hi guys
i have been surfing mals, mini mals and shorter boards (6'10") for years and now want to get a sup, I am a raw beginner, it looks great fun.
i am male, 55y.o. 177 cm and 87 kg.
use will be for flat days for exercise and for up to chest high surf, when I improve, I want to be able to paddle from surf break to surf break Along the beach.
i have read loads and loads from forums and have come up with the following,
would like stability whilst out the back waiting for waves or paddling to another break or cruising up a river.
i am going to try and sample boards, not easy, but am going to try a mates 11 footer.

3 boards that I have seen and have been told would suit me, and I like the look of.

naish hokua x32 gtw 9' 6" 32" 5" 170 litre (1st choice)
naish mana gtw 9' 5" 32" 4 3/4 160 litre (2 nd choice)
Blue planet turbo model 9' 10" 34" 4 1/2" 186 litre ( cheapest option)

please could you give me your advice, are they too big, too small etc
you have all been where I am at, and I would love to read your thoughts
i would like something I could throw around in waves later but stable out the back and on flat water. yes I would like my cake and eat it too??

Please help
Andy

I have a Naish Mana 10' and love it, it's 33 wide and very stable and tracks well I tried an 11' at 32 and the inch makes a difference.

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Andycar said..
i would like something I could throw around in waves later but stable out the back and on flat water. yes I would like my cake and eat it too??

No, you can definitely find boards stable enough to begin with, that can later still be fun in small/weak/choppy waves. But there is no way around it, to maximize performance you will want a board more adapted to your desires later... but the old one can still be used for friends/wife, cruising, ...

More than 9'x" length and 32" should be enough.

As a surfer, to get a board with a good feeling you will want:
- Not too much volume. More than 140l should be OK, 180l is a bit much
- You want to get a model designed by a real shaper with a name, and production supervised: avoid all the no-name brands where the manager just come to a chinese factory and order boards on the catalog of the factory generic shapes, only choosing the graphics.
Basically, go to the company web site, and if you cannot find the name of an human being that shapes the boards (by hand or computer), something is fishy, I would avoid.

Welcome to the forum!

A couple of questions; where do you surf? How often does it have smooth conditions (is it often choppy, is there a lot of water moving around)? Is it a reef break such that you can paddle around the waves, or do you have to go through them? If the conditions are not great then you will need a more stable board.

As you can guess, the ideal river board is not the ideal surf board, so you may have to decide what is most important. The Naish X32 has a lot of rocker - fun in the surf but it will slow you down on the river. I am 90 kg (53 yo) and have been at it a couple of years, and have the 8'8" X32. Love the board, but I would not take it up a river.

I don't have a Mana, but from what I have seen they would be OK in the river, and still fun in the surf. Not sure you would "throw it around", but I think it is the best compromise.

I don't know the Blue Planet board, but based on the specs, it is the safest option. (And if it is a lot less expensive then it will give you the option to migrate to the next board sooner. A word of warning about SUPs, we are often thinking about the "next board" ).

The only other question is size. At 87 kg, and no SUP experience, 9'5" and 160 litres might be a bit small. But if I were you I would go for it. If you have been riding mini-mals and shorter boards, and you are still fit enough, and you want fun in the surf, and you are willing to go for a few swims, then you should master the Mana in no time. I personally think you will get bored with a much bigger board.

I would not suggest going any smaller than the boards you've mentioned.. I'd recomend either the 9'5"x32" Mana or the new 9'6"x32 Hokua (btw I have both) with the Mana being my first choice for you.. Where are you? You are welcome to try my boards.. I'm 58 and 95kg..

I wonder what the 9' 6" mana is like in stability,wave catching, etc compared to the 10'

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cantSUPenough said..
Welcome to the forum!

A couple of questions; where do you surf? How often does it have smooth conditions (is it often choppy, is there a lot of water moving around)? Is it a reef break such that you can paddle around the waves, or do you have to go through them? If the conditions are not great then you will need a more stable board.

