New Fanatic SUP's 9'6" to 10'6"

[jjue]

Like  lots of the big windsurf  manufactuers    ..  looks like Fanatic  is joining the SUP bandwagon  with  three 2010  SUP shapes . Like many  of the  major windsurf manufacturers  making SUP boards they  throw on windsurf mast steps on all their boards , so they can be sailed as well as paddled. Fanatic looks like they are putting in full length  mast tracks  rather than just mast steps .  (being a windsurfer , I think  this  is a cool  low cost add on feature and I think it is great )    Interesting to me that the shapes are on the smaller  side  compared to Naish  and Starboard .. with their biggest "beginner" board  being a 10'6" board , but wide at 31 inch  .  These  seem to be pretty traditional  surf oriented SUP  shapes   , rather than windsurf oriented shapes.  

http://www.fanatic.com/public/content/e554/e555/e8040/e8208/index_eng.html

[DavidJohn]

Naish, Starboard, Cabrina, Fanatic and soon JP... It's all happening..  .. Who's next.. Mistral?.. I'm sure that won't be long either.. 

DJ

[Dwight (DW)]

Mistral has 2 models. Released in 2007 in the US

[DavidJohn]

Mistral has 2 models. Released in 2007 in the US

Oh yeah.. I forgot about the Pacifico's.. I was think about more performance smaller boards... They'll come.. 

The new JP's (Jason Polokow's) look good.. The 9'3" looks real nice.. 

DJ

[seasweeper]

A windsurfer is NOT the same thing as a SUP board-it's just that they have a headstart with the manufacturers and supply channels etc. and they're jumping on the bandwagon IMO.

More power to PSH, C4 and the other truly SUP board orientated manufacturers.

[jjue]

A windsurfer is NOT the same thing as a SUP board-it's just that they have a headstart with the manufacturers and supply channels etc. and they're jumping on the bandwagon IMO.

More power to PSH, C4 and the other truly SUP board orientated manufacturers.

Interesting in this respect is   PonoBill's report from the Starboard  dealer meeting ... the big issue  is that    all  the major  windsurf  manufacturers have seen a   real decline in active participation in windsurfing from its peak .. producing SUP  boards for the windsurf  manufacturers is   a  very simple  matter .. most of the manufacturer's I think , have been watching the business trends  and the   writing is definitely on the wall ..  I think we will see  bigger and bigger involvement of the  big  Windsurf manufacturers  in the Standup  world  whether we like it or not ...

Starboard' s business plans are a good example

"It’s clear that Starboard is investing heavily in SUP and considers it the next major active watersport. Their manufacturing plans bear that out. For 2008 they planned to build 2750 SUP boards and actually will deliver over 3000. That’s more than double their 2007 production. For 2009 they plan to build 6800 boards–again, more than double, and for 2010 they expect to build 14000. That’s three years of 100 percent growth from a single manufacturer. That’s an important trend given that Starboard is perhaps the most sophisticated SUP manufacturer in terms of understanding international distribution and demand."


http://www.kenalu.com/2008/08/17/starboard-dealer-meeting-general/


The growth  of   the  SUP   product line  and I am sure  sales of SUP boards from  both Naish and Starboard   in the last two years   has been just incredible  .   The other  windsurf  manufacturers  certainly want to get on the bandwagon and get a piece of   the pie before they are left behind.

[jjue]

ps .   on another note  about business trends  ..  I was talking  to  one  of  my friends who  is sales person at REI    .   we are  land locked   yet the local  store has started to stock  Standup  boards   in its  Kayak and Canoe section for use on  our inland lakes and rivers... He says there is a lot of interest but the thing that  holds  people back is the  high cost of   SUP boards compared to kayaks and canoes .. you can get  a nice rotomolded sit on top kayak for   500 to 800  dollars .  whereas the stand up boards ( Laird ,  C4 Watermen , and Bic Jungle Surf ) are all 1000 and up  
once  the SUP boards drop  a bit in price   to  compete with    the sit on top stuff  he thinks the market will really  take off.....

as  was  brought up in the recent   Time magazine article . there is a really  huge   inland  market     for  casual  family oriented  flat water paddling on  lakes and rivers  .   and   a  cool  new way of doing it on a surfboard  is quite  attractive .. cost , I think , is the big factor  holding  it back  a bit now ...

