental - Florida Board Advice
« on: June 08, 2014, 09:29:39 AM »
I took a vacation last week to Singer Island, FL and wound up renting a Jimmy Lewis 9’2” board.  I wanted to try something smaller and more performance oriented.  I wasn't looking for something so performance oriented but that's all the had.  The other boards I own are a 10’5 Starboard Drive and a 12’6 KM Compressor.  At 6'2" and 195lbs this was quite a drop to a 9’2 with 124L from a 10’5 with 160L.

First impressions of the board were it was quite stable for what I expected.  I thought I would be surfing prone by the end of the day.  In fact it was quite the opposite I found that after I got over my initial wobbles it felt very stable.  The other few things that took getting used to was that constantly paddling forward helped tremendously in board stabilization.  Before I would paddle out and just wait around for a wave. I felt like I had to stand further back on the board and it got more stable.

Things I liked about the board were it floated me well, it surfed amazing, easy to catch chest high waves, Super fast down the line, easy to turn. 
Things that I was concerned about was stability in chop.  As the day wore on and the chop picked up it turned into a washing machine out there.  I ended up constantly correcting and made catching waves difficult.  I wasn’t sure how the board would do in smaller waves as I was blessed with some chest high swell while I tried it out (which I hear is uncommon for Florida in the summer).

Before renting this board I had my eye on the 2014 8’11 Fanatic Allwave.  Now I’m considering the 8’6” Allwave or perhaps a ProWave as a 124L board floated me.  The reason I was leaning towards Fanatic boards were they have a mast insert which sounds fun.  A concern about the Allwave is the rail thickness, I really liked how the Jimmy Lewis had nice thin rails.

Any suggestions on other boards to look at in this size range that are good for Florida waves?

14
Gear Talk / Intro to the forum and smaller board suggestions
« on: June 20, 2013, 07:23:15 AM »
I'm new to the forum.  I'll start off with an introduction and then a story.  I've been reading the forum for quite some time and really enjoyed the new board reviews and tips & tricks.

I purchased my first SUP (Starboard Drive 10'5") last year after enjoying a SUP rental in Florida.  They rented me an 8'10" SUP which was way to small for learning.  I fell a ton, mostly paddled prone but did get some waves later in the day standing as the wind died and the chop flattened out.  Had a blast.
I truly wanted the starboard nose-rider, but it wasn't available at the surf shop and the Drive was close enough to it I thought I'd give it a try.  I ended up falling in love with it.  The fact that I could paddle away from crowded breaks and find my own break down the beach all to myself.  I liked the fact that it was a good flatwater paddler, wide enough to handle chop, and a breeze to catch waves with.  I also liked the longboard look and feel to the board since I was familiar with that shape.
 
Here is the story part.  I ended up paddling down from my local beach about a mile or so to get to one particular break I liked best.  I made that my routine almost every weekend. One day in early July surfing at my spot I noticed something pushing water out by the lobster pots.  As it came closer I got excited and was thinking, sunfish, tuna, whale?  Then the fin came up.  It came in closer and then stayed about 100 yards off the beach and swam north.  It passed by me and I was just in awe.  Then it picked up my scent in the water or sensed me and abruptly turned 180 degrees back towards me.  I started paddling for shore, but once I got into shallower water over the sandbar (it was high tide) it lost interest and swam back north.  The fin came up quite a few times and was quite a sight to see.  I tried yelling to some tourists on the beach but I couldn't get anyone's attention.  I finally ended up paddling into shore and then thought to myself, it's headed for the public beach!  I threw my board back into the water and paddled back towards the beach as fast as I could.  By the time I got to the life guard station to run up and warn them, I noticed the shark was right behind a kayaker.  I started yelling and waving, it took quite some time to get his attention.  Luckily he saw the shark and paddled in safely.  He had another friend out even further but the shark took no interest in him and he made it in fine.  I was glad everyone was fine and headed home to tell my wife and friends the amazing story of what happened.  I figured that was the end of it.  The next day on the front of our local newspaper was this picture.



At first I was shocked someone had gotten a picture, but it was nice since no one believed me how close the shark was to the kayaker.  Just glad no one got hurt and gives me a great ice breaker like right now!

Anyways glad to be signed up for the forum!  I am interested getting into a smaller board and this seems like a great place to ask for advice.  The 10'5" Drive is great but I've been very interested in the reviews of the smaller boards like the Allwave 8'10" and Exocet 8'11".  This downsizing may be a little bit too aggressive though, perhaps I should be looking more into a larger board like an Allwave 9'6"?

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