As you can guess, the ideal river board is not the ideal surf board, so you may have to decide what is most important. The Naish X32 has a lot of rocker - fun in the surf but it will slow you down on the river. I am 90 kg (53 yo) and have been at it a couple of years, and have the 8'8" X32. Love the board, but I would not take it up a river.

I don't have a Mana, but from what I have seen they would be OK in the river, and still fun in the surf. Not sure you would "throw it around", but I think it is the best compromise.

I don't know the Blue Planet board, but based on the specs, it is the safest option. (And if it is a lot less expensive then it will give you the option to migrate to the next board sooner. A word of warning about SUPs, we are often thinking about the "next board" ).

The only other question is size. At 87 kg, and no SUP experience, 9'5" and 160 litres might be a bit small. But if I were you I would go for it. If you have been riding mini-mals and shorter boards, and you are still fit enough, and you want fun in the surf, and you are willing to go for a few swims, then you should master the Mana in no time. I personally think you will get bored with a much bigger board.

Thanks for your comments
I surf on the west coast Vic from 13 the beach to Bells beach. It does get choppy, always seems to be windy at the moment!
i will most likely use the sup at beach breaks on small days, it depends how I go, but could see myself moving onto reef breaks as I get better. So at this stage would paddle through the waves to get out the back.
i am not after a speed board in flat conditions but one that I can paddle confinitaly in chop With stabilit.
the comment of "the next board" is spot on, as I can see already 2 boards would be good??
I agree that I shouldn't go under 9' 6" but I guess it comes down to the amount of front rocker, nose width and board width
thanks for your thoughts
andy

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Andycar said..
I wonder what the 9' 6" mana is like in stability,wave catching, etc compared to the 10'

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DavidJohn said..
I would not suggest going any smaller than the boards you've mentioned.. I'd recomend either the 9'5"x32" Mana or the new 9'6"x32 Hokua (btw I have both) with the Mana being my first choice for you.. Where are you? You are welcome to try my boards.. I'm 58 and 95kg..

Thanks DJ for the offer, I am on the west coast at Torquay, where are you from?
why would you recommend the mana?
the reason that I prefer the 9'6" x32 is I believe that it has more rocker and less nose volume, which would help in the surf but not as good for flat water paddling. Please correct me if I am wrong. Have you heard of Blue Planet boards? Do you know if they are of good quality?
stonker in Torquay stock them, and they are a fair bit cheaper than Naish.
at this stage trying to get a board that I can grow into but not get frustrated by ending up in the water alot of the time whilst learning.
thanks for you input
andy

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Andycar said..

cantSUPenough said..
Welcome to the forum!

A couple of questions; where do you surf? How often does it have smooth conditions (is it often choppy, is there a lot of water moving around)? Is it a reef break such that you can paddle around the waves, or do you have to go through them? If the conditions are not great then you will need a more stable board.

As you can guess, the ideal river board is not the ideal surf board, so you may have to decide what is most important. The Naish X32 has a lot of rocker - fun in the surf but it will slow you down on the river. I am 90 kg (53 yo) and have been at it a couple of years, and have the 8'8" X32. Love the board, but I would not take it up a river.

I don't have a Mana, but from what I have seen they would be OK in the river, and still fun in the surf. Not sure you would "throw it around", but I think it is the best compromise.

I don't know the Blue Planet board, but based on the specs, it is the safest option. (And if it is a lot less expensive then it will give you the option to migrate to the next board sooner. A word of warning about SUPs, we are often thinking about the "next board" ).

The only other question is size. At 87 kg, and no SUP experience, 9'5" and 160 litres might be a bit small. But if I were you I would go for it. If you have been riding mini-mals and shorter boards, and you are still fit enough, and you want fun in the surf, and you are willing to go for a few swims, then you should master the Mana in no time. I personally think you will get bored with a much bigger board.

Thanks for your comments
I surf on the west coast Vic from 13 the beach to Bells beach. It does get choppy, always seems to be windy at the moment!
i will most likely use the sup at beach breaks on small days, it depends how I go, but could see myself moving onto reef breaks as I get better. So at this stage would paddle through the waves to get out the back.
i am not after a speed board in flat conditions but one that I can paddle confinitaly in chop With stabilit.
the comment of "the next board" is spot on, as I can see already 2 boards would be good??
I agree that I shouldn't go under 9' 6" but I guess it comes down to the amount of front rocker, nose width and board width
thanks for your thoughts
andy

Board selection is so tricky...

