2011 Naish 9 mana for a beginner?

[Night Wing]

@Dice

The Naish, in my opinion, is going to be difficult for a brand new sup person who has never sup surfed. Great board for a intermediate or experienced sup surfer, but not for a beginner (again, in my opinion).

I think Robert Stehlik, owner of Blue Planet, has some excellent advice for beginning sup surfers which is.......without any sup experience at all, consider a board closest to your physical weight. You weigh 175 pounds, the Naish board is 140 liters. Now lets do some math with regards to "balance" and how it translate to pounds and liters.

One (1) liter of water weighs 2.2 pounds of water. So 140 liters times 2.2 and that is equal to 308 pounds. This is the amount of weight needed to totally submerge the board under the water.

Divide 308 pounds by 2 and you get 154 pounds. Now, if board is 4" thick at it's thickest point (the sweet spot on the board), where the water line meets the rail, 2" of the rail will be under water and 2" of the rail will be above the rail. Since you weigh 175 pounds, you're going to have more rail under the water than above the water and this could make for a balance problem along with the 29.75" width of the board. A beginner shouldn't have much of a balance problem with 154 pounds on this Naish. But the fly in the ointment is the narrow 29.75" width.

And if you want to surf the Naish in colder water wearing a drysuit, a dry suit is going to add more weight which means with you wearing a dry suit, you weight should go up to 180 pounds (or more).

If you would keep an open mind (as a beginner) and look at a 9'5" or a 9'6" board at 30"-31" in width at 160 liters, I think this would a great surfing sup for a beginner and you will be able to flat water paddle it if you want. Which means it will be easier to master than a 8'10" at 140 liter board at your present 175 pound weight. Now lets take a look at what 160 liters means to you at 175 pounds.

Take 160 liters of volume times 2.2 pounds and you get 352 pounds which is the amount of weight to totally submerge this board under the water. Divide 352 pounds by 2 and you get 176 pounds. In my opinion, this would be a very good surfing sup for a beginner (and who has never surf supped) who weighs 175 pounds since half the rail will be under the water and the other half of the rail will be above the water which should be easy to stand and balance on.

The above is "food for thought".

[Bean]

Oh boy...voodoo math

[skibike]

Thats the same board I started on and thankful I did. I had a surfing background. I weigh 150lbs and am now riding a 92L board if that gives you any type of indication.
Id say you want a board to be a challenge but if you want to use it for surfing and have a hard time even standing, Id say the frustration level will be too high. I could comfortably stand and paddle on my Mana 9.0 from the onset, yet catching waves was still a challenge.

[Chest2headandglassy]

I like the enthusiasm but demo and try some out before you buy.
When you get to the OBX, hit up places like Duck Village Outfitters or Kitty Hawk kites for rentals. They'll rent out NSP, BIC boards (typical beater rental boards but are logs and you can learn on them). Head farther south to Avon and Ocean Air Sports rents out Fanatics and Hatteras Island Surf Shop has a variety of boards to rent as your skill level progresses.

[Night Wing]

Oh boy...voodoo math

It's only voodoo math if the math is untrue. Since the math is true, it isn't voodoo, it's pure technical math. 

[Night Wing]

I also agree with others. Renting a few different boards is the best way to demo them and this will allow him to decide which one is the best one for him for what he wants to do with the board (sup surf) when it comes to spending his hard earned money.

[Dice]

Thank you all for the great advice and education. I will definitely spend time demoing boards. I am also going ahead and purchasing the 2011 9'5" Naish mana since it is wider and fits the formula Night Wing outlined.

I am going to start taking lessons next week with Randy@ Rudee Inlet Stand Up Paddle. I spent a long time on the phone with him today. He thought the 9'5" Mana with it's width being 31.5 and volume 163 a good board to start with.

Once again thank you all for your feedback. I was just about to pull the trigger on the Naish 9 mana which would have been a huge mistake.

