I have been keeping this little project under wraps for a few weeks but now it is time to unveil my first custom board!

First of all you should know I am the proud owner of a 7’10” Minion and after reading the very long thread www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/DEEP-Oceanboards-72-Minion-Review/?page=1 I took the plunge and basically never looked back.

However after riding the 7’10” with wife and kids in toe I soon realised that a slightly bigger version of these incredibly fun little boards was needed. (Basically one the whole family could ride should the need arise)

My second phone call to Simon Hunnybun the shaper at Deep OceanBoards was again a very pleasant experience, the first being for my first order of a 7’10” which needless to say I was very apprehensive, filled with doubt about quality, workmanship and everything else that goes through ones mind when ordering a custom for the very first time. Well that was put at ease in my first experience and you can see my short video review on the above mentioned thread around page 20 half way down comparing a Naish 8’3”. Yes I am a typical SUP intermediate that bought into the whole brand name gig and I have a second mortgage to prove it!

Satisfied with the quality and craftsmanship of my 7’10” I knew he could take on the project.

I should probably tell you that I was also downsizing from a 9’1” Naish X32 Hokua which I loved but just didn’t grill my steak in the small wave performance department. Nice but no thrill. Hence the 8’3”, but after a nearly very serious stabing by the nose in my mid section which nearly resulted in my intestines being strewn from one end of Noosa to the other, No more pointy noses for me. Lets just say it was a very big wake up call that being 47 years old and 90 KG’s I am no spring chicken anymore.

Anyway here is the first image I received from Simon. Having a computer generated image really helped me make my dream a reality and one step closer to the “All Round Incredible Fun Board” for the balanced impaired guy. Sorry guys but I do not have the balance of a cat, I am just an ordinary guy wanting a little more zing from my everyday goto board.


Firstly lets take a look at my thinking
1. Needed it a little wider so the wife can be comfortable but not too wide to reduce the performance. Knowing X32 wide is the dream measurement and reading a few comments from other respected designers here on the forum I went with 31 a happy compromise

2. Love the tail of the 7’10 minion it is truly the business and with all the trappings underneath, Nice wide nose for forward balance leading into a concave under the noose with Simons trademark chines, concave, flat, slight V into double channels.

3. Flat thru the widest point (middle) I asked Simon to move the widest point parallel to the handle as usually on a Parallel rail board the widest point is just shy of the handle. Now I know I was in unchartered territory here but I had some faith in Simons ability to produce the goods without performance compromise.

4. Tail and all the business underneath of my small minion as this is really where all the fun is and I didn’t want to mess with that. Bat tail is there for a reason and from past experience on a Firewire Sweet Potato as my prone surfboard I understand the concept of wide tails and two sections to work with.

5. Not too corky so I reduced the thickness to 4 ¼ thus giving a volume of 133L (This is something I noted on the 7’10” the more volume the more corkier the more tipier excuse the spelling but I am sure you know what I mean.


Well Happy to say that I picked it up from Deep a couple of days ago



AND ITS EXACTLY HOW SIMON SAID IT WOULD BE PERFECT!

Nice Darren. So in that couple of days have you managed to try it out?

bloody beautiful mate as long as it makes you happy and you get plenty of waves,
been talking with simon a bit and think i might get one they look unreal

Jarryd

Had my first Surf on the New 8'4" Yesterday in 2 ft average wind blown waves

Stability = 10 beers, you could have 10 beers and still not fall of this ....Love it

Performance = As expected, INCREDIBLE however the increase in nose width means its a little heavier to bring round comparing to the 7'10"

Comparing against the 9'1 Naish Hokua = I have to say that these are two very different boards, That being said the wife never got on the Hokua and a little paddle on the river afterwards she was fine...:) means I get to keep it LOL!

Speed = No difference in speed from the 7'10" FAST, putting your foot over the back fins is like putting your foot on the accelerator in a turbo charged speed machine. WOW these things are fast. I guess its from the larger planning surface. Hell Fun is all I have to say.

Paddle ability = Exceptional, When it comes to performance you tend to loose a lot in well....flatwater paddle ability. 2 hour surf and I could have done another 2. Paddle ability = Exceptional and+ 10 Beers

So in summing up

1. Very happy with my experience with Deep Ocean Boards for a custom (Simon does know what he is doing and is a wealth of knowledge)

2. Quality and Craftsmanship - Well I bought a second one so that should answer that and I am ANAL when it comes to quality!

3. Can Simon make larger Stretch Minions for us balance impaired slightly over weight, mild fitness, suffering from a mid life crisis types? Hell Yes!

I will add a video review soon as I can get out of the office and the surf and weather is decent.

