Hi there, I'm a 59 yr old surfer with 43 yrs experience- but beaten up body- most recent injury broken costal cartilage in chest which won't heal and can't be operated on. Prone paddling now painful so I'm seriously looking at a sup I can surf with some flat water as well- even pop the grandsons on the front for a bit of fun. Have a Fanatic Falcon 14' 27" that I occasionally use on a lake but to be honest, doesn't do much for me. Briefly had a C4 Waterman Waterskate 9' that I sold after two surfs, unstable, slow to paddle/catch waves & surfed like a huge air mattress blown up to 150psi..... looking at a GSI Tom Carroll Outer reef in mx at 11' 185L or the Allrounder in cx 11'6" 220L. Both 33"; both on sale at the moment. I usually ride McCoy nuggets from 7' to 8'2", or mal/gun hybrids ( narrow nose) @ 9'6". If money were not an issue I'd go Sunova Point Break in the blink of an eye- much in the same vein as my mal/gun hybrids- love the clips of this board on this forum. I surf full/fat waves Sth coast SA. I'm 6'1" & 85kgs plus 4/3 wetsuit in winter. Hoping to tap into your collective wealth of knowledge!

You cant discount the sunova ! Ive probably clocked up 400 +surfs on my 8,5 speed and basically its unscathed

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LastSupper said..
You cant discount the sunova ! Ive probably clocked up 400 +surfs on my 8,5 speed and basically its unscathed

For sure LastSupper (great name!). Actually steering towards Sunova The One in Ecotech- around $1800- get great reviews and yes construction seems excellent. Thanks for your input!

Hey DB how many clams is blink of the eye worth pray tell aka PB
Thought about the Widepoint?

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backbeach said..
Hey DB how many clams is blink of the eye worth pray tell aka PB
Thought about the Widepoint?

Hi Backbeach, first up thanks for your response. I'm wanting to spend $1000- $1600. Have put some of my surfboards up for sale but probably not the best time to sell due to Covid...... Would rather go something a bit older- ie nos but better quality than 2020 models in cheaper constructions. One shop in Vic has a JP Aust 2017 wide body 10'2" by 35" and a 2018 JP longboard in wood 11'6" by 31". I know the longboard genre is an entirely different one but I'm thinking the fuller shape and longer waterline would give similar stability to a shorter wide body type board, but happy to be corrected, I know that there are many factors such as rocker and thickness distribution front/rear and size to side that can effect stability. What is the Widepoint you are referring too? Or do you mean the wide point of a board in general? Must admit all the nuances of sup boards I find a bit overwhelming- coming from a regular surfing background where board parameters are pretty established......

A couple of years ago, I was in your place; long-time surfer-turned-SUP-surfer, without a clue on what's what in the SUP world. My SUP surfing started on a 12-6 displacement shape race board...LOLMy $0.02, FWIW... Width murders performance. I have two boards with identical rocker and length at 8'8". One is 116L, the other is 120L. One a squash tail and one a round pin, similar rails and thickness, but the big difference is that one is 29" wide and the other is 31" wide. How they turn is night and day different. In fact, my 10'0" longboards at 28" wide will crank a turn tighter at speed than the 31" wide "performance" shape. A fat board will turn if you're on the tail, but at speed it'll also want to porpoise, cork out, and do strange things us former shortboarders find unsettling While the 33" wide boards are stable (easy), as a long time surfer, I think you'll quickly become bored with the performance of the board. While a narrower board like 30" will take more time to get used to in choppy or moving water, you probably won't outgrow it soon. Not even three years in and my favorite board for all around surfing performance and day paddling is a 10'x28"x128L longboard. With the wider nose of the longboard shape, you can hardly knock me off of it, and with the pulled-in pin tail, it turns like mad. Low rocker makes it paddle quick. In heavier waves I ride down to an 8'2" 100L board, but if the 10-0 will fit in a wave, I ride it. I guess the point is that knowing what I know now, and being a log-time, average-ability surfer, I don't think I'd buy anything wider than about 30" if it was my one do-all board.