Look  at the recent    ad copy for the    new Fanatic  10-6

 "A flat deck and volume out wide mean there’s balance and stability galore. A whole new world of fitness and adventure awaits as you explore rivers and creeks, enjoy long distance paddles, or just splashing around on your local lake. What greater way to share the joy of surfing with family, friends and beginners? "

when you think  about   a couple of the  most popular human powered sports , ie  mountain biking , and  kayaks ...  most folks  doing  these sports are just doing them casually , while there  is   a small group of   enthusiasts who are spending lots of money on   high end  equipment and taking them  into difficult  terrain ,  for  the one guy or gal  who  is really bombing  steep singletrack on their mountain bikes there may be a 100  guys or gals  casually riding their  mountain bike on the flat or wide fire roads or bike trails , same with  kayaks    and running  white water vs   casually paddling on slow rivers or on the local lake on your sit on top ...  nothing like this   has been possible in the Surf industry  until   SUP  ,   windsurfing   is  too damn hard to learn ...   anyone can   get on a  wide beginner SUP and be  standup paddling and having a good time on  flat water  right away  , whether they are on the coast or  in the middle  of the  country . anywhere there is a little bit of water is fine , ,   really surfing it   while be for the minority ...  
huge , huge market    is waiting  in the wings....

don't underestimate the   strength and pull of the surf  culture  even in the   most unlikely of places... standing tall   and paddling   your    surfboard    as the sun  sets on your local lake deep in the midwest  , dreaming of   palm trees , crashing waves ,   and that Hawaiian vacation   a few years ago ... is a pretty powerful pull  !!!

[motopilot]

A windsurfer is NOT the same thing as a SUP board-it's just that they have a headstart with the manufacturers and supply channels etc. and they're jumping on the bandwagon IMO.

More power to PSH, C4 and the other truly SUP board orientated manufacturers.

True.  Coming from a long time windsurfer this does not surprise me.  Its a great sport and I love sailing an chance I get, but those times are few (mostly Maui and maybe with some friends in NJ).  Just saw the JP boards and was very disappointed at least from the photos.  Thought they would be very progressive shapes and LIGHT.  JP has always had great construction and I wish this would come over to the SUP side.  Lighter is better,

[Caribsurf]

as an avid windsurfer, I have seen the sport stagnate at best.  I think alot of windsurfers went the way of kiting, SUP or retired altogether....always alot of good used gear for sale

It doesn't surprise me the windsurfing companies are getting into SUP, they need to get sales from somewhere, and they have been manufacturing epoxy boards for years so it isn't that hard a transition for them.  Getting the shapes and performance is another story.

I have to admit that now when it is borderline SUP or sail, it is alot easier to launch my SUP than rig my windsurfing gear.  Much like my surfing, I think my windsurfing days will be limited to only the best conditions otherwise I would rather Stand up

[Admin]

A windsurfer is NOT the same thing as a SUP board-it's just that they have a headstart with the manufacturers and supply channels etc. and they're jumping on the bandwagon IMO.

The wagon just barely left the station.  Speaking of Wagons, remember the Donner party?  Those wagoneers ended up eating each other before arrival.  I guess in business that is called consolidation  

What are we, 2-3 years in for the oldest of these companies?  Noone else should play now?  C'mon.

Furthermore, old windsurfing manufacturers like SOS, Jimmy Lewis, Naish, Starboard, Mistral, Foote, Angulo, Bic etc. were in production before many of the "real" Stand Up companies had ever produced a board.  The first stand up paddlers of "the revival" in Laird, Dave, etc were old windsurfers.  The notion that a company is somehow inferior or less comitted than a newer SUP only brand for having been involved in a previous sport seems a bit presumptuous.

Furthermore, early on in windsurfing you had Windsurfer brand, Crit and the likes at the forefront of the sport. The players that eventually moved the sport from it's bare origins had not even showed up.  Is it really our place to limit who will participate?  

[Jeroensurf]

As a windsurfer i fully agree with Admin
Most shapers do have a lot of shaping and building knowlegde and know how to develop stuff.
Some shapers don,t come from a prone Surfbackground, this can be as a big benefit as handicap,okay, they are masybe less experienced, but on the other hand they are much more free of mind as some surfboard shapers.

Besides keeping the business going there is another for the Windsurfbrands to build SUPs...you might notice that almost all of them have screwhole or a masttrack.
When people have a board its a small step to put a sail on it and get them also in windsurfing...
In windspeeds SUPing become less fun windsurfing is going off, IMO that makes it a great combo

@DJ: where did you found the info about the JP SUPs, i searched but couldnt find a thing....
Do you have a link?

