Missing a Huge Market

[wavehobbit]

To all the Windsurf Companies who are making SUP's.....WHY AREN'T YOU OFFERING SMALLER BOARDS w/ mast track options?  I would of bougt the Naish 9'3" this year but it doesn't have one.  Robby Robby Robby, Dave Dave Dave come on!  I knew the industry was on to something special when I first wave sailed the Naish 11'4" in some side off 8-14 knot conditions.  But you can only go so vertical w/ a 11'4" board on re-entry.  Trust me, I found the upper limit.  Fortunately I was able to get a HISS 9'6" and fell in love with it.  The feeling of wavesailing a board that rockered out was very close to surfing.   I was able to put my feet in places that you can't easily do with straps. 
I can tell you I've had tons of surfers come up to me and ask me the typical hundred questions.  But like me when I started 20 something years ago, a shortboarder wants a shortboard, not a longboard.  It's a different type of wavesailing and surfing.  I think the industry is missing a huge crossover market.  My dream is the 8'6" quad that I can sup and wave sail too.  And I know I can turn alot of kids on to the sport as well.  The mainland reality is less then planing conditions but tons of days where it's chopped up just enough you really wouldn't want to SUP unless it's a downwinder. 
On top of it, shlogging out is effortless and stalling waiting for a set is the same vs hula dancing on my small wave board. 
SO COME ON GUYS.....This should of happened a decade ago, lets start cranking them out. 
And don't give me the market wants something they can get upwind on, if I can get upwind on my 90 liter wave board getting up wind on my 130 liter SUP is a cake walk.  So who's going to step up to the plate?

[wavehobbit]

PS.  And please explain to me why I can't get the board in the same construction as my garage full of Naish's and JP's. 

[aircube]

To all the Windsurf Companies who are making SUP's.....WHY AREN'T YOU OFFERING SMALLER BOARDS w/ mast track options?  I would of bougt the Naish 9'3" this year but it doesn't have one.  Robby Robby Robby, Dave Dave Dave come on!  I knew the industry was on to something special when I first wave sailed the Naish 11'4" in some side off 8-14 knot conditions.  But you can only go so vertical w/ a 11'4" board on re-entry.  Trust me, I found the upper limit.  Fortunately I was able to get a HISS 9'6" and fell in love with it.  The feeling of wavesailing a board that rockered out was very close to surfing.   I was able to put my feet in places that you can't easily do with straps. 
I can tell you I've had tons of surfers come up to me and ask me the typical hundred questions.  But like me when I started 20 something years ago, a shortboarder wants a shortboard, not a longboard.  It's a different type of wavesailing and surfing.  I think the industry is missing a huge crossover market.  My dream is the 8'6" quad that I can sup and wave sail too.  And I know I can turn alot of kids on to the sport as well.  The mainland reality is less then planing conditions but tons of days where it's chopped up just enough you really wouldn't want to SUP unless it's a downwinder. 
On top of it, shlogging out is effortless and stalling waiting for a set is the same vs hula dancing on my small wave board. 
SO COME ON GUYS.....This should of happened a decade ago, lets start cranking them out. 
And don't give me the market wants something they can get upwind on, if I can get upwind on my 90 liter wave board getting up wind on my 130 liter SUP is a cake walk.  So who's going to step up to the plate?

It did happen a decade ago when F2 came out with the "move" and the ahhh.... I can't remember, bu they came out with two longborad sytle windsurfers thay were geared to wavesailing.  Nobody bought them!
Everbody wanted to buy and ride "fast and slashy" back then.  They did't go over that well the first time so.....

I guess if you add a insert for a mast track, you have to beef up the board, which adds weight taking away from the SUP performance and if they don't beef up they'll be dealing with warranty claims.


Its very easy to add an insert yourself.  I added a mast track and footstrap inserts to a 9' BIC classic surfboard about 10 years ago and loved it., still have it but it flexes and feels like it might break, so I go really easy on it.



 

[csx355]

I have recently aquired a French board called the Nah Skwell - it's a 7'8" x 29 1/2" twin fin fish - very stable and very surfable. Just discovered that it also has two threaded inserts for mast attachments. never windsurfed in my life but I'm gonna give this one a go. I believe the board has been marketed as the A H D Sea Lion. I found this very long winded UTube clip of the boards being used during a promo weekend.

