what hi performance board would you take.

[rocadura]

good day sup gurus.  for a big 6.3 guy 200pounds.  what hi performance board would you take.  i own a 12 footer x 29 at this moment.  but what something that can perform better...
i was thinking to drop to 10 x 29.... so cmon guys?

[DavidJohn]

I'll go first..btw I'm not an sup guru 

I'm your hight and weigh and I'm looking at the 10'6" Naish.

It maybe worth checking out.

DJ

[Allan Cheateaux]

Im 6'0 200 and surf stuff down to 9'0 x 28.5 x 4. Dont let size intimidate you, its more about what kind of surfing you want to do, not that thats dictated by the board either...

A good all around shape would be 10' x 28 x 4 1/8. Id start there and see what you can find.

[Dwight (DW)]

I'm 6'2 200 lbs.

My take on sizes.

Jimmy Lewis 10' x 28 x 3 7/8.  My lower limit on volume, especially with the vee bottom. OK in glassy to moderate chop only.

Angulo 10'4 x 29 x 4 1/4. Plenty of volume, more than you need for experienced SUPer.

Bernhardt 10'6 x 28.5 x 4 1/8, but extra thin at rails, so volume is lower than numbers reveal. Volume about perfect.

My ideal shortest size might be something like 10' x 28.5 x 4 1/8. This would allow comfortable surfing from glassy to heavy wind chop.

[steamroller]

im 5'9" 230#...i always ride a 11'8" uliboard  ...i dont think it really matters too much how long the board is since your cutbacks and snaps are done with the paddle cranking you around for power anyway...well maybe backside it would make a difference though...i think the guy on the board is the biggest factor

[river]

I would think that length isnt as much a factor in this equation as much as Volume and width and tail width.  I have a La Pistola (Nui Moana-Allan Chauxteau)9'6"x27x4.25 thats just as stable as the Laird 11ft and thats because the Laird has a Narrow tail and is only 27 wide.  I would NOT recommend anything too narrow in the tail, less than 28 wide and no less than 4.25 thick for your size.  I am shooting in the dark a bit here as I am 165 to 170 lbs dry-post morn. deuce   But hopefully that helps look for something with some tail width though as this will be much more stable for turning to catch waves.

[Rand]

29 is mighty wide.  I would go 9'8, 27 3/4, 4 1/8.  Those are safety measurements at 200.  You already have a cruiser, so might as well let it rip.  Call up one of the great shapers here who have already shaped a bunch of shorter boards, and get started.  Keep us posted!

[Tony DaKine]

How well do you balance? For comparison, I have a 10'X27" that surfs really well but requires a lot of concentration in the wind and chop. It starts to be more work than fun in those conditions. On the other hand, I have a 10'6"X 28 7/8". Doesn't surf quite as well as the 10' but still surfs well and it takes an act of God to make me fall (might be exagerating a bit).

Owning 4 boards already, I still need at least one more. I'm looking for something in the 9'6"X28" range. For me personally, that seems about right. I'm a bit heavier though at 220lbs.

[paddlesurf.net]

I agree for us bigger guys: 220 and up, we don't think 28-29 even 30" width is too much- we can turn 'em.

And like Senor DaKine said, with the narrower boards it becomes a lot of work in the slop; how much do you want to work?

And where do you surf- in our softer waves here in Ca, width isn't such a bad thing- those fat asses give a little squirt in our usually slow surf.

There is a volume threshold, if you take it out in width you've got to replace it somewhere. I remember back in the 80's everybody use to make fun of Vetea David's shortboards- laughed about how bargy they were- but they were scale for him, and nobody went as vertical as consistently as he did in his prime. Also, if you surf the 'bu take a look at Sarlo's boards, fat and thick- and he rips 'em. So get to a shaper who's made a few, forget about what everyone else is riding and get one custom made for your dimensions.

Steamroller said it best: "...guy on the board is the biggest factor". Homeboy rides and rips (check his vids) an 11'6" so I'll back his play with a quote of my own, for 90% of us: Performance isn't limited by equipment.

[Rand]

Owning 4 boards already, I still need at least one more.

Love it.

I'm looking for something in the 9'6"X28" range. For me personally, that seems about right. I'm a bit heavier though at 220lbs.

Sounds like a mean little ripper for a man of your size!  What thickness are you considering?

[Shawn]

Something maybe like this....
 

 

[Shawn]

[Tony DaKine]

Owning 4 boards already, I still need at least one more.

Love it.

I'm looking for something in the 9'6"X28" range. For me personally, that seems about right. I'm a bit heavier though at 220lbs.

Sounds like a mean little ripper for a man of your size!  What thickness are you considering?

Rand, I've been thinking about this. I rode my friends new PSH 9'6"x28 1/2" x 3 7/8". Was ridiculous. I could stand and paddle around in these strong winds we've been having but I had 3/4 of the board submerged at all times. So to float me, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to widen it slightly to 28 3/4 and going 4 3/8th thick tapering out to thinner rails. I really liked the thin rails on my friends board. Other option is to lose weight.

[Rand]

Rand, I've been thinking about this. I rode my friends new PSH 9'6"x28 1/2" x 3 7/8". Was ridiculous. I could stand and paddle around in these strong winds we've been having but I had 3/4 of the board submerged at all times. So to float me, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to widen it slightly to 28 3/4 and going 4 3/8th thick tapering out to thinner rails. I really liked the thin rails on my friends board. Other option is to lose weight.

Hi Tony,

Not that this means Jack, and sure, there are a lot of other factors, but here goes:

Using your weight plus a 20 lb board weight and 5 extra for paddle, clothes, and your sombrero (c'mon, fess up), you weigh in at 111 kg, so it takes 111 liters of volume just to keep you at water level.  That would, of course,  be unrideable for you. 

Using a modified version of the board I ride (and the Aku shaper software) I upsized it to the dimensions of your friends board (hell, I was curious).  The result was 115 liters +/-.   So, that board would float you plus about 9 lbs.  I have been figuring you need about 30 +/- lbs extra (for a minimum board) and that has been really comfortable for me, Chan and some others. 

At a thickness of 4 3/8, like you were thinking, you are at 126 liters (again using a modified version of my board), which comes out to +33 lbs.

Rough numbers of course, because the shape will differ a bit from mine, but, that sounds like a strong start point.

[Tony DaKine]

Rand,

Thanks for the volume calculations. I'm really looking for the minimum amount of foam I can comfortable ride. This helps me figure my lower limits based on floatation.