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OkiWild said..
A couple of years ago, I was in your place; long-time surfer-turned-SUP-surfer, without a clue on what's what in the SUP world. My SUP surfing started on a 12-6 displacement shape race board...LOLMy $0.02, FWIW... Width murders performance. I have two boards with identical rocker and length at 8'8". One is 116L, the other is 120L. One a squash tail and one a round pin, similar rails and thickness, but the big difference is that one is 29" wide and the other is 31" wide. How they turn is night and day different. In fact, my 10'0" longboards at 28" wide will crank a turn tighter at speed than the 31" wide "performance" shape. A fat board will turn if you're on the tail, but at speed it'll also want to porpoise, cork out, and do strange things us former shortboarders find unsettling While the 33" wide boards are stable (easy), as a long time surfer, I think you'll quickly become bored with the performance of the board. While a narrower board like 30" will take more time to get used to in choppy or moving water, you probably won't outgrow it soon. Not even three years in and my favorite board for all around surfing performance and day paddling is a 10'x28"x128L longboard. With the wider nose of the longboard shape, you can hardly knock me off of it, and with the pulled-in pin tail, it turns like mad. Low rocker makes it paddle quick. In heavier waves I ride down to an 8'2" 100L board, but if the 10-0 will fit in a wave, I ride it. I guess the point is that knowing what I know now, and being a log-time, average-ability surfer, I don't think I'd buy anything wider than about 30" if it was my one do-all board.

Thanks OkiWild- a great answer and you actually validated my own concerns. The smallest surfboard I ride is a 7' McCoy nugget- at 57 litres it is considered massive volume amongst shortboarders!!! Some of the really wide sup boards look like tanks. I also ride an 11' Munoz Ultraglide Surftech board (regular surfing, not SUP) which is 25" wide, feels massive. Stability is still my greatest need but I'll rule out the really super wide boards. ??

That's also why I'm favouring the Tom Carroll Outer Reef, although 32 1/2" wide, the nose and tail are pulled in. Tom certainly surfs it well in the clips, whilst I'm no TC we are the same age & both have pretty banged up bodies! The board also has the same sort of DNA as big glider surfboards, pulled in nose for less swing weight, great glide. Because the waves I surf (Goolwa to Middleton Sth coast SA) are full, fat and crumbly, really long waterline boards work well. Offshore breezes also make catching waves on regular wide nose longboards difficult. Not sure about GSI mx construction, but I've got 2 GSI Superfish XLs in x2 epoxy and they're tough. The JP Australia longboard wood edition at 11'6" and 31" wide is also appealing but would obviously surf like a longboard. It has lots of litres though at 209 but construction looks really good.

so many choices for you Dave ,I'm also a sunova fan ,really tuff boards and good surf designs ,
I'm kinda your age ,and struggle a bit on narrower boards if they are too short ..but there are a few short boards out there now
that are wide and make surfing short boards alot easier ,,eg 8,7 placid at 31,5 wide ,,being a surfer you probably will go through a few boards till you find one you like ,and you will improve too ..happy hunting ...
save hard and get a point break ,

Gday DB. I'm still a shortboarder also and defs on L plates supwise.
Starboard Widepoints look pretty good and were in my sights cos they suit newbies and have diff constructions and pricepoints to match.
Evoke from the surfboard warehouse may be a good starter to build up from also.
I ended up witha 9'5" x33.5" Placid which is great stability wise but I struggle with so much board when surfing which is probs me not the gear and a hangover from shortboarding where foot movt is minimal.
BTW I think I'd love a point break too because of its many functions including surfing as number 1.

Stick with the foot work and it will click mate, I found the same a while ago. There is a bit of muscle memory and instinct that needs to be re-wired but it happens quickly enough.

Just a cautionary note; Have you actually tried paddling a sup yet. You would be surprised how much you use you core ( including your costal cartilages). I started supping because it works your core/chest ,as mountian biking wasn't keeping my core strong enough by itself ( 31years of it). You engage everything from your feet to you neck when paddling.
Hopefully you could be OK. Welcome to this sport if you can. One of the most enjoyable things I have ever done ( flatwater included).

