annies new 8' surfshapes sub puts new meaning to womens performance sup,rod hocker has performed another shaping masterpiece in shaping his first wahine model for annie,at 8'x25 1/4"x 3 1/4" ,this low volume high performance shape floats annies 48 kg with ease and paddles and surfs a treat,trying small first point noosa this morning it took annie a few waves to find the sweet spot then had no trouble throwing the board around,paddling onto waves was easy as was paddling through white water,finally there is a shaper who understands volume and can shape a board to suit anyone,rod will no doubt publish photos,brookos board inspired us to search for rod and i can hardly wait for my new 9' to be finished.thanks boardbumps,your paddles are as good as any on the market as well.

Yeah my dealings with Rod have been A1. I haven't ordered a board yet as my belated honeymoon is starving the bank account.

The design we have worked out looks sooo good. Can't wait to when IO have the coin together.

I'm just so stoked that Annie's board floats so well. A few troubled sleeps hoping that my volume formulae works for the lightest weights.

I think that the lowest volume that can be used is around 80 litres/50kg rider weight and the max volume for good wave performance is 150 litres/105kg and over rider weight. There seems to be a trade off with the volume for performance wave riding. Heavier riders just have to put up with a little less float.

Here are the pics of Annie's board. The board weighs 5.8 kg complete. I glassed the bottom withh 2x4oz instead of 2x 6oz for a little less weght but left the deck as standard.

Rod

62mac said...

Hey boardbumps,thats one great looking board mate,like the spray on the rails,if it goes half as good as it looks its going to smoke!
It could be the photo but it looks as if there is a sharp kick in the rocker just behind the centre fin? If so can you explain why!
mac

Heaps of tail kick means plant your back foot and jam that puppy around Mine has the same, it makes it heaps looser for cutbacks and off the top turns.
Great looking board Rod, hoped your stoked Annie

Yeah the paddles can only be ordered with boards.

That board looks awesome! Throw a mast track in it and it would probably be a good wave board. Spray job is great.

After talking with Rod I understand how his rocker lines work and it sounds like it would really maximise performance.

To me though the fins look slightly forward?

I love the look of this board. What other sizes has he done and does anyone have an image.

Talking of images does anyone have one of the paddles.

It would be great to see one.

yo dudes

saw annie on her new board at first point yesterday

and you couldnt wipe the smile of her face

even with a base ball bat...lol....

nice hot pink spray job rod

later dogman

Mac,
the reason for the late tail kick is to make the boards surf looser short board style, carving ripping bottom turns and snaps in the pocket. Originally without using the paddle.

Because SUPA boards are so wide they generate a lot of extra lift, quickness to plane, planing speed. This is evident if you have ridden a shorter SUPA board under 9'4" in small waves they really go sooo good much better than a Mal.

To get this extra speed under control when turning, we in SUPA land use two things, One is the paddle the other is tail lift.
I have found through experiment that you can use extra tail lift in SUPA boards that would be excessive amounts of tail lift in Mal's or shortboards.

Tail lift makes boards turn faster but slows them down because it also causes drag. A lot of us have felt this drag when Greg Webber brought out the Potato chip design in the early 90s, they turned fast but you never made a wave unless you were a pro surfer.

The extra width of the SUPA boards offsets the drag caused by the extra tail lift that I use, it has taken some time but I think I have found a good balance for my designs.

This all started a couple of years ago when I wanted my 10'4 to be looser in the waves it was stable and fast but only surfed traditionally. After some thought I cut a step into the bottom of the board behind the centre fin, this added around 20mm of late tail kick. This changed the board into a looser turning board but it did not loose any speed.

Here we are today, all my designs have late tail kick. The amount varies depending on the tail width. Annie's board has nearly 20mm less tail lift than my longer wider designs.

The other reason why I wanted a looser board is because I have a chronic bad back from an old surfing accident that happened at Burleigh in the 70's.

I originally wanted to do SUP without using a paddle for turning or cut backs as this twisted my back and caused pain. So I needed a looser board, that's what really started the research. Then I discovered turning with a paddle when I got SUPA fit, we all know about this.

I only cut back with what I call the push turn off the lip, with the extra tail lift the boards snap around in the pocket like a short board. The YouTube vid I made shows how I do this and how fast the boards cut back.

I make all my own fins for my boards and vary the size and flex for different riders and paddles are part of the overall SUP experience so I make my own paddles to how I want them to go and feel. I also adjust the blade area to suit the individual riders weight and adjust the flex for them as well, just as I adjust the boards variables, length , width, volume and rocker for different riders.

Rod

Hi MickV,
The pics are not that clear it was a late arvo shoot. Yes the boards do have a wooden veneer deck vacuumed on. The veneer is 2.5mm thick. The timber actually allows me to make the boards lighter and pretty much dent free, but only because I use 2.5mm thick veneer. Thinner stuff does not do the job properly.

Rod

well said rod,annie found the board so easy to turn in the pocket at nationals even on her backhand,the tail lift is exactly what she needed,looking forward to better waves and testing her forehand on the open beaches,the paddling is no problems she went over to the pot from mainbeach,not a huge paddle,and found it glided along nicely for such a short board.people checking it out reckon it is a great looking board,both surfers and shapers.

Visited Portland today and got a SUP in with Brooko. I had a chance to checkout Brooko's Surfshapes and must comment:
- Manufacturing is very, very good
- Weight is amazingly light
- Shape, finish, fins, everything about it looks sick!

Also the Surfshapes paddle is amazing! I got to compare it the the Methane and I can't say it's better but I can say there is basically no difference! Great job Rod.


Brooko, thanks for having me and showing me around. Was good to catch up with a fellow breezer and get some waves. Hopefully your back gets better and next time we'll hit some bigger waves. Thanks Robdog as well for coming down.

looks like someone has a coke habit

Bnaccas said...



Also the Surfshapes paddle is amazing! I got to compare it the the Methane and I can't say it's better but I can say there is basically no difference! Great job Rod.

Good to catch up and have a surf Brendan. There's a fair bit of difference between the paddles, but both real good paddles. Brooko's SurfShapes paddle has a little more area, is lighter, blade is at a slightly different angle, delivers a bit more power IMO.

Ben dover said...

Is it just me or is that handle really big?

The handle is bigger and curved.When I first seen It I thought It looked a little weird, but after using It for the past few weeks I am loving the shape of the handle. I find It fits Into the curve of your palm perfectly and Is good for quick Initial feel to get the paddle the right way.

Bnaccas said...


Also the Surfshapes paddle is amazing! I got to compare it the the Methane and I can't say it's better but I can say there is basically no difference! Great job Rod.

Yeah Robdog, really just a bad choice of words. The words I should have used would be something like this: The Surfshapes paddle weighed the same as the methane, blade shape is very similar although thicker profile through the top of the blade, carbon work is faultless. A very good paddle, possibly better than the Methane.

The "no difference" part was not implying copying. More like similar.

dont know how many more sleeps till i get my surfshapes,should be before easter,im hangin,re the paddles,rod custom made one for annie,smaller blade,trimmed the handle,custom flex,she reckons its fast and light.i think he spoilt her.