mollydooka said...
I had a paddle on Hilly's 9'6" last Friday (g'day Andrew!). It was more stable than I expected it to be, but then I'm 2/3rds Hilly's weight at 73kgs. And shorter at 174cms. Also it was a beautiful offshore afternoon with low swell, not sure how it would go in chop. Caught a couple of little waves (one foot being the order of the day), & even on those little babies it felt like it would definitely be a better performer than my 9'8" Starboard. However, I like to lean into my paddle when I'm paddling for a wave (thus the paddle's a little further out from the rail); when I did that on the PSH I tended to fall off or it yawed a little (can do it on the Starboard with no yaw). Just a matter of getting used to it, I guess. Hard to get a good feel for it in just 20 minutes.
In an ideal world, I'd go the 9'6" ripper, or maybe even the 9'3", for good waves in clean conditions, & have a 10'5" Starboard for mush, chop, & teensy surf. As I have to stick with just one board, the 9'8" Starboard is a pretty good all-rounder for my size (I think). I've tried it in a 20-knot onshore, & it was tough, but she's pretty stable (at 30") so managed to stay upright for most of the time.
G'Day Mike had the full range on the weekend glass to howling offshore 1k out to sea certainly works your legs but I am getting noticeably better each paddle. On small waves it rips can't wait for some solid swell.
You are right a 9 8 starboard is better all round board than the ripper but the PSH 9 6 all rounder would better match up. I think the PSH would be better in steep waves.
so looking foward to a surf on Friday morn. Just finished two 18 hour shifts with a 14 hour break in the middle so its off to bed for me. Shirt......red.