For me, I am wondering what board you would still want to have once you have improved and moved on to your next board... (And the board after that.) I get to go out fairly frequently, but mostly on Westerport (same place as DJ) but also Flinders (big left) and Wilsons Prom. So for me, I would like to end up with the Mana for the small days, (and sh1tty days where you really need the stability, and the river days where a flatter board makes sense) but a smaller Hokua X32 for the fun surf days. But that is only if you will SUP frequently, and if you love "throwing the board around" - that's what I love doing - I am not good at it, but I love trying But I am often in smaller, more manageable waves... If you won't get out as frequently (one session every two weeks or less), then the Hokua X32 9'6" makes sense because the stability will be important for a much longer time and (IMO) the Hokua is more of a "surf" board than the Mana.

So, if you expect to get out frequently, and you expect (want) to progress, then get the Mana as the learner board and the future river, small wave, cruisie days, with the idea of getting a 9'1" or 8'8" Hokua in the future.

If not, go for the Hokua now.

(One area where I disagree with others; demoing boards is great, but the demo depends so much on that day's conditions, and on your ability on that day. So if you demo a board and think it feels good, the chances are you will be bored with it in the not too distant future - if you expect to sup a lot. Plus it some times take a few sessions to "dial it in".)

Sorry for the essay

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DavidJohn said..
I would not suggest going any smaller than the boards you've mentioned.. I'd recomend either the 9'5"x32" Mana or the new 9'6"x32 Hokua (btw I have both) with the Mana being my first choice for you.. Where are you? You are welcome to try my boards.. I'm 58 and 95kg..

Sorry to hijack your thread a little Andy. But, DJ, how do you find the Hokua for waiting around out the back stability wise and early picking up of the wave?

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cantSUPenough said..

Andycar said..

cantSUPenough said..
Welcome to the forum!

A couple of questions; where do you surf? How often does it have smooth conditions (is it often choppy, is there a lot of water moving around)? Is it a reef break such that you can paddle around the waves, or do you have to go through them? If the conditions are not great then you will need a more stable board.

As you can guess, the ideal river board is not the ideal surf board, so you may have to decide what is most important. The Naish X32 has a lot of rocker - fun in the surf but it will slow you down on the river. I am 90 kg (53 yo) and have been at it a couple of years, and have the 8'8" X32. Love the board, but I would not take it up a river.

I don't have a Mana, but from what I have seen they would be OK in the river, and still fun in the surf. Not sure you would "throw it around", but I think it is the best compromise.

I don't know the Blue Planet board, but based on the specs, it is the safest option. (And if it is a lot less expensive then it will give you the option to migrate to the next board sooner. A word of warning about SUPs, we are often thinking about the "next board" ).

The only other question is size. At 87 kg, and no SUP experience, 9'5" and 160 litres might be a bit small. But if I were you I would go for it. If you have been riding mini-mals and shorter boards, and you are still fit enough, and you want fun in the surf, and you are willing to go for a few swims, then you should master the Mana in no time. I personally think you will get bored with a much bigger board.

Thanks for your comments
I surf on the west coast Vic from 13 the beach to Bells beach. It does get choppy, always seems to be windy at the moment!
i will most likely use the sup at beach breaks on small days, it depends how I go, but could see myself moving onto reef breaks as I get better. So at this stage would paddle through the waves to get out the back.
i am not after a speed board in flat conditions but one that I can paddle confinitaly in chop With stabilit.
the comment of "the next board" is spot on, as I can see already 2 boards would be good??
I agree that I shouldn't go under 9' 6" but I guess it comes down to the amount of front rocker, nose width and board width
thanks for your thoughts
andy

Board selection is so tricky...

