While I was in at RPS (The board store) in Melbourne the other day I got to check out the new Starboard Whopper..and it really is a whopper..

To say it's as wide as a door would be no exaggeration.. (10' x 34") .

There's a nice new sticker on their front door..

DJ

champcrow said...

So when are you going to paddle it DJ and give us some more pic's and a review? I'd be interested to see how it goes.

Both the Naish Gun and the Starboard Whopper are just on the shop floor and not for demo..as far as I know.

But if I get the chance I'll demo it..

DJ

Fat boards and fat ch*cks....both fun to ride just don't tell your mates

I know 2 guys on the Sunshine Coast have one and I have surfed on off Maroochydore. I am 90 odd kg and it was incredibly stable. The shock for me was how well it surfed and turned. I was very impressed for such a wide board. The day I was having a demo on it was waist high.
I have seen Scott on the coast surf this very well in overhead plus size waves. On one occasion screaming along just in front of an overhead tube. The board is quite fast and he was easily doing cutbacks along the wave.
This is a great board for the tall or bigger guy at the plus 90kg mark. Some may say it is wide and therefore embarrassing to be on it but when you make it dance you won't get a negative comment your way.

Man that thing has a nose like a mac truck, dont know how that would go in decent waves

The Naish Mana is a Whopperer at 10'5" x 35 1/2"

http://www.naishsurfing.com/en/boards/mana_1.html

and yes, Flash sucks, except for youtube.

IN DEFENSE OF THE WHOPPER!!!

Ride one before you start bagging it,

1st, it is not very thick, much thinner in the rails than my Naish 11ft 4in, thinner gunnier tail, and excellent rocker and nose lift. Surfs much better too as it sits deeper in the water than the naish and the quality of the ride is much cleaner/smoother.

2nd, it surfs great I can take off nice and late if i want, it goes top to bottom really well and is very nice and turny. It is wide, but hey I am 96kg and it just makes everything super easy and super fun even when its 20 knots and it is awesome for climbing walls of whitewater when paddling out.

3rd, I rode it the other day in clean head and a bit high waves that were sectioning fast down the line and it was wicked, got 50+ waves in the session, nice easy cutbacks on the end section, my mates (not on Sups, previously not interested until i caught 10 x as many waves and made 10 x more sections with really long rides) were asking to have a go and where can I get one!!!

Last, I am not embarrassed about my relationship with my whopper I think she is very sexy!! I am the one with the wicked grin having huge amounts of fun!! Here is my wide fun weapon.

I have the Whopper on the roof of my car and I should be out at Flinders in 2 hours.

www.triggerbrothers.com.au/index.php?option=com_webcam&Itemid=153

WINDY MILLER said...


whatshemacalled down at dutchies was ripping on one, mind u i think he would rip on a plank..

whatshemacalled = Mike Galvin

Hi Guys,

First post here, just thinking about buying a Whopper and wanted to get some thoughts on which construction to go for ?
I had a Sportech board last year and it looked great, surfed great, nice and light, but it suffered from heel dents - just wondering if the dents are still happening on the 2009 Sportech Whoppers - can anyone confirm ?
I'd like another Sportech, but I'm wondering whether the Classic AST plus added deck pad might be less likely to dent and just as light - can anyone comment on the comparative strength of these two versions ?

Thanks!
Kneesup

Hey Gorgo, just curious about the nose rocker, was there enough to stop it pearling with the late take off's. Just wondering how it would go in a beach break like Waratah Bay, sounds like the perfect board to get my family into SUP surfing. Would be interested in the comparison to the 11'2 in that regard. Thanks

The outline and proportions of the wopper make it look like a blow up of the 7.2 starboard with a little less nose rocker. The 7.2 is extremely stable surfs really well for people under 95kg that want a great short board.

Phill

My two cents worth,(probably worthless)

Anyhow, from a pure surfing point of view,I disagree with the short
fatboard theory.The reason for this is a simple one,take Kelly Slater
one of the greatest surfers in history,if not the best.He has shaped
short fatboards which he is using on the tour this year and have a look
at his results,sure some of you my disagree with me but I've watched
pretty much all of his heats this year and my personal view is,he is on
the wrong gear.

Short fatboards will rip in micro small wave height,but anything bigger
than 3 foot,you would surf better on a more standard type shape!

Now I've spent my last two cents


mac

Surfed the 10' x 30 starboard on the weekend and found it more stable than my PSH 10'6 wide. Had a very rounded nose and a nice pinny tail and felt like it had more rocker than my PSH. No stability probs whatsoever and i'm above 100kg. The Whopper would be super stable at 34" wide, would be keen to surf it and see how its width affects how it surfs.

Basecurve. Having a surf at my local on my RDO and was talking to a dude on a 10' *board, we decidied to have a few wave on each others boards. I found the 10' *board to be very stable(equal or slightly more than the PSH) but it def has less volume than the 10'6W PSH(more wash over the board, no biggie). The *board had a much rounder nose but a nice pin type tail. More rocker tham my PSH as i had to push a bit harder to make the drop. Once she was on the wave the boards were quite alike. The PSH was, IMO, faster through sections due to its flatter rocker and the *board turned sweetly off the pin tail when you planted the back foot. I would seriously look at the *board if it had a sharper nose, But all in all another great board for big boppers.

Gorgo said...

A few points:


- Surfers and shapers are hugely conservative people.

Do you really think so.............................?
Is this conservative?
or do I fall into some other catagory?