Is it wrong to love a board?

A while back, I asked Sunova to make a new board. The goal was to be able to take on bigger waves (head-high ++) in ordinary conditions. We came up with a 9'9 x 31.25 and 135L. In the end, it was basically a wide Insane.

It finally arrived a couple of weeks ago.

I took it out at the prom in very ordinary conditions (windy/choppy) but head-high waves. It passed with flying colors! Stable, fast, it punched through waves on the way back out (beach break). Had some great rides.

On Friday and Saturday, I took it out at my favorite spot (not allowed to say where - Supchikadee beat me about the head for naming the break).

Friday was nasty - big (well over my head and I am 6'3), a bit windy on-shore, choppy, and the tide was too full - plus I was by myself 1 km offshore. The board did not let me down. We both took a few on the head.

Saturday was clean, still pumping - and filled with surfers who are yet to see the light... Again, the board was perfect. The fastest wave was 28.3 km/hr.

It has enough length to get you on to the wave, enough rocker to survive the drop, enough buoyancy to keep you afloat without being corky, and the looks to scare off the sharks. It could not be better.

(I am 6'3, 100 kg, 60 yo. - and I have no business affiliation with Sunova)

It is a real keeper.

Looks really nice, I was around the corner and down a bit on Saturday.

Great looking board..hhhmmmm .could this be the one your been looking for ?

Sweet looking board CSE
At 9'9, is this your longest board? (not counting flat water board).
Keen to hear how it goes over time. Looks sick.

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Tardy said..
Great looking board..hhhmmmm .could this be the one your been looking for ?

I think so! My search has ended. I will never need to look at other boards.

Well, maybe.

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MangoDingo said..
Sweet looking board CSE
At 9'9, is this your longest board? (not counting flat water board).
Keen to hear how it goes over time. Looks sick.

Although I still have a Style and an old Trigger, this is my longest board in the "active quiver". I am not sure when I would take my 12' Point Break out (other than for flat water paddling), although sometimes the conditions are OK but the waves don't always break at my favorite spot, so the Point Break would help me get on to them.

I am only three sessions in, but it felt right the moment I stepped on to it. I still only have the stock Sunova fins on it, so I have not determined if different fin options would make it even better.

C.S.P. without all the design techno crap,that board looks right very balanced,your going to get a lot of noise about putting Quobba's on it

Awesome looking sup and perfect for our favourite break

Well thought out amount of glide and width for the chop out back, enjoy you 60 year old frother (ps i'm allowed to say that as i'm not far behind you )

Hi mate, that is a beautiful looking board. When my Naish Nalu 10x29 dies I was looking at getting a Sunova Throttle Casey in the 9'11" size, this looks even better. Keep us posted about how you find the ride and the conditions it handles. I might need to "borrow" your dimensions one day

Hi CSE, have you put it on the scales ??? Any idea of the weight of this beauty?

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justaddwater said..
C.S.P. without all the design techno crap,that board looks right very balanced,your going to get a lot of noise about putting Quobba's on it

I have to confess that I have never fully appreciated the difference that the fins or fin configuration (quad vs thruster) makes to a board. I did not like the Placid when I first owned it and put my c-drives on it and loved it afterwards - but to be honest, I don't know if the fins made the difference or whether I just figured out the board.

At the moment I have it set up with the Sunova supplied fins in quad. Does anyone have a recommendation on the best set up (and what I would notice as an improvement)?

I do own some Quobbas - I should stick them on and see if I notice the difference. Quad or thruster?

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drivethebus said..
Hi mate, that is a beautiful looking board. When my Naish Nalu 10x29 dies I was looking at getting a Sunova Throttle Casey in the 9'11" size, this looks even better. Keep us posted about how you find the ride and the conditions it handles. I might need to "borrow" your dimensions one day

I am more than happy for anyone to ask for the same board. Here are the specs. (I did convince them to add the dark grey deck pad - I thought it would look better).

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bomberdave said..
Hi CSE, have you put it on the scales ??? Any idea of the weight of this beauty?

I just did a crude weighing. It is between 9 and 10 kg. They told me that all the carbon (the two stripes and the mesh) would add over 1 kilo. I think weight is your friend on bigger waves like this. It may take a little more to get it moving (but it does have a very pointy nose) but once you do, the chop won't slow it down as much, and you get the momentum down the wave. I am not trying to throw it around, so I think the weight is OK.

IMO

For big down the line waves you just want to survive on - quad
For big walls that you want to surf top to bottom - thruster

Honestly. a tail like that deserves a nice thruster set up ;)

IMO

For big down the line waves you just want to survive on - quad
For big walls that you want to surf top to bottom - thruster

Honestly. a tail like that deserves a nice thruster set up ;)

One thing with the carbon right through the middle it will add a lot of strength to it ,so very unlikely to break in half if a big wave breaks on it ,ready for Pipeline

Don't leave the board in the sun for too long or on the roof of the car as that black carbon strip attracts heat and can cause a delamination like my Sunova Flash did.

Great shape BTW

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wazza66 said..
Don't leave the board in the sun for too long or on the roof of the car as that black carbon strip attracts heat and can cause a delamination like my Sunova Flash did.

Great shape BTW

Yes, they warned me about that, and they were concerned about the dark grey deckpad, so I will need to be careful.

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Hoppo3228 said..
IMO

For big down the line waves you just want to survive on - quad
For big walls that you want to surf top to bottom - thruster

Honestly. a tail like that deserves a nice thruster set up ;)

Thanks! Survival was the first priority with this board. I wanted it to be long enough to catch it, enough rocker to survive the drop, and fast enough to race along the wave and stay out of trouble. I wanted the adreneline rush - but also to survive to enjoy the memory.

I have tried some 'fancy' turns, but it is going to take some time to figure out foot positions. The first big turn I tried threw me off - I did not expect it to turn quite as fast. But some top turns have come unstuck because the nose did not come back around as quickly as I expected.

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Tardy said..
One thing with the carbon right through the middle it will add a lot of strength to it ,so very unlikely to break in half if a big wave breaks on it ,ready for Pipeline

Yes, the carbon strip and 'netting' top and bottom will make it industrial strength. If a wave can break it then no board would survive!

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cantSUPenough said..

justaddwater said..
C.S.P. without all the design techno crap,that board looks right very balanced,your going to get a lot of noise about putting Quobba's on it

I have to confess that I have never fully appreciated the difference that the fins or fin configuration (quad vs thruster) makes to a board. I did not like the Placid when I first owned it and put my c-drives on it and loved it afterwards - but to be honest, I don't know if the fins made the difference or whether I just figured out the board.

At the moment I have it set up with the Sunova supplied fins in quad. Does anyone have a recommendation on the best set up (and what I would notice as an improvement)?

I do own some Quobbas - I should stick them on and see if I notice the difference. Quad or thruster?

The board I'm currently surfing is not a dissimilar shape, I've surfed it as a thruster using qobba's, and a quad with c drives, the quad has quickly become my go to. If that helps.

I love the board CSE!
Looks perfect for your intended use.

Dims sound perfect for me.
I should have something like that when our Hurricane swells hit the points I travel to.

My 9'4 Creek has always been my goto in OH waves, but I'd love something like your X-wide Insane for paddle power on a big playing field.

I am becoming a big fan of the Quobba Thruster setup but I can't speak to their performance in bigger waves yet, as I have been in Summer smalls since I got the Quobba's. They really loosen my boards up in small waves, in a kind on magical way!