Hi guys,

I am a newbie to SUP and have been looking to get a board for a few months. After reading the forums, and your advice to other newbies I am still a little unsure of the right board. I am 6 ft 2 and 132 kg and top heavy. I just recently bought my dad a Naish Odysseus board 9.0ft model for his 70th birthday and he loves it. Its just a little bit too small to float me at the moment.
It is however fabulous for him and the grandkids and a great recommendation.
i am a little torn as to look at ordering a new starboard atlas extra as the Odyssey paddles really well on the lake and I would like to paddle with my dad there as well as have a board to paddle in the surf mainly to cover short distances between beaches not so much wave riding. He lives right on the beach and 2 km from the lake on the NSW north coast.
The other question is the Naish Odysseus is really great as a family board my 7 year old nephew can paddle it as well as my whole family and they have a ball in the lake with my dad. Will the Starboard complement the Naish and work as a family fun board in the lake as well as something that is fun in the surf as well.

Kind Regards Lachlan.

Oh and i cant seem to find a starboard dealer in NSW who stocks a wide range so i would need to order it from sunshine coast stand up online store. Is ordering a board online straight forward?

Thanks for all your wisdom.

Starboard whopper or the Starboard Avanti. No question. Its where all fatasses like me and you should be starting.

The Avanti is a wonderful board that just works. Stable, big, and turns on a wave. Excellent for just pottering around and will allow you to step up when the time is right as the resale value will hold quite well.

Its how i started. and i had the exact same dimensions as you.

Also consider one of these.. www.naishsurfing.com/product/mana-116-soft-top/

magillamelb said..
Hey Pump

Being very similarly proportioned to you, my very first board was a Starboard Atlas. At first I thought I should have bought the Atlas Extra, but it was ultimately the Atlas was the better allround choice and I'm thankful I made a good decision. The Atlas is a great first board, but you may find getting one is easier said than done.

I paddled mine on lakes (Macquarie, Jindabyne), rivers (Snowy, Maribyrnong & Yarra) & even surfed it in Vic and NSW. I regret selling it now.

My surf board (JP Fusion 10'8 x 34) is also the board my 13 yo daughter uses when we're cruising. My kids found the Atlas just a bit too big to paddle.

A great first board though. You can't go wrong.

Ps - I don't have any affiliations with a store or particular brand

Happy hunting!

Pretty much what he said. I'm similar dimensions to you also, started on the Starby Atlas (which I still have and still surf on smaller or messy days). Great first board for a big unit, IMO you don't need to go to the Atlas Extra unless you are extremely balance-challenged. I also have the 10'8 x 34 for surf and it works well for me. The Avanti is also a great board.

If if you were looking at more surf ambitions compared to flat water cruising go the Avanti, if more lake or flat water cruising with occasional small-medium waves go the (33") Atlas.

There are plenty of the older style Starboard Whoppers in the for sale section, that would be a good start .

Here is a one 10-0 x 34 for $1,299 in Nooasville

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Stand-Up-Paddle/Surfing-and-Cruising-Boards/~tnlf7/2014-Starboard-Whopper-10-0-34-inches.aspx?search=Naq8BA6jmRkdWCi7VUSrVuYhrllManLAEoWu5qG2pEs=

HumanCartoon said..

Piros said..
There are plenty of the older style Starboard Whoppers in the for sale section, that would be a good start .

Here is a one 10-0 x 34 for $1,299 in Nooasville

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Stand-Up-Paddle/Surfing-and-Cruising-Boards/~tnlf7/2014-Starboard-Whopper-10-0-34-inches.aspx?search=Naq8BA6jmRkdWCi7VUSrVuYhrllManLAEoWu5qG2pEs=

I reckon at 132 kegs and a beginner our OP needs more volume than the whopper's 170 litres. On this I speak from experience. Whopper Extra maybe, standard 10 X 34 whopper, I don't think so.

+1 for not the whopper

i once was 125 kegs and a whopper was not your friend. I would be another to lean towards an Avanti. Great board

Great to see the same olds appearing when the 'Sup for heavyweights' thread pops up every few months.
Top shelf advice from SS & HC

Howdy.

My bulk is not quite as impressive (probably 115 with wettie etc).

I demo'd a whopper, but didn't think it had enough float for me. Mind you, I was very much a novice then.

My original board, which I still have is a 11'6 Nalu, which despite it's large volume is a bit tippy. Great in perfect conditions and flat water but a swine in anything less (again, user is balance challenged)/

Ended up with a 10 foot Mana. It's 33" wide and 190 litres. Enough float to have a party on and I recon surfs pretty well for me.

My similarly dimensioned mates are all going smaller boards, but I enjoy the comfort factor when conditions are choppy and difficult. It's all about the fun anyway.

Good luck mate.

Thanks again for all your advice guys.

I am quite heavy at 127 kg and fluctuate around 5 kilo's either side. The board will stay up the coast and my dad lives like one street away from a major surf beach and 500m form a perfect smaller sheltered beach for paddling.

I get up there 3-5 days each week most weeks so the board is going to see a lot of paddling espically in summer. Mostly in the surf I think as its walking distance to the waterline easily with the Odysseus now. I am going to buy it for a learning/cruising board as most of the family visits from jan-april. I have narrowed the search down to three boards. DJ I like the look of the mana and it would be used mainly for surfing smallish waves but also paddle up and down the beach. I also like the Avanti Wooden model and the Atlas Wooden model both in the largest sizes.