[SupPadre]

Dice,

If that 9'5 Mana is in good shape I think it would be a great board for someone your weight to learn on. The 9'5 Mana is a very stable board and is fun to paddle in flat water or the surf. The board in the picture looks like a 2013 or earlier, but it also appears to be in good shape.
The 9'5 Mana is a good stable board to learn on, but it will also allow you to progress and get a good idea of what your next board should be. The smaller Mana would probably be a frustrating board for a beginner, and by the time you get ready for a smaller board you will have a much better idea of what you want in that smaller board.

Here's a link to STC's review of the 2014 9'5 Mana.

[Bean]

Oh boy...voodoo math

It's only voodoo math if the math is untrue. Since the math is true, it isn't voodoo, it's pure technical math. 

You're right about that and I've often said numbers don't lie.  But in this case, I just don't buy in to the significance of dividing by 2.  That's the voodoo (black box math) part.  Having said that, I bet it does work a lot of the time, like many rules of thumb. 

[Night Wing]

Divide 308 pounds by 2 and you get 154 pounds. Now, if board is 4" thick at it's thickest point (the sweet spot on the board), where the water line meets the rail, 2" of the rail will be under water and 2" of the rail will be above the rail.

I hate it when I type a long post and just get one word wrong in the wrong place.

The quote should have read:

Divide 308 pounds by 2 and you get 154 pounds. Now, if board is 4" thick at it's thickest point (the sweet spot on the board), where the water line meets the rail, 2" of the rail will be under water and 2" of the rail will be above the...........WATER.

[Night Wing]

@Dice

The formula I used for you was the exact same one I used for myself when I wanted to purchase my surfing sup. Like you, I was a newbie/novice. At the time, a production made Hammer was (and still is to this day) 8'11"x31"x4.4" @ 148 liters.

I weighed 145 pounds so I needed to get the 148 liters down to 140 liters  to get closer to my physical weight. After talking with WarDog, (owner of SUP Sports), he suggested thinning out the rails and making the thickest part of the rail 4" in thickness instead of 4.4" and these two items allowed me to get down to 140 liters of volume. This is why my Hammer (8'11"x31"x4" @ 140 liters) is lower in volume than a standard production made Hammer.

Since hindsight is always 20/20, this was a very good decision on my part. BTW, I consider myself half way between a novice and an intermediate in skill level.

[Night Wing]

You're right about that and I've often said numbers don't lie.  But in this case, I just don't buy in to the significance of dividing by 2.  That's the voodoo (black box math) part.  Having said that, I bet it does work a lot of the time, like many rules of thumb.

You're a tough sell. 

When you divide by 2, the water line on the rail basically "tells the tale". You must realize this forumula is for a "beginner" (not for an intermediate or advanced) who has never supped before and this formula works well for a beginner. And it worked for me too because at that time a year ago in June of 2016 when I was looking for a surfing sup, I was also a beginner.

[Zooport]

Dice, I have a suggestion that might surprise you.  Go to Cosco and buy a 9'6 WaveStorm SUP.  Look on Craig's List too.  WaveStorm SUPs are cheap, indestructible, extremely stable and safe to learn on.  The surprising thing is that they surf pretty good.  When you progress to the point that you want a higher performance board, you can keep the WaveStorm as a board to let your friends try.

I've been SUP surfing for a number of years and I still ride my WaveStorm when it's super crowded here.

[TallDude]

Thank you all for the great advice and education. I will definitely spend time demoing boards. I am also going ahead and purchasing the 2011 9'5" Naish mana since it is wider and fits the formula Night Wing outlined.

I am going to start taking lessons next week with Randy@ Rudee Inlet Stand Up Paddle. I spent a long time on the phone with him today. He thought the 9'5" Mana with it's width being 31.5 and volume 163 a good board to start with.

Once again thank you all for your feedback. I was just about to pull the trigger on the Naish 9 mana which would have been a huge mistake.

You will be fine with 9'5 Mana. It's night and day bigger and more volume than the 9'. It's kinda crazy big volume for a 9'5.....

[Chest2headandglassy]

I am going to start taking lessons next week with Randy@ Rudee Inlet Stand Up Paddle. I spent a long time on the phone with him today. He thought the 9'5" Mana with it's width being 31.5 and volume 163 a good board to start with.

Woohoo! Glad to hear you talked to Randy and will be getting some lessons from him. Good guy and setup!