New 8'4

[Rand]

I posted other shots in the gear section of the photo gallery page.

This board is a curvelinear 8'6 (8'4 1/2 straight line tip to tail).  It is 27.5 wide, 19 at 1 foot from the nose, 16 at 1 foot from the tail, 4.4 thick. 

[boots]

Nice, you'll have to let us know how it rides as a quad.

[Rand]

I have never ridden a quad Stand Up before, and need to go pick out some fins.  We are supposed to have some south coming so I will let you know 

[supguam]

Hey Rand
Wow nice looking board..have you tried this yet? tell us about the construction..styro or polyurethane? I want one of these

[Rand]

Hi SUPGuam,

Ready for a novella?

I am trying to process the millions of thoughts I have had on this board from two sessions in shoulder to head high (occasionally really fun) south shore waves. 

The board is 2lb EPS with 10 oz glass this time (my 9'4 has 6 oz) and epoxy.

First off, the good stuff: I love the compact size.  I had some of the funnest stand up floats I have had yet  on this one yesterday.  You can drift the tail...all the fun stuff you may want a board of this size for.  Also, even though this board has ample tail rocker, it is exceptionally fast when riding due to a very deep double concave that comes from the fins almost to the midpoint (it is a double with medium V, but more on that later).   The board feels very natural to me when surfing and allows you to plan turns, roll over the top on sections, and maintain speed.  I feel like the rocker and lower rail shape are perfect.

So that stuff is really good and has me so stoked on where we are heading.  But, there are some things that are equally uncomfortable for me about this one. 

The first has to do with a concave deck that I had really wanted to try.  It is very slight, but in complete honesty, I don't like it.  I have established for myself that I way prefer a domed deck to flat or concave.  Why?  The high point of the concave ends up under the outside of your feet when in parralell paddling stance.  This slight angle (or even flat on flat boards) is not as comfortable and controlled feeling for me as domed.  Also, I really like to have my feet as close to water level as possible (it just feels like that low center of gravity is very stable to me), and this has me standing on the thickest (highest) part of the board.  It also pushes a lot of the volume out towards the rail, rather than hiding it towards the stringer.  This keeps me from being able to easily and evenly dip (submerge) a rail for balance when standing still, which I have become really used to on my 9'4.  That may sound counterintuitive, but for me, having less bouyancy at the rail makes the board feel more stable when standing still.

The overall volume is a bit high for me (more than my 9'4), although not by much, and is situated forward of center as best seen here:



That is what I asked for, but on the next one, I will try having the wide point and the thick point moved back, and the nose thinned and pulled, while widening the tail and leaving the tail thickness as is (which is already thin enough to rip a deep back foot bottom turn).  I feel like there is extra volume towards the nose.  To get at this volume, I have to move forward, and there just isn't that much forward on an 8'4.

As I said above, this board goes unreal fast, and transitions from rail to rail really well due to a moderate vee in the tail, which moves forward toward the mid section.  On the next one, I will keep the double concave but lose the vee, going completely flat tip to tail.  There is so little surface area on a board of this size, that the whole base becomes relevant to stability, and I can notably feel the vee when standing still.  Tic Toc, Tic Toc.  Not enough to throw you, but it would feel so much more relaxing with an entirely flat bottom (rail to rail).  Boards of this size have no need for vee to help them transition from rail to rail; that is waht they want to do.  So, another lesson for me, I am done with vee.

On the construction, this board is slightly heavier than my 9'4, I am guessing due to the 10 oz glass.  It is still very light, but I think I would do 6 oz on the next one.  Matt adds extra wherever needed, so I think that 6 oz, with 10 oz patches under the center two feet of deck, and the rails would be an ideal combo.  My 9'4 has to have 80-100 days now, and it looks new.  The only exception is the spot on the tail, where I swung it into a concrete Kiosk at Kahului harbor, and chipped it.

That's it!  I have learned (am learning) a ton from this board, and feel like in one to two more incarnations, this size will be all I want to ride in Small to Medium waves.  In fact, I am still re-living some of yetserday's small waves in my mind.  A few details and we will have it.

[supguam]

Hey Rand..thanks for the info regarding this board..let us know if you have another  8'4"board made like this with a few adjustments for improvements etc.

[steamroller]

are shorter SUP's like this any good for distance paddling or for catching groundswells?

i am willing to bet it is a hell of a lot of fun in steep, fast, dredgy, rip it to shreds waves..

very nice board....vids please

[Rand]

are shorter SUP's like this any good for distance paddling or for catching groundswells?

Hi Roller,

This one will cruise from place to place slowly and comfortably, but it is definitely less glidey on flat water.  I have only had it out in smaller to fun sized waves, and it will catch those easily.  I would say that it is kind of what you would expect, more fun on a wave, more work at other times. 

[Admin]

I should update on this little board.  Tons has been learned from this one.   A few days back in ultra fun waves, Frank from Lightning Bolt borrowed it.  After I saw his first wave, I knew I was not getting it back.  He is 15 lbs lighter than I am and can stand about 6 inches further back on it than I can at my weight when standing still or just paddling around.  That seems to really bring it into its own.  Anyways, my quiver is now a single arrow (for a little while at least).