Neeed for SPEEED

[SurfnCJ8]

So the first Sonova I ever saw in person was a SPEEED. This was maybe 4 years ago. Thought it was a great looking board. I read all about them, watched videos, and have been wanting one ever since. A lack of finances, ( and to be honest -skills) held me back. Even if you can find a good quality board used, which is a task in itself, they usually are not cheap. I got a chance to water swap in about 2020 with a guy with an 8.10.and try it out. I did catch a couple of waves and it seemed to surf well, but I really struggled to stay on it even on a fairly clean day.  At the time my daily driver was a 9.4 x 33 173L Fanatic Allwave, so jumping on that 8.10 130L SPEEED was a drop in length, width, and volume. I even looked into getting one new at one point, but at the time none were available. Since then I lucked into a used 10' Style XL @ 137L as well as a used 8.8 x 32 Naish Hokua @140L. I generally ride the Style but have been spending time on both the past year or so, depending on conditions. The SPEEED however has always been stuck in my head as something I wanted to get. I have a older 9" McTavish Original prone board that has been THE prone board that works for me in most any conditions, and I had this notion that the SPEEED may be the SUP equivelant to that for me. A couple weeks ago a friend calls me and tells me there is a used SPEEED on our local craigslist. I checked and sure enough, it was still up there. A little older but in really good shape, what seemed like a fair price, and only about 10 miles from me. Needless to say, there is now a SPEEED in the garage with my other boards. It is the 8.10, and I am about 6'2" , 205 lbs & Low side of intermediate skill level. It may be a challenge but I am hopeful that it will push me to get better and that I can adapt to it this spring. Wetsuits go away in a few months here in NC so that should help. Weather has been bad and work has been busy so I am still really looking forward to getting it in the water and trying it out. I thought I would share with the Zone since I know you guys understand the addiction. My non-SUP surfing friends and coworkers just don't get it. Wish me luck!

[FRP]

So the first Sonova I ever saw in person was a SPEEED. This was maybe 4 years ago. Thought it was a great looking board. I read all about them, watched videos, and have been wanting one ever since. A lack of finances, ( and to be honest -skills) held me back. Even if you can find a good quality board used, which is a task in itself, they usually are not cheap. I got a chance to water swap in about 2020 with a guy with an 8.10.and try it out. I did catch a couple of waves and it seemed to surf well, but I really struggled to stay on it even on a fairly clean day.  At the time my daily driver was a 9.4 x 33 173L Fanatic Allwave, so jumping on that 8.10 130L SPEEED was a drop in length, width, and volume. I even looked into getting one new at one point, but at the time none were available. Since then I lucked into a used 10' Style XL @ 137L as well as a used 8.8 x 32 Naish Hokua @140L. I generally ride the Style but have been spending time on both the past year or so, depending on conditions. The SPEEED however has always been stuck in my head as something I wanted to get. I have a older 9" McTavish Original prone board that has been THE prone board that works for me in most any conditions, and I had this notion that the SPEEED may be the SUP equivelant to that for me. A couple weeks ago a friend calls me and tells me there is a used SPEEED on our local craigslist. I checked and sure enough, it was still up there. A little older but in really good shape, what seemed like a fair price, and only about 10 miles from me. Needless to say, there is now a SPEEED in the garage with my other boards. It is the 8.10, and I am about 6'2" , 205 lbs & Low side of intermediate skill level. It may be a challenge but I am hopeful that it will push me to get better and that I can adapt to it this spring. Wetsuits go away in a few months here in NC so that should help. Weather has been bad and work has been busy so I am still really looking forward to getting it in the water and trying it out. I thought I would share with the Zone since I know you guys understand the addiction. My non-SUP surfing friends and coworkers just don't get it. Wish me luck!

Welcome to the Speeed zone! I was out yesterday in significant chop on my 8'10" surfing next to a guy probably about 80 kg on an 8'5" Speeed. Not easy staying upright for us but we were able to catch waves and have fun. I spent a lot of time flat water paddling this board before getting comfortable on it in the surf. At 90 kg and 130 L, it should be doable for you and once you start catching waves it is an amazing board. Try paddling perhaps with your feet a bit closer together and the stability seems to improve. Fins  make a difference and C-drives have been the best I have found for it. I did try Quobas but prefer the C-drives. Putting hexatraction on the front makes "cheater 5s" possible.

Cheers

Bob

[supmmmm]

Nice - I love my 8’2” - I’m just under 70 Kgs. It’s enough board for me to paddle about and cover water while surfing really well.

Did u see the speed in the classifieds that’s currently listed?
I’m looking for a travel bag for mine.
🤙

[SurfnCJ8]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Paddling in some calm water is good advice and I should do that some anyway. I'm sure it would help my balance and Just the exercise itsef would be good for me. I can get to water access in about 10 min by bike from the house, so no excuse not to.

I saw the speeed on here as well. It may have been a better size for me but I had already grabbed the 8.10 , plus the one I got was local so no shipping. What I probably need the most is more time in the water.

[PabstSUP]

I'm almost the exact same dimensions as you and have an 8'10" Speed as my stable board for the winter for use with 6m wetsuits, though I definitely have a few more years under the belt (I actually used to surf an 8'10" Allwave as well).  It's a great board, though I do prefer my 8'4" Flow in most conditions. 

You'll be able to dial in the Speeed with some more water time and I concur that flat water will help before taking it out in swells.  One thing to remember about the Speeed is that you need to get back on the tail to really make it turn on.  It's not a board that turns easily if you don't have your back foot on the tail pad.