Let's see your short SUP's

[Blane Chambers]

Where did you get to try one of our boards at 8' ?    I never made one at those dimensions yet...   

This was on Oahu and it was an 8-6 the guy said.  It was heavy as my Starboard Drive 10-5 which I figured was becuase of the wood weight.  How much does the wood add to your board so what does a 8-6 wood weigh and how much does a regular 8-6 weigh?  It was stable for a board that short but it seems like why would you want heavy on a very short board?

When we use 1 lb foam the weight of a wood veneer is below that of any molded board on the market.        I made quite a few medium weight to  heavy 8-4 to 11' wood boards because you don't want it light when the waves are solid.    We are riding them in serious conditions and don't like it skipping around at speed.      We are still playing around with the smaller boards in bigger waves and HEAVY IS GOOD when you are going fast with chop especially the short ones.

This is a 9-4 and it's not light.   If we make it for small town waves or a beach break then we  make it much lighter...


This is Kala Alexander yesterday on a 10' custom.   Not a light weight either.     (pic courtesy Kala)


We experiment with all our boards both heavy and ultra light.    Some of our guys are trying some crazy stuff with shorter boards.      After we are done with them we don't throw them away, we sell them to whoever wants them.    There are NO wood veneer boards of PSH out there right now in the water that are not prototypes of some kind.    We did not start production on our wood line till recently.   We did not order any heavy ones for production unless it's a gun.     Just clarifying these things.     

[SUPer Dave]

Lots said there..... Thanks Blane....

[Blane Chambers]

This shot here will show a little more why heavier weights are important.     All the wind coming up the face along with what appears to be little chops.    Those little chops are really ones that can make you hop right out of the water if you're on a board to light.     

[heave]

Here's a custom shape from last year, 7'11" x 29" x 4 1/2"           

[SUPer Dave]

How did it work heave....Interestin center fin set up what do you put there... ?

[heave]

That's actually Luke's board with the Ash veneer bottom and carbon/kevlar deck.  I ride a Doug fir veneer bottom with Volan deck.  I use two MFC 8.25" F16 fins in the Thrailkill single-twin set up.  It works great in everything around here.  I'm 185 and that's what I always ride.  I plan on making another one just like it but super light for the smaller days.                       

[Kruut]

New gong proto-type looks nice

[Bob from Brazil]

She arrived yesterday!! 8'7 x 28" x 4" @ 105 liters. Not really a small board (given the boards by now) but very thin rails & weighs almost nothing. 2 x 6 oz. on top & 1 x 6 oz. bottom. Stringerless. Quad only. Fast as bullet, spray is strong, carves at easy and I had a great time surfing it yesterday. Stoked. Period.

Mahalos do Brazil,
Bob.

[Lobes]

Interesting fin set up on your new board Bob.

I saw pictures on here from Brazil recently of some boards that look like this. They were been ridden in a contest by a father and a son. Is it the same shaper who made yor new board?

[Kruut]

Gong 5'11 in action
More: http://www.gongsup.com/spip.php?page=news&lang=fr#News_2167

[Marcelo]

Lobes, I'm not Bob but yes, those are some interesting fins and the shaper is the same...i have one of their boards and really like it.

I wish it came with the Future fin box like Bob's instead of the FCS...

[robcasey]

Onwater Designs 'Hot Tuna', 10x34", 5.5" thick. 

Made by Tim Niemier, founder of Ocean Kayaks. 
Rips on waves, super fast, turns easy, and floats my 220lbs and 6-5 frame. 

http://www.onwaterdesigns.com/
(new site coming in 1-2 wks with more product specs)

More info, contact Tim,
 <onwaterdesigns@gmail.com>

[tautologies]

6'1'' 205lb

7'9'' Mana. Pretty stable, a little more sensitive in terms of forward . backward placement, but seems easy enough to ride. Feels very light, but this board is not meant for super big surf.

[biggins]

Kruut,

Any more info on that 5'11"?  That seems insanely short.    Interesting for sure, as most places here won't allow a board longer than 6'8" on the planes/ferries, so it would be good for travel/wife's board.

Thanks,

j

[corran]

My shortest board I'm riding now is my new 2010 Cutback - 7' x 28 1/2" x 5 1/4". I'm 5'8" and 160lbs to 165lbs.

here's the thing... I found that going UP in thickness, as long as its not in the rail (so radical step rails) allows you to still have a lot of forgiveness and ease relative to size, and be super small. I could go narrower I think by at least 3/4" of an inch, but I want this to perform in small waves and so the with is nice for gutless surf, and I seem to do alright in steeper stuff anyway... so...




Interestingly I've also discovered that you don;t need a 10' board for big surf... as long as you can play with your fin angles and splay, you can surf 10' to 15' (Hawaii) on a 8'5" just fine.... making me reassess my idea of what a "SUP Gun" needs to be.

Corran