I have been riding a Naish 9'3 lately and i find it a little like riding a skate board , i think my bigger 10'6 PSH actually carves better turns , maybee its due to the PSH having very thin rails at the tail and nose.All you guys are raving about going shorter and shorter but for me i rekon my 10'6 surfs better than the 9'3.Id still like to go shorter maybee a 9'8 would still get that nice glide.
Of course this all could be due to the fact im an average surfer!

paul.j said...

Should try and put some good side fins in it..

Shouldnt it have come with some good side fins?Lol

Its probably just me!But i think its due to the thin rails.

teatrea said...

Shouldnt it have come with some good side fins?Lol

Its probably just me!But i think its due to the thin rails.

More likely the extreme rocker

I wish all boards came with $150 fins, but it just does not happen and fins are so personal that even if you did get good fins with it they might not be right for you. Jimmy Lewis come with good fins but there boards are $2000.

I love the fact i have a serial red thumber, kind of means some one cares

I agree with everyone.

Yep, you'd make the board go better by trying quite a few sets of fins. I ride a 9'3 and the best fins I found for it from 2 test drive centers in my garage were a thruster set up via MRTFX sides and a hand foiled MR Template center fin. This brought this board to life for me.

But, I've also ridden a hell load of boards in the past few months and I also think that there really is a bottom limit to how short a SUP can go before it no longer has that nice glide from takeoff and recovery out of turns. Once I lose that feel I might as well ride my shortboard, it's far less hassle and if all I wanted was to turn violently far more suited to the task.

Some people say Mid 8's is where it will end up, I think high 8's to low 9's is where I'll be by choice.

I would agree that a 10'6 could feel like it carves harder / bigger turns... As you go smaller, you introduce a little more 'snap' / 'snapability' into your turns, aswell as carving turns.

Watch Jordy Smith in Red, 'heats on demand'.
quiksilver.com/surf/events/pro-france.html
He's about 6'2 tall and over 85kg. He's probably riding a 6'2 or so.
Check out his carving turns, and also the carving round-house cutbacks, or HACKS !! Plus some good 180 degree snaps.... It's these snappy turns that SUP's just don't do well (not to mention the barrel rides : ) ), and if you do manage a snappy turn or two, you'll have little speed speed left and it will be time to dig in for a big paddle stroke.

www.quiksilverpro.com.au/heats.aspx#/154/240/
Watch Kelly rip it up too.

If you are an SUP Only surfer, watch the short board guys for inspiration.... you can do similar moves, but just not as radical, not as vertical, not as deep in the barrel, so as tight in the pockets, not as snappy, not as many moves per waves (but these guys are pros !!!), etc.

I tell you, I'm almost as happy riding waist high waves on an SUP (on the protected points) compared to overhead more exposed point breaks on my shorter boards.... I prefer the big point breaks, but once the wind picks up and goes onshore, those protected spots can be loads of fun, especially in the knowledge that the other breaks will be big rubbish.

As much as anything else, it is about;
getting wet,
getting some sun,
riding a wave,
and having fun,
5'11 or 11'5,
who really cares....

Its Just You mate

Marty

Hey on the fin side of things, its a personal choice and from a manufactures perspective you cant be everything to everybody. Make a great board with standard fins ( hell not everyone is a season pro ) I can tell you there are not to many surfboard manufactures that give you state of the art fins with a custom board,they will offer upgrades at a reduced price and deduct the standard fin cost. Don't worry it will cotton on in to near future.

I replaced my standard PSH fin set up with some of my longboard fins and the board turned into another beast [}:)]

macfin

Yeah youse blokes a probably right ill stick with it , although i reckon a 9'8 would be more my go , having trouble keeping the pounds off as i get older.Completely off topic just finished watching a cool series , if you like a bit of nudity , action blood and guts and you liked the movie 300 you will love this.Sparticus Blood and Sand.Another good one Legend of The Seeker.Beets most of the crap on normally telly at the moment.

cheers

nev said...

I think I know where your coming from Tea Tree.
I have spent the summer on a shorter SUP and It hasn't lit my fire. There has been days that I have loved it, but also alot of feeling not quite right. Despite the old chest nut "rides like a short board" I can't get that short board feeling going. to me short boarding is pretty much feet locked in with weight shifts through your toes/heels. I have been unable to really surf this way on any SUB as yet (I haven't tried heaps though). To me they feel more like an over sized fish or mini mal where you sort of have to slide you feet around to turn, but they don't respond to trim like a true long board.
turns like a mal and glides like a short board

Anyway I have got rid of the short one and am back on the trusty 10 4 JL and loving it. I ride regular short boards more then SUP over winter, so will have another look at short SUBs next summer as they develop ( and I get another tax return). For me I think I want to ride a more longboard style (trim/flow/rail to rail) on my SUB and leave throwing it around for when I am on the regular board. Maybe the quest to go short isn't for everyone? Ride what feels right for you is the answer.
Nev

Hey mate , yeah i think it comes down to personal feel , i dont get the same buzz riding the shorter SUP , for me on the longer board i feel apart of the wave(sometimes) on the shorter on top of the wave.Thats the best way i can describe it.But in saying that i havent had the 9'3 out in anything really good.

Cheers

you should give the 9'0 Naish Nalu a try - what you're looking for is a drivey carving board and although the 9'3 can do this with the right fin set-up (typically center fin furtherst back and slightly bigger side bites) then the 9'0 Nalu does it right out of the box in spades.

It rides insane of the rails and you can still do all the longboard stuff - only downside is that you need to be light or have really good balance at 26" wide.....

Lummers video inspired me to give it a go and I wasn't dissappointed - except he makes it look easier than it is

I get what you are saying teatree. I just got a new custom 9'6 that is very light and rockered more than my other boards. It doesn't have that drive that the bigger SUP's have so I am not sure if I will stick with it. I will try it for a few months and see. Maybe I will use it only when the waves get really hollow and steep. I am not sure yet.