I guess I just need to ask would the mana compliment the odysseus for a day paddling on the lake. Across open water 800 metres up and down the beach. Between beaches.
I am steering toward mana/avanti wooden with maybe the Atlas/Atlas extra then buying a shorter mana board for me when I progress further. I will let you know how my purchase goes.

Thanks for all your advice guys and my dad is loving his board.

As DJ said ,the 11.6 is made for big dudes .rated to a 127 kg person .so close enough.to 132 kg.
someone mentioned the 10' mana .but I have a mate who is your weight ..he kinda sinks it big time .
6.4 And full of muscles .
the mana being wave oriented ,will have the rocker to surf and have fun in swell.it will be a great first board for you.
And is alot cheaper than say a GT or LE . And almost bullet proof no need for rail tape it has reinforced rails.
tardy.

Hi,

I am myself 6'1 and 129kg and after trying the Avanti I decided to go for the Sunova Surf 10'11 x 34'' x 203L. I do not find it less stable than the Avanti and it glides better, in addition the big central fin provided makes it track better. It is lighter than the Avanti Carbon in the XXX finish and looks much better in my opinion.

I have to mention I am new to SUP and that the other thing that made the biggest difference for me was the paddle. I demoed an adjustable flexy small blade one which I did not like and now possess a Kenalu Maliko elite. What a change. Now I need to work on my technique.

In conclusion, I will recommend you to also have a look at the Sunova as I enjoy it better than the Avanti, is cheaper with their top of the range by almost a $1000 in comparison to the carbon version and exist in a cheaper bamboo version. But keep in mind I was looking at a board for 70% surfing and 30% flatwater.

Hope that it helps.

At your size, you will be happier and less frustrated if you go with 200+ liters of volume.

Also, for any glide at all, you will be happier at 10'6" or bigger.

I know these boards look big on land... But trust me, they will seem dramatically smaller when you're trying to stand on 'em.

The downside of going short and wide as you're trying to do (meaning 10'0" or less) is you will be basically going nowhere, spinning in place, early in your paddling career. There's no glide, if you know what I mean.

You might eventually enjoy a shorter wide board when your paddle SURFING gets better, as you will be glad the board will turn easily.

But for now, a longer board will paddle straighter (all things being equal) and have more glide. This will have the added benefit of helping you catch waves earlier too as you get into that (and you will!). This way, you will get better quicker, as you will get more reps in the surf early on.

Sorry for the long story. Just trying to help. Seen to many big guys go too small, and get frustrated, when they don't have to do that.

pumpjockey02 said..
Thanks again for all your advice guys.

I am quite heavy at 127 kg and fluctuate around 5 kilo's either side. The board will stay up the coast and my dad lives like one street away from a major surf beach and 500m form a perfect smaller sheltered beach for paddling.

I get up there 3-5 days each week most weeks so the board is going to see a lot of paddling espically in summer. Mostly in the surf I think as its walking distance to the waterline easily with the Odysseus now. I am going to buy it for a learning/cruising board as most of the family visits from jan-april. I have narrowed the search down to three boards. DJ I like the look of the mana and it would be used mainly for surfing smallish waves but also paddle up and down the beach. I also like the Avanti Wooden model and the Atlas Wooden model both in the largest sizes.

I guess I just need to ask would the mana compliment the odysseus for a day paddling on the lake. Across open water 800 metres up and down the beach. Between beaches.
I am steering toward mana/avanti wooden with maybe the Atlas/Atlas extra then buying a shorter mana board for me when I progress further. I will let you know how my purchase goes.

Thanks for all your advice guys and my dad is loving his board.

BigSeppo said..
At your size, you will be happier and less frustrated if you go with 200+ liters of volume.

Also, for any glide at all, you will be happier at 10'6" or bigger.

I know these boards look big on land... But trust me, they will seem dramatically smaller when you're trying to stand on 'em.

The downside of going short and wide as you're trying to do (meaning 10'0" or less) is you will be basically going nowhere, spinning in place, early in your paddling career. There's no glide, if you know what I mean.

You might eventually enjoy a shorter wide board when your paddle SURFING gets better, as you will be glad the board will turn easily.

But for now, a longer board will paddle straighter (all things being equal) and have more glide. This will have the added benefit of helping you catch waves earlier too as you get into that (and you will!). This way, you will get better quicker, as you will get more reps in the surf early on.

Sorry for the long story. Just trying to help. Seen to many big guys go too small, and get frustrated, when they don't have to do that.

Totally agree BigSeppo, the Avanti's we have in our school are really popular with the bigger bloke who wants to get out on the water & have some fun.
Go longer for better glide, especially if you will be paddling 800m metres up & down the beach often.
You've got plenty of options, two I'd recommend are obviously the Avanti & a Fanatic Fly (11'2 X 34 - 236 litres) also very popular with our customers.
Naish do have an 11'2 Odysseus out this season too, only 32 wide but 220 litres which could be an option too depending on how good your balance is.

Good luck pumpjockey02

Cheers,
Larry

For a surf SUP I've worked on a rule of 1.25 x your weight is the minimum volume your board should be.

2.25 x your weight for a flat water board as a minimum.

Update and progress re board.

Again thank you for the advice, thanks for the paddle info too as I think I will look at that next a good carbon one.

I managed to get my hands on a 2015 starboard Avanti 11,6 36inch board last one in the country for a good price and now await delivery, had to order through WA.

I hope this will complement my dad's 10ft Odysseus and we can paddle around together, he is around 107 kg.

I will look at getting a smaller surfing board when I improve and shed some kilo's.

Both boards will be used by other family members. I will post some pics when I get out on the water.

Thanks again,

pump.