Thanks to all you Seabreezers who contribute to this wonderful forum without you guys I would have not had the confidence to

1. Go Sub 10 foot
2. Go Sub 9 foot
3. Go Sub 8 foot
4. Even dream about a custom oversized pocket rocket and its Still SUB 9 FOOT.........

Thanks

D

Hey Brenno

I saw your board in the factory......LOOKS SWEEEEEET, let me know when you pick it up and we will shoot a few

3. Can Simon make larger Stretch Minions for us balance impaired slightly over weight, mild fitness, suffering from a mid life crisis types? Hell Yes!

Haha. You've just descibed me to a tee!
I'm f'n excited!

Hey Jarryd

Yes I can actually get more quantity, I got every wave I paddled for...

No the 7'10 is NOT FOR SALE

And the Deep Minions are everything this forum says they are....in a word UNREAL

Get excited Brenno YEEEWWW

Another nice little review and positive words for deep ocean boards.

Can't wait to pick up my 7'0 minnion in a few weeks time

aaahhhh to ride a 7.0 only in my dreams....enjoy Dan can't wait to see your review

Thanks for sharing the info about the stretched Minion design. I have been imagining what dimensions I would want for the windy/crappy/choppy sessions - longer/wider/thinner - and you have just realized it for me! I'd just shave a bit of volume off by going to 4" thick to get something around 125L.

Longer Wider Thinner

For those crappy days

Didn't I see someone throwing around a pic of a minion-esque long board?

looks good, djh, have fun

Hi djansen,

Great review!

That is an excellent looking board. I have been thinking about a new board for a while now and I reckon you have nailed it with this stretched minion ( I'm 90 kts also).

Thanks for sharing the pics and info.

On ya Darren - great review. Sounds like a super fun board for the whole family.

I'm in the process of stretching my 7'4" PaddlePop. Should be ready very soon - woo hoo:

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Casso said..
On ya Darren - great review. Sounds like a super fun board for the whole family.

I'm in the process of stretching my 7'4" PaddlePop. Should be ready very soon - woo hoo:

Hmmmm clearly with one thing in mind.............

Yeah Casso

I saw that on Simons shaping table...Looks sick

I bet you will be winning a few Mal contests on that speed machine :)

One thing I really enjoyed about working with Simon from Deep Ocean Boards was that nothing was beyond his capabilities and he really listened to what I had to say about what "I" wanted from the design.

Really cool how he can produce a computer model before you start cutting the blank which just gives you that extra level of confidence.

I also liked the fact that all the materials he uses are Aussie made from Aussie Manufactures and far better than all that import crap

In my case it wasn't just about "Support Local", it was about buying a "Superior Product"

I am sure we will be seeing many more weird and wonderful creations coming out of that factory. I am also starting to see more and more stuff about deep ocean boards here on the forum which is great news.

Just a short update here guys

I ve been riding the 8'4 in near perfect conditions up here in Noosa and I have to say that I love, love, love it

The stability is absolutely on par with my old 9.1 Naish hokua

Speed, absolutely incredible

Turning ability as described above, a little less performance to the 7.10 but that was to be expected and the difference really is marginal.

Hoping to do a in the water video review out to you guys soon

regards
D

P.S. Caught up with Brenno for a few sneaky ones, our surf got cut short to a little accident he had. I will let you inform you of what happened. Hope all is well STUMPY!

P.S> if any of you fellow seabreezers are up in Noosa give me shout and well hook up for a few.

Cheers Darren. Been waiting for this post. Cut short, is that a pun? Anyways i was about to push D off his stretch minion and have a go, because he was having WAY more fun than me, when i got caught up in the leash as my laird went over the falls and pulled the top of my ring finger off. Yep, it can happen and really quickly too.
Thanks for sorting me out D. I'm sure a big fat bream is enjoying the top of my finger somewhere. Either that or someone found it and they're still looking for the rest of the body.
Whatever happens, there's enough left to grasp a paddle and I'll be back out there in a couple of weeks.
Here's a pic for you champ!

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Brenno said...
Cheers Darren. Been waiting for this post. Cut short, is that a pun? Anyways i was about to push D off his stretch minion and have a go, because he was having WAY more fun than me, when i got caught up in the leash as my laird went over the falls and pulled the top of my ring finger off. Yep, it can happen and really quickly too.
Thanks for sorting me out D. I'm sure a big fat bream is enjoying the top of my finger somewhere. Either that or someone found it and they're still looking for the rest of the body.
Whatever happens, there's enough left to grasp a paddle and I'll be back out there in a couple of weeks.
Here's a pic for you champ!

that's HEAVY!!! Were you wearing a ring? Is that what did it or just the leash on its own?

