Fastest for downwind?

[Kaweeka]

One more thought - Made in Maui or made in China?  Think global - buy local!  I hope to get to the point where a board like this will make sense for me (need to lose the Swim Team Captain title first and get the knees re-built) but if someone is making a good board locally I really think they deserve our business . . .

[Byronmaui]

Here is an F16 on craigslist http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/spo/668122547.html

[greatdane]

I ordered a Vortice (not the XP) in February.  It just came in to my shop last week, but I can't pick it up until next week
It will be my first "race" board so I will have nothing to compare it to other than my less than stellar Isle sup.  I'll let ya'll know how it glides.

[capobeachboy]

I think you will really like the Votrice.  I just paddled one (not the XP) in a 9 mile downwind race on Saturday and it was catching bumps very nicely and is real stable.  I have tried the XP but not in a real downwind environment. 

[Admin]

I think you will really like the Votrice.  I just paddled one (not the XP) in a 9 mile downwind race on Saturday and it was catching bumps very nicely and is real stable.  I have tried the XP but not in a real downwind environment. 

Channy and I picked up these two from Ralph at Second Wind.  The downwind crowd here has been kind enough to take us under wing and tip us out on the basics.  Many thanks to Bill Foote, Jeremy, Randy, Frank, Kent, etc for helping us out.  I feel like you guys slimmed the learning curve a lot with your info.

We realized after day one that these boards (at 6 inches thick) require way longer paddles than our wave shorties.  We picked up two Werner paddles from Leo at Hawaiian Islands that made a world of difference.  Everything you guys have been saying about those seems true-awesome paddles.

[stoneaxe]

Just attach your rocket packs and go flash gordon....

Sweet rides Rand...you're going to love the spankers for those long runs.

[Admin]

Just attach your rocket packs and go flash gordon....

Hahhh!   I could have used a rocket pack!  I am pretty sure Jeremy had one 

[noworrieshawaii]

Yeah, he just paddled by me like I was standing still... actually pretty much everyone paddled by me like I was standing still... take that back... EVERYONE paddled by me like I was standing still... 

Guess I can safely say the Munoz is not the best choice for a downwinder.

Fun run though.

[Admin]

Yeah, he just paddled by me like I was standing still...

He had his own 12 foot Buck Rogers board a la Bill Foote:


Tons to learn from watching that guy.

More pics from that outing courtesy Randy Royse:

[noworrieshawaii]

hummm.... either some super clean wax or super stealth invisible texture or perhaps gecko toes?

(referring to Jeremy's board)

[Byronmaui]

Nice boards and pics. How long did it take ya guys to do the cruise?

Aloha

Byron

[Admin]

How long did it take ya guys to do the cruise?

A bit over an hour (guess) for the 6 mile stretch.  It was windier and much better on day two.

[PonoBill]

I'm sure you know Mark Raaphorst at Sandwich Island, you should talk to him. He's about as knowledgeable as anyone about distance paddling. Of course he's always busy but he's generally willing to talk about anything theoretical. He'll probably show you some of the new stuff he's working on. Pretty wild stuff. Of course the Starboard Point is his design as are the F16, and F18.  I'm working on a a series of articles about flat water, distance paddling, racing and touring for Ke Nalu. I'm deep in the research now. I'll let you know what i find out.

I tried the Vortice at the board test. It was impressive. I should have tried the F16 and F18 at the same time--Mark had them there. But I got distracted taking pictures and didn't get the chance. I have since paddled an F16. Of the two (Vortice and F16) the F16 gave me more of a "my god this thing is fast" feeling than the Vortice did. But that's purely subjective. I was surprised at how easy the F16 was to balance and paddle. When I get back to Maui one of the first things I'm going to do is get a race board.

[Scotty Mac]

Admin,
What was the things you like about the Werner paddles compared to C4 for instance?

[Admin]

What was the things you like about the Werner paddles compared to C4 for instance?

Hi Scotty,

After reading the raves here, I had really wanted to try one of the Werners. 

My C4 is now pretty short as it is set up for my wave board which has my feet pretty much at water level.  That paddle's shaft  feels great at that length (much stiffer and snappier than when it was 6 inches longer (it is amazing how chopping off that little a length can make such a big difference in flex. 

Well, the Vortice has me about 5 inches above water level, and on my first run, I was crazy hunched over and still having a hard time finding the water with my wave paddle.  It was tough to get decent stokes for a long period in that position, and I was watching everyone else catching the wind with square backs while I was all hunkered over. 

So next day in comes the Werner.  I bought the uncut version (86 inches) and went out thinking it would be way long and probably super spongy at that length and that I would likely cut it.  I was dead wrong.  I really like the shaft and the blade felt intuitive.  I didn't love the look of the handle in the store, but it was just fine in the water.  Like the C4 it doesn't flutter at all. 

Hope that helps.