For me, I am wondering what board you would still want to have once you have improved and moved on to your next board... (And the board after that.) I get to go out fairly frequently, but mostly on Westerport (same place as DJ) but also Flinders (big left) and Wilsons Prom. So for me, I would like to end up with the Mana for the small days, (and sh1tty days where you really need the stability, and the river days where a flatter board makes sense) but a smaller Hokua X32 for the fun surf days. But that is only if you will SUP frequently, and if you love "throwing the board around" - that's what I love doing - I am not good at it, but I love trying But I am often in smaller, more manageable waves... If you won't get out as frequently (one session every two weeks or less), then the Hokua X32 9'6" makes sense because the stability will be important for a much longer time and (IMO) the Hokua is more of a "surf" board than the Mana.

So, if you expect to get out frequently, and you expect (want) to progress, then get the Mana as the learner board and the future river, small wave, cruisie days, with the idea of getting a 9'1" or 8'8" Hokua in the future.

If not, go for the Hokua now.

(One area where I disagree with others; demoing boards is great, but the demo depends so much on that day's conditions, and on your ability on that day. So if you demo a board and think it feels good, the chances are you will be bored with it in the not too distant future - if you expect to sup a lot. Plus it some times take a few sessions to "dial it in".)

Sorry for the essay

Thanks for the info
i think that having a board that i will be able to cruise around on flat days and copes in small waves is important for me. Waves over chest high I would go out on my short surf board, but that could change if I get hooked on SUPing. I hope too eventually be able to throw the board around if my skills allow, time will tell. I am leaning towards the 9' 6" Hokua x32 but the mana would be the better all rounder but I may get bored with this in time.
i can see that I will probably require 2 boards down the track if my skills improve.
i will watch DJ,s videos again as these type of waves are what I would be learning in.
i also agree with your demo board theory, but I guess if I have trouble balancing on a 11' footer a 9 footer will be no good.
DJ, is there much difference between the x32 and the mana in stability on flat water, and choppy water and catching 1' waves,

thanks again for all the advice
andy

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bobajob said..

DavidJohn said..
I would not suggest going any smaller than the boards you've mentioned.. I'd recomend either the 9'5"x32" Mana or the new 9'6"x32 Hokua (btw I have both) with the Mana being my first choice for you.. Where are you? You are welcome to try my boards.. I'm 58 and 95kg..

Sorry to hijack your thread a little Andy. But, DJ, how do you find the Hokua for waiting around out the back stability wise and early picking up of the wave?

Good question, I will be interested in that answer too
Andy

Consider this, a mate was in exactly the same phase as you ,told him to buy a 8,10'x32' naish mana gt which he did, he had never ever stood on a sup before so off he goes and spends a weekend on the river, then the following weekend in almost dead flat surf mind you this guy is keen that was 2 yrs ago. His surfing background like yours fast tracked him to where he is today, way above average, he kept the naish for his wife and kids to use, remember these boards are fairly light and compact easy to carry and load. When I think back about all the boards iv,e had, the torn hamstring , slipped disc, etc trying to turn these monster ocean liners in the surf I know what I would do.

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bobajob said...

DavidJohn said..
I would not suggest going any smaller than the boards you've mentioned.. I'd recomend either the 9'5"x32" Mana or the new 9'6"x32 Hokua (btw I have both) with the Mana being my first choice for you.. Where are you? You are welcome to try my boards.. I'm 58 and 95kg..

Sorry to hijack your thread a little Andy. But, DJ, how do you find the Hokua for waiting around out the back stability wise and early picking up of the wave?

I had a 9'1"x32" Hokua and loved it but being old and wobbly and 95-100kg I found it a little tippy when waiting for a wave if the water was a bit choppy.. I'm hoping my new 9'6" will help that because there's a jump I'm volume from about 150 to 170ltrs.. I haven't paddled it yet.. My 9'1" seemed to have pretty good glide for a heaverly rockered board (much better than the Rapter) but my 9'5" Mana has even better glide and being about 160ltrs it's been my go to board.. Can't wait to try my new 9'6" Hikua because I love the shape..

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Andycar said..
I wonder what the 9' 6" mana is like in stability,wave catching, etc compared to the 10'

The 9'5'' Mana is noticably smaller than the 10' Mana..