SeaLion week-end

[jdmotes]

 Very interesting... I surf a 6' Surftech Xanadu in small surf here in J-Ville Fl area. I would be very interested in a sup fish similar to this but looks like "no US distributor"  ... Would have to go the custom route for something like this...  Later,  JD

[outcast]

kinda like this?

[tridenn]

Very interesting... I surf a 6' Surftech Xanadu in small surf here in J-Ville Fl area. I would be very interested in a sup fish similar to this but looks like "no US distributor"  ... Would have to go the custom route for something like this...  Later,  JD

SeaLions are actually imported and stocked in the US by Windsurfdeal.
http://www.windsurfdeal.com/

[3-phase]

The AHD Sealion fits this Market well. There are 3 demo board's floating around in Northern California, Southern California as well one on the east coast send a e-mail to gear@windsurfdeal.com to setup a demo or call 310-729-1361. I can ship one to Florida so you can sail it there, it is a cool board

Have fun and enjoy it.   

Jurg

[jdmotes]

Very interesting... I surf a 6' Surftech Xanadu in small surf here in J-Ville Fl area. I would be very interested in a sup fish similar to this but looks like "no US distributor"  ... Would have to go the custom route for something like this...  Later,  JD

SeaLions are actually imported and stocked in the US by Windsurfdeal.
http://www.windsurfdeal.com/

Thanks for the info Tridenn... I went to the Sea Lion site and when I clicked on 'contact' it gave me an overseas site... Later,   JD

[wavehobbit]

That video is exactly what I'm talking about!  I'm waiting to see what the rest of the manf's come out with in 2010 but it looks like I might end up going custom with a 8'6" quad fish and if they can't put the mastbox in for me I'll do it after market.  I'm real interested in the new material that's out there "Innegra" to get the board weight down.  Maybe Naish, SB, JP or someone will put me on the their real world R&D Team.  Ok.....I was dreaming there. 

[Nemo]

I totaly agree , I have a naish 10'6 and it works but culd be a bit handful when longboardsailing. I wrote to Naish RD department about and suggested that they should put mastfot incerts on the 9.6 and 9'3. but I don't know if they liked the idea.

[wavehobbit]

PS.  I would of jumped all over the new JL 9'4 also had it had a mast insert. 

[PonoBill]

I've begged Jimmy to consider mast inserts, but so far no go.

I've been amazed that the wavesailing thing hasn't gotten bigger. I've been windsurfing pretty much half my 62 years and wavesailing these big boards has made it all fun again. I sailed my 12'2" starboard at the gorge four days last week and had so much fun I could hardly stand it. Pretty sure I'm going to bust my board sooner or later, I can't quite seem to remember how to land a board without footstraps.

I've only seen a couple of folks sailing SUPs at the gorge, and they are as nuts about it as I am. Everyone else is still rigging up and rigging down for every wind change, while I slap on my 5.0 no matter what the wind and swell is doing and have at it. Overpowered, underpowered, just doesn't matter.

That fish looks plenty fun, but sailing ANY sup board is serious fun, especially when the waves are big and wind is middling. Too much wind for surfing, too little wind for anyone but the 90 pound zen planers to windsurf. No problem. Now I can get out there and powersurf. Also great fun in the confused waves at the Oregon coast. Makes slop into usable surf.

Between SUP surfing, cruising, downwinders and wavesailing there simply isn't a condition short of a hurricane that I can't go play in the water.

[Scotty Mac]

Why bother?
If it is less than 15knots,
isnt it more fun with a paddle?
Thats what I found anyway.

[PonoBill]

Have you TRIED wavesailing on a SUP or longboard? You drive your board out to the waves, catch anything you want, and when you're in the wave you're on a surfboard, not a windsurfer. So you hang onto the mast with one hand and surf the wave. When it closes out you pop the mast forward, power up and drive around for another.

Besides that you can do anything you would normally do with a windsurfer, but you can do it over a wide variety of windspeeds. I was out in 35 knot winds last week in the gorge with way too much sail. didn't matter, I had a blast. I've been out when the wind dropped to five knots and everyone was struggling back. No matter, I just sailed.

Having the choice of so many things to do with one sail, one board, and one paddle is what is so marvelous. That it all works so well is simply amazing.

Other than downwinding, wind is a PITA when surfing, especially on the exposed reefs in Maui. A sail makes it all fun.