[motopilot]

This is what i found on them. 

[wavehobbit]

It will only provide more choices and we should see alot of pushing the envelope in design.  I was a surfer first, but trust me, up till about 10 years ago, it was still really easy to buy a dog. Thank you Al Merrick for make models that you know at least what you're getting.  And YES!!!  I have custom boards because I found something that worked and just wanted to tweak this or that to my size and style.   It seemed like getting that majic board was a 1 and 10 shot when I was growing up.  At least nowadays, even a backyard shaper is going to keep the rocker, vee and outline withing the parameters of something that works.  It was the same with windsurfing but they came along faster as a whole, as a wave disguises the falts of a surfboard, not so much on a windsurfer. IE If you have a great wave, even a dog of a surfboard will be fun.  It's in the less then ideal conditions you find out whether it shines or not. 

With windsurfing, it was real evident within about 30 seconds or 100 yards after you planed off the beach whether it was a winner or a dog.  Now you really can't buy a BAD board.  As I've said before the real market that windsurfing has totally missed is making a large comfortable waveboard for those who don't live in primo places.  Trust me, my quiver of surfboards and windsurfers looks very different now then when I lived in SF or Puerto Rico.  You figure out real quick what gets you on the water on any given day when you live on the mainland, excluding a few spots.  SF, Oregon, and Cape Hattaras. 

When I first got into SUPing 5 yrs ago the choice was a Munoz 26 1/2" wide or the Laird.  Now look at where the sport is at.  I'm stoked about the next couple of years.  And great shapers from like PSH, Lopez and I can't name all of you will always be in demand. 

As for the JP's....JP I'M EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED !!!!  So why can't you make a board out of your Techora or FSW?  And the shapes....all I can say is how predictable and safe.  This is coming from a guy who has a quiver of JP windsurfers.  Come on...you can do better then that. 

[heave]

9'6 to 10' 6?...Length is nice for learning on and for a few other things, but I have to wonder how soon sub 8' lengths will become more the norm for an advanced rider in regular waves.  I'm really enjoying my new custom 7'11" and many of it's unique custom designed features.  Friends that I let try it really like it and seem to really want one too.  I remember when wavesailing boards used to be pretty long, way too long now.     

[DavidJohn]

It will only provide more choices and we should see alot of pushing the envelope in design.  I was a surfer first, but trust me, up till about 10 years ago, it was still really easy to buy a dog. Thank you Al Merrick for make models that you know at least what you're getting.  And YES!!!  I have custom boards because I found something that worked and just wanted to tweak this or that to my size and style.   It seemed like getting that majic board was a 1 and 10 shot when I was growing up.  At least nowadays, even a backyard shaper is going to keep the rocker, vee and outline withing the parameters of something that works.  It was the same with windsurfing but they came along faster as a whole, as a wave disguises the falts of a surfboard, not so much on a windsurfer. IE If you have a great wave, even a dog of a surfboard will be fun.  It's in the less then ideal conditions you find out whether it shines or not. 

With windsurfing, it was real evident within about 30 seconds or 100 yards after you planed off the beach whether it was a winner or a dog.  Now you really can't buy a BAD board.  As I've said before the real market that windsurfing has totally missed is making a large comfortable waveboard for those who don't live in primo places.  Trust me, my quiver of surfboards and windsurfers looks very different now then when I lived in SF or Puerto Rico.  You figure out real quick what gets you on the water on any given day when you live on the mainland, excluding a few spots.  SF, Oregon, and Cape Hattaras. 

When I first got into SUPing 5 yrs ago the choice was a Munoz 26 1/2" wide or the Laird.  Now look at where the sport is at.  I'm stoked about the next couple of years.  And great shapers from like PSH, Lopez and I can't name all of you will always be in demand. 

As for the JP's....JP I'M EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED !!!!  So why can't you make a board out of your Techora or FSW?  And the shapes....all I can say is how predictable and safe.  This is coming from a guy who has a quiver of JP windsurfers.  Come on...you can do better then that. 

Jason was back home a few weeks ago and told us about his new boards.. He's been paddling with Robby Naish and using the Naish 9'3".. (with a front foot strap)... so it's no surprise that there's a 9'3" in his range.. It's early days for JP sup's and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

DJ