Unless you need the extra thickness and width of the 10' board you'll find the 9'5'' surfs noticebly better..

At your weight you might even find the smaller board catches the waves better because it's lighter and more manoeuvrable..

The 10' Mana is noticably more stable but also feels more corky..

btw.. I'm in Melbourne..

Hi Andy, I can highly recommend the Blue Planet Boards. I have a 9'4" x 33' Fun stick that is very stable and turns easily because of the rail shape. Click on one of the ads that pop up on Seabreeze or google their web site. I treat my boards very roughly and after about 35 surfs I have virtually no damage excepting a couple of paint scrapes where I dropped it on a concrete footpath. I'm around 105 kg, 183 CM and 57. Demo as many boards as you can in the surf. Look for beach breaks with a nice rip to get out easily or try them at Pt Roady's or Cosy corner. As soon as it gets over three foot SUPs are not great fun to just slam out through the 13th beach breaks. At your size and experience I reckon 10' x 32" might be getting too big. Just my opinion. If you can already surf just spend 10 to 20 minutes finding your point of balance in flat water then hit it. Good luck and have fun.

Hi guys ..I'm 96 kgs ..I've had my 9.6 GT Hokua for a while now ..at first she was a wobbly mother ...coming from the 10 mana ..GT ..but now I'm ripping even harder than before ..top to bottom no problems, floaters ,cut backs ..I'm heaps heavier than you guys ..but it s my number one wave board ..the shape and rocker of the mana, it has a lot less rocker that s why it paddles better ..is the Hokua 9.6 stable yes ..with 4 fins ..three fins shes a tail sliding small wave big boys board. I swop fins a bit ..it is 32 " wide like the mana ..it's nose is just kicked up and doesn't nose dive as easy ,can handle huge drops .5 foot yesterday ..when it is small and hard to catch ..I use my 11' Nalu. ..
i did put some pic of the 2 boards together ..on this forum of the 9.5 mana and the 9.6 Hokua ..
if you want a hard core wave board the Hokua is the go ..it does paddle ok in flat water ,just not fast ..put more fins in and it stables it up ..
it's loose .
both are really good boards ...but very different ..I think if you ended up with either you will be happy ..I like the way the Hokuas surf ..
I m not going to tell you what board to buy because its your choice ..buy what you want and like the look of ...tardy

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Wolfie104 said..
Consider this, a mate was in exactly the same phase as you ,told him to buy a 8,10'x32' naish mana gt which he did, he had never ever stood on a sup before so off he goes and spends a weekend on the river, then the following weekend in almost dead flat surf mind you this guy is keen that was 2 yrs ago. His surfing background like yours fast tracked him to where he is today, way above average, he kept the naish for his wife and kids to use, remember these boards are fairly light and compact easy to carry and load. When I think back about all the boards iv,e had, the torn hamstring , slipped disc, etc trying to turn these monster ocean liners in the surf I know what I would do.

And on the other hand, I saw a good surfer at my spot beginning on a 10'6" SUP (Nalu), and never managed to to take a wave, and quit SUPing, disgusted, after 10 sessions.

Why?

Because he never had the humility to learn in flat water, and insisted to directly go in the waves...

Starting with small(ish) boards is doable if you are OK with learning on flat water (no chop!) and very small waves first.

PS: Wolfie: I think the "monster ocean liners" feeling was due to the volume. Long and wide boards can be stable AND still quite fun if the volume is not too big, the rails thin, and the fins adapted to the conditions. A lot of beginner boards in the previous years (and the no-name ones now) are just huge barges, but not all 10' boards are.

Mate if you are a long time surfer you will want to surf the bloody thing not stand on it and glide. I started on a 10'6 laird 5 years ago. I still have it and its a great board and can be surfed as it was designed for surfing. However it's a big board. Within 3 months of starting I was hooking into more waves than ever before in uncrowded spots on crowded beaches because that's what's possible on a SUP (don't tell anyone). But I was yearning for some more slash turn and reo. I purchased a Lopez 8'11 and after the initial fall off alot and get the ****s period my SUP surfing went to a whole new level. I have had a few more boards of various shapes and sizes. But my advise to you goes like this;

-The old hawian boys know their **** so buy it.
-30 inches wide is maximum all my boards are 28-29. Too wide is not more stable its hard to handle.
-9'0 is the perfect length (can go on a plane easy) 10'0 max anywhere in between OK.