Nah, my missus said it happened because i don't wear the ring. Lol. The board was pretty much nose down with the full weight of the wave tightening the leash around my last three fingers, dragging my full bodyweight. When it slipped off it broke the bone in the tip of my ring finger and tore it off really easily. I didn't see it happen and suprisingly felt very little. Until after the doc had fiddled with it, that is....
Many positives Z man, being right handed for one. My awesome kids have made a list. No.1 is that i can still hold a paddle and SUP surf.

Im going straight home and putting my ring on.

Ow that is very nasty and quite a strange unexpected accident.

Djansen, How do you compare the overall experience on this board with something like the 9'1 or 8'3 hokua x32. I am very close to pulling the trigger on one of these bad boys.

I am 6'3 and 105kgs solid intermediate, currently riding a jp 9'2 surf and wanting to go shorter but not lose too much stability or paddle ability as I am often surfing in lumpy crappy conditions around perth and would like a board that will see me through those conditions well. I am thinking of an 8'2 x 30.5 and around 130 liters. The other boards I have in mind are the Hokua x32 either 8'8 or 8'3 or sunova skate 8'6 x 30.75.

The price on the Minion including shipping to WA is roughly the same or lower than the others I am just not super sure about them as an all rounder

I hope t put my down payment down on a7'10 this week if simon has the time to invoice me! haha.

Had a few this morning at first point Noosa. was out for about 2 hours telling myself I have some great footage here the seabreezers are going to love it.....till I realised I only turned the power on and didn't hit the record button duh......... (and the fish was how big???)

Anyway just so the folks here at seabreeze get a glimpse of the Stretch in action I paddled back out (I was stuffed from the previous session (this time with record button on LOL) and picked up another 2 very tiny ones as the swell was dropping.

Here in the video I have tried to edit it so you can see the stability when paddling out and punching through a few little waves as I have explained its 10 beers stable but I don't drink in the mornings...:P

You can also see when I pull of a little wave and another side swipes me like the titanic its still stable.....

anyway I added some relaxing audio for your listening pleasure

hope to bring you guys some more video footage in the next couple of days.

JacobMatan With regards to comparing between a 9.1 X32 Hokua which I have owned and the 8.3 which I have also owned. My personal preference is the Minion. Don't get me wrong I very much enjoyed the X32's the 8.3 pivot is incredible, the 9.1 stability was excellent however a stretch minion 8'2 X 30.5 will be smack bang in the middle more comparing to a 8.8 X32 which I have demoed so your right on the money. If you are like me and prefer a wider tail for speed in your normal surfing then you just cant go wrong. It will be the allrounder of choice in your quiver, not that you will need a quiver .....

enjoy the video

regards D

P.S. Thanks Brenno I just ate breakfast and opened up this thread.....feeling a bit queesy now

Hi Darren, Really enjoyed your reviews on the stretch. Am 6'2", 100kgs and have the 7'10" and love it when the conditions are right. Since your review Simon is making me a stretch but at 30.5" wide and at 8'4". Can't wait. Thanks

Hey pepper congrats champ

you will love the Stretch

I was the same as you the conditions had to be close on glass for me to enjoy the 7'10 (when it was glass nothing compares)

I worked hard on the Stretch design with Simon and I belive we have the perfect shape now. Took him a while to get his head around greater than 8'0 but we tinkered and played with a lot of CAD designs

As you can see in the pics I moved some of the volume from the deck out to the rails to give it more what I call "East/West Stability" and it worked a treat :)

Simon is an incredible shaper and really listened to what I wanted. I also made him come surfing with me to ensure he knew my pain and joy moments.





Hence the reason for leaving the tail alone (all business there) I just wanted to be more comfortable as I dont have the balance of a cat

I have to say this is now my goto board for just about any condition....and considering I was struggling on the 8'3 Naish the 8'4 Stretch minion is my wet dream!

Thanks Darren. Really appreciate your input. Can't wait.

No worries pepper feel free to come back and write about your experience with Simon at Deep, your thoughts on Deeps quality, customer service ect. It would be good to have some input from someone across the channel ordering a board from an Aussie Shaper!

Don't forget to add some pics of your new stick when you get it too :)

Appears the Stretch Club is growing .....Longer not shorter my wife says!

G'Day djanson,

I'm still saving but getting much closer to getting my dream Deep board.

You've had the 'stretch' for a while now....how's it going? Are you still stoked?

I've been contemplating a stretch minion, stretch paddlepop and also the rhino chaser.

Unfortunately I can only afford one new board at the moment so I would be very interested in your feedback.

Thanks
Anthony.