I am 85kg and 6ft. I am a very experienced surfer and have surfed shortboards for almost 30 years. I now find myself living in Canberra and only surfing monthly or even less :( As there is a fair amount of water on lakes and rivers around here I am thinking of a SUP. This will keep me fit and give me the feel on being water more often. So I am going to use it on flat water. However, I also want to use it to ride waves probably on the small to medium wave size. I figure if it's pumping I am going to crack out my shortboards.

I went into a local shop and they gave me a good overview. I guess it seems that the Naish Nalu is the go to range. So do I spend up bigger and get the GT or will the GS be fine? Is there a big difference?

Also what about the size? I guess the larger board will be better on flat water but not as good as the shorter one in waves. But will the 10'6 still work for fitness and general lake cruising? I read around the forums and storage seems to be an issue for the bigger boards. Considering that I am 2 hours from the coast and will need a long drive to transport it, I am wondering if the 10'6 would be overall easier to manage?

Also one more thing ... for the rivers and lakes I can pretty much park next to water, but for many of the waves I surf there is often a hefty walk. Is there a notable weight difference in carrying the 11'6 to 10'6?

Also I was told to get an adjustable paddle as I would want different lengths to surfing vs flat water. Any thoughts on that?

I am also in Canberra, and took up SUP as a way of getting back on the water. I got a 10' Fly which is a great board, and got me on the water at the coast and on the lake.

However, I quickly found (as Scotty from the shop said I would) that one board will not do it all. For cruising on the lake either the 10'6" or 11'6" will be fine, but for fitness paddling you will quickly discover you want a 12'6" or 14' race board. Likewise, as an experienced surfer you may find that both the 10+ boards may be a bit big to throw around in the waves. That said, i had a great time on the 11'6" at the Gerroa demo day in small surf, and the Nalu shape is awesome IMHO.

It may depending on your car and rack span, but I don't think transporting will differ between the two boards.

All board weights are here http://www.naishsurfing.com/product/

Yes, you will probably want the ability to change paddle lengths for flat water and surf. I would also say spend the money to get a good carbon paddle. You will be putting 1000's of paddle strokes down and it is something you will really notice.

I have the 11'6 and it's a barge in the surf. Definitely not a rail to rail board.

but....in small surf you can catch anything. I spent 5hrs recently with one of two kids on the front catching tiny point surf rides...u dont get much better

in short doesn't do anything well, but it's a great all rounder

No, I still have the 10' fly and it's what I surf on, but also have a 14ft race board and a 12'6" inflatable for travel..... The formula is N + 1, with 1 being the amount of boards already owned .

For what you have said I think the 10''6" Nalu. The 11'6" is a pretty big volume and width wise.

In terms of the Canberra crew, there is a SUP chapter 'Capital SUP' of the Burley Griffin Canoe Club that trains, races and paddles socially. Check out the Facebook page. There is also a ISUP event at Kingston Foreshore this Sunday. Come down and check it out!

Is there a reason you aren't considering the new 11'x31" Nalu? It would give you a bit more distance paddle comfort than the 10-6 and would be more surfable than the 11-6.

Helmy said..
A Dorothy Dixer for DJ!

He's conspicuous by his absence...

Area10 said..
Is there a reason you aren't considering the new 11'x31" Nalu? It would give you a bit more distance paddle comfort than the 10-6 and would be more surfable than the 11-6.

I was just thinking of the two extremes in the range.

colas said..
I would advise buying the cheapest wide board you can as a first board. The reason is twofold:
- You progress very fast at first. So a good board for a quick progression will feel like a barge after some time.
- SUP has many facets. You cannot know in advance which ones you will like. So it is better to just begin with a cheap barge and then put your money into one adapted to your tastes and that you will not grow out of too quickly. Even if you want a longboard shape, there is quite a difference between a performance longboard shape (narrow, low rail volume) and one that can ease your progression. So buy a barge first and save the money for a good, light and racy longboard shape once your technique is honed.

A good solution is to take as first board either something that you can resell easily locally, or something you will be glad to keep, such as a friendly board for wife & friends, or a stable longboard shape for small days, or an inflatable for trips...

The 11'0" Nalu would be a great board to get you started Terenceingram. It has stability, volume and surfs super well. Colas nailed it in his first point, in SUP the progression is so fast. In contrary to Colas's belief, this means you can jump straight onto the board that will work well for you without having to buy 2 or 3 boards. Get that you think you'll want to be on in 1-2 months and you'll work your way there faster than you'd think. In saying, ever day, I get people of your size that have NEVER paddled ever before comfortably paddling that Nalu without a problem.

GOOD LUCK :)

sup46 said..
do you get much wind there? (with fetch of course). Maybe your first stage ;-) could be a 14footer that you can really cover distance on the stillwater, yet properly ride lake runners when the wind is up?

It's only windy-ish in Spring. But that's a great idea. Didn't think of that.

I am about the same size and KG's and have the 2013 Nalu 10 6. I bought the GS version cause thats all there was in stock at the time and later fitted a set of side bites as per GT version. I would say construction on GS version is totally fine, having the option of changing fin setup on the GT is good if you are worried about that sort of thing.

I think the 10 6 is a classic shape and will be the sort of board you can keep in your quiver instead of selling off. I also have a starboard ace and a 7'8 vanguard style which are both great, but I still often think i could have kept things simple by just having the Nalu. I think this design is a refinement of performance mal shapes and is really pretty sorted, it drives down the line well and once you are on the tail it goes rail to rail really (surprisingly) well. You can also surf micro waves on it no worries.

Plenty of reviews on this board around that are worth reading.

Cheers Chris

highvolume said..
I am about the same size and KG's and have the 2013 Nalu 10 6. I bought the GS version cause thats all there was in stock at the time and later fitted a set of side bites as per GT version. I would say construction on GS version is totally fine, having the option of changing fin setup on the GT is good if you are worried about that sort of thing.

I think the 10 6 is a classic shape and will be the sort of board you can keep in your quiver instead of selling off. I also have a starboard ace and a 7'8 vanguard style which are both great, but I still often think i could have kept things simple by just having the Nalu. I think this design is a refinement of performance mal shapes and is really pretty sorted, it drives down the line well and once you are on the tail it goes rail to rail really (surprisingly) well. You can also surf micro waves on it no worries.

Plenty of reviews on this board around that are worth reading.

Cheers Chris

I am settled on the 10'6 Nalu. The construction doesn't bother me that much, but I am thinking I miss the versatility of the three fins. However, the extra cash on the GT is out of my budget. Some questions: How did you go about getting the side fins fitted? How much did that cost? Also what is the max size wave you have ridde your board in?