Good luck.

If you can surf, all you need to learn is paddling in and balancing while waiting for waves and in my humble opinion each person is different in their balance capability and because of this 99% of advice and stability ratings will be subjective. Best thing you can do is demo as many boards as possible. Opinionator, pretty much has it as far as being a reasonable surfer to start with as does Colas with learning on smaller boards. I'm a similar age, exact weight and have also surfed a long time. Started on a 10'6" x 30' Starboard Drive and once over the learning how to catch waves standing up (persistence is necessary) the board was too big for how I surf, (or was used to surfing), balance wasn't as much of an issue as I'd thought, that took 3 months before I started downsizing, had 9 boards in 2 years looking for the one. If I did it all over knowing what I do now, probably would have started on no more than 9' x 30 (when you start whatever you start on will feel tricky, persist and it gets easier, doesn't take anywhere as long as learning to stand up from prone surfing). Buy secondhand if you can, gets really expensive changing boards from new.

There is no 'one board' for all conditions, I now ride a 7'2" x 27 7/8 at 105l and use that most days, when really onshore or too big for the 7'2" wide tail change over to a 10' x 28 at 130l made by the same shaper.

Should add that if you prefer the long board style surfing then 9' is probably as small as you'd go but if you like a more traditional shortbord feel then 9' is where I'd have started

All good advice there but one more thing is don't catch every wave because you can.

hi guys
thank you to all who have replied to my questions
At the moment it has become clear that one board won't cut it! Just like short board surfing,

So far I think that the best course of action is a board around 9' 6" to learn on and keep for small and flat days with the view of getting another board down the track if my skills improve and I want to start surfing on it in larger surf.
you have all given me great feedback of how to approach SUPing. Thanks
i will let you know what I eventually get
regards
andy

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smh said..
All good advice there but one more thing is don't catch every wave because you can.

And that's a can of worms for a thread of its own....

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Andycar said..
At the moment it has become clear that one board won't cut it! Just like short board surfing,

Exactly. Imagine a prone surf beginner asking to start on a board she/he will keep later. No way it can happen if you plan to shortboard, but you can still begin on a decent longboard that you will keep a long time to complement shortboards. Or just buy an used soft top, enjoy the accelerated learning curve, and resell it with no loss.

HGFish advice is very true: boards to choose are different if you are attracted to long or short board surf/SUP ing. And to miminize the cost, try to minimise the buying cost but also maximize the resell value: the best solution are mainstream cheap good quality brands: the more known the name, the easier it will be to resell, for nearly the same price you bought it, if you bought it second hand.

And do not sweat on your choice of a first board: juste take any barge to learn how to paddle on it. Keep your money for the boards you will buy once you master paddling and positioning for a wave.

Myself

Surfed for 30 yrs snapped my medial and acl in left knee at Cloudbreak on my shorboard in 8 ft waves
Didnt know where to go so bought a 10'6 Nalu off the ex wife for recovery and fitness
Started paddling flatwater then small waves in creek mouths then when knee fept strong enough hit beachies and points
Wasnt enough and got hooked so went 8'6 Deep JC model that wasnt enough to satisfy me so went 7'8 Deep Hybrid ( wont go any smaller)
My go to board is still my 10'6 Nalu pintail at 128 ltrs given the common conditions on the GC
It has tought me to be patient on a wave ,wait for sections to build and lips to be ridden along with the use alot of body movement to do big turns foam climbs and floaters . Hard to belive but when you get the barge up on a lip or on a foam ball its a buzz !!
My 7'8 feels like a shortboard under my feet when the surf is up , clean and has steep faces
In the pocket surfing

My parents kids and friends all use the 10'6 on family days out

Cant recommend a bigger board anymore than a Nalu for starting out