Author Topic: Getting into unlimited class boards.  (Read 10753 times)

TallDude

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Getting into unlimited class boards.
« on: April 11, 2011, 12:52:54 AM »
Bigger is always better, right? I'll just say once you've gone into the unlimited racing boards, it's very hard to go back to anything shorter. I'm a big and tall guy who by chance got to race a 16' board my first race. It seemed like a good fit for my size (6'7" -245#). As I got more into the racing, I started paddling in the ocean 30 miles a week, if not more. A local SUP company offer to let me race one of their 18'6 unlimited's. I thought this is it. I mean this all carbon board was the bomb. The more I paddled it, I gain a sense of how it worked in different situations. Then I paddled and raced on a few different unlimiteds, and payed attention to the positive design configurations of each one. Time to build one for me. I now weigh 218# thanks to a lot of paddlng. I went to Hobie and asked them if they would build a one-off unlimited to fit me. Hobie's shaper/designer Mark Johnson sat down with me, and we worked out a board design that is all me. I love it more and more as I figure out where to stand in different conditions. It's 18'6" x 28 x 8" (but really about 25" wide wetted area in flat water), 1 # foam stringerless, carbon top (painted white with my blue caution stripes) and glass bottom. It wieghs 36#. Unlimited's have a glide that 14' and 12'6 boards don't. It takes a longer stroke, and you have to pay attention to the glide. Here are some pic's...
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8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

PonoBill

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2011, 01:01:37 AM »
Pretty slick looking. But hey, those are my board shorts. I've been looking all over the house for those.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Boludo

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2011, 06:20:22 AM »
Nice!!  I guess at your height, all the photos chop your head off. ;D

EastFL

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2011, 07:18:03 AM »
NICE! I recently got into racing as well and went straight to the unlimited class.  Sounds like you're putting some miles on the new board.   

TallDude

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2011, 08:11:10 AM »
If you notice, in the first picture I'm standing about a foot forward on my board. In flat water I drive the nose down a little and the tail lifts on to the narrower chine (rail). In the open water I move about 6" back of center. Here's a shot my board in open water. If it was a clearer day, you would just about see the 'Hollywood' sign in the hills above my head (which is not cropped off). BTW, I found those shorts hanging on a wash down rack at San-O. Finders keepers!
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

gorgebob

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2011, 09:29:58 AM »
Been thinking of that bottom shape. I haven't seen the step bottom before except on beginner kayaks. Are the rails out of the water in dead calm?
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newportsup

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2011, 01:18:20 PM »
http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=9046.0
This is a link from standupzone in the classifieds from months back. This board builder, Martie Wells,  has been doing this bottom design for some time now. This bottom on 12'6" and 14's works great in the smooth and paddling into the wind and swell. In the smooth water, the bottom design allows you to have all the stability of the total width of the board, without having to push all the water. You see the water folding underneath the board when your paddling. Since this picture of the board from this link above, the entry has gone to a more flat surface. Looks like an awsome unlimited board TallDude.  
« Last Edit: April 11, 2011, 01:49:09 PM by newportsup »

TallDude

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2011, 01:41:46 PM »
The outer rail does sit above the water when it's calm. The 'Ohana' unlimited boards have a similar double chine bottom. I just did about 7 miles this morning, with about a 10 to 15 mph, wind driven, chop, and about 4 to 6 foot ground swell. The 'Hellcat' nose on my board is a piercing bow, but there is a point where the pierce is more like a pearl, which happened a few times in the bigger swells. It just slows me down. If I get to much nose out of the water, the wind becomes even more of a factor than it already is, given the sheer volume of the board. I constantly try to find that balance of a minor pierce, and the nose up just a little. I have a forward and back range of movement of about 3'. Occasionally, in a full down-winding situation I'll get way back.
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

rkdjones

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2011, 04:59:03 PM »
I briefly paddled an M&M board with a piercing bow that looks similar.  The rationale seems sound.  I'm wondering if this is going to become a common bow shape for flatwater race boards.

greatdane

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2011, 06:34:41 PM »
Awesome looking board... I am doing the opposite this year, got rid of my Unlimited Bark & will primarily race 14's.  With the SUP scene being a bit small still up here (pun intended), I got tired of being the only person at a race with a 18 foot board.  Winning was cool, but lonely (-:  I also like the simplicity of not needing a rudder anymore.  We get way too much wind up here and it makes paddling an 18 w/o a steering system a biatch.

That said, the pic of Thomas Maximus in the new Stand Up Mag, with his one-off Riviera 18 had me droolin'.

The key to unlimiteds is not getting beat by a 14 or 12'6" (-:
« Last Edit: April 11, 2011, 06:36:29 PM by greatdane »
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CMC

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2011, 07:32:11 PM »
I also had a ruddered 17' and sold it and went to 14'.

To me 14' is the perfect length, great for downwind paddles, riding big surf bumps for fun or on the way in from the deep blue, handles paddling out through the break and you can even do cut backs etc on small days.  I also find it perfect for flat water training.

I found the 17' was too long and fragile for the surf zone it was only meant for the open ocean and I wanted more from a board than that.  Training in the flat with a crew was useless on a 17' when they are all on 12'6 and 14's as well.  If I could afford a few I would have kept it but on good downwind runs I think my 14' is quicker anyway.

TallDude

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2011, 07:59:04 PM »
If you love distance, your an unlimited class type of person. I'll do 10 to 12 mile ocean paddles anytime I have the time to do it. Unless of course surfs up! Then I go stand-up surfing. But really, I've raced 14' boards a number of times, and I haven't found one that fits me. I liked a 16' Infinity that I was using for a while, but they sold it out from under my feet! All the unlimited guys I race against are unfortunately for me, the best in the world. I'm not going to ever catch them. But it's the same people that have the unlimited addiction that are at the start of every race, and almost always it's an unlimited that finishes first...
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

greatdane

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #12 on: April 12, 2011, 10:35:56 PM »
But now your 18'6" is too short... T-Max's new board is 21'!!!!   Looks like a stand up surf ski :o
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TallDude

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2011, 11:33:32 PM »
Paddling in a wide SurfSki would be very interesting, and fast I would think. You'd be wet a lot for sure. Another factor to deal with on the unlimiteds is they are sometimes a pain to haul around. Thomas lives near me, so we've end up driving along side each other a few times on the way to the races. Our car racks are about the same distance apart (maybe 40 inches). I think he's probably thinking the same thing I am. How fast can I go without snapping my 18'+ stringerless, carbon, 1 pound foam board in half? I find that 65 mph ( maybe 67 downwinding) is a questionable, yet tollerable level of stress to deal with. If I'm not going that far, I don't use my board bag. It adds drag, and increases lift. Sort of a pre-race mental thing, I guess?
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

greatdane

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Re: Getting into unlimited class boards.
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2011, 08:18:24 AM »
I used to wonder the same thing with my 18' Bark.  Was wondering if it would be worth attaching some kind of strap to the nose of the board or bag to hold the front end down, kayak style.  Then I got a van where I could put the bars very far apart & gave me some piece of mind.
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