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backbeach said..
Gday DB. I'm still a shortboarder also and defs on L plates supwise.
Starboard Widepoints look pretty good and were in my sights cos they suit newbies and have diff constructions and pricepoints to match.
Evoke from the surfboard warehouse may be a good starter to build up from also.
I ended up witha 9'5" x33.5" Placid which is great stability wise but I struggle with so much board when surfing which is probs me not the gear and a hangover from shortboarding where foot movt is minimal.
BTW I think I'd love a point break too because of its many functions including surfing as number 1.

How much do you weight? 9'4 Placid is a really wide and voluminous board. It won't be easy to turn if you don't have a weight to push it through the turn. It would be a great board if you are in 120+ kg range.

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DaveBasher said..

OkiWild said..
A couple of years ago, I was in your place; long-time surfer-turned-SUP-surfer, without a clue on what's what in the SUP world. My SUP surfing started on a 12-6 displacement shape race board...LOLMy $0.02, FWIW... Width murders performance. I have two boards with identical rocker and length at 8'8". One is 116L, the other is 120L. One a squash tail and one a round pin, similar rails and thickness, but the big difference is that one is 29" wide and the other is 31" wide. How they turn is night and day different. In fact, my 10'0" longboards at 28" wide will crank a turn tighter at speed than the 31" wide "performance" shape. A fat board will turn if you're on the tail, but at speed it'll also want to porpoise, cork out, and do strange things us former shortboarders find unsettling While the 33" wide boards are stable (easy), as a long time surfer, I think you'll quickly become bored with the performance of the board. While a narrower board like 30" will take more time to get used to in choppy or moving water, you probably won't outgrow it soon. Not even three years in and my favorite board for all around surfing performance and day paddling is a 10'x28"x128L longboard. With the wider nose of the longboard shape, you can hardly knock me off of it, and with the pulled-in pin tail, it turns like mad. Low rocker makes it paddle quick. In heavier waves I ride down to an 8'2" 100L board, but if the 10-0 will fit in a wave, I ride it. I guess the point is that knowing what I know now, and being a log-time, average-ability surfer, I don't think I'd buy anything wider than about 30" if it was my one do-all board.

Thanks OkiWild- a great answer and you actually validated my own concerns. The smallest surfboard I ride is a 7' McCoy nugget- at 57 litres it is considered massive volume amongst shortboarders!!! Some of the really wide sup boards look like tanks. I also ride an 11' Munoz Ultraglide Surftech board (regular surfing, not SUP) which is 25" wide, feels massive. Stability is still my greatest need but I'll rule out the really super wide boards. ??

well,I read this all the time.... boards over 30" don't surf.
I sure am glad I have never listened to that.... almost all my boards are between 31.5 and 33.5" wide and I have surfed them all over the world, from biggish, powerful Portugal to nice points in Thailand. They are perfect IMO.

Absolutes simply don't apply to everyone...It comes down to personal preference.

It's not strictly about width... it's about board design and construction.
There's plenty of terrible narrow boards and plenty of terrible fat ones.... the trick is to get a good board.
I did a very sweet vertical lip bash on a head high wave, riding a9'6 x 33.5"a few days ago (1.57 weight to volume)

I have ridden plenty of OH juice and never experienced anything unsettling... as a former shortboarder
ok... maybe I did try a few terrible boards that were unsettling

Just saying: don't discount anything until you try it.
Wider boards will ease you through the transition to SUP and there are plenty out there that would be perfect for a skilled guy, 6'1 and 85 kg.
I first started on a 36" wide board and rode that on 8' hurricane swells. I could lay that puppy on a rail!

Hey SW couldn't agree more about putting the hours in and reaping the benefits. I still love shortboarding but supsurfing gives me enough of a buzz to be a V2 surfing gumby after 40 odd years of surfing recommence the ego humbling slog of starting all over again. My issue is dividing time in the waves between what you can do and learning to do even though they're the same but different, and I'm guessing I'm no Robinson Crusoe here,
BigZ I've been thinking the same thing and can't wait to transition to something without trainer wheel width but the payback is spending more time above water

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gregjet said..
Just a cautionary note; Have you actually tried paddling a sup yet. You would be surprised how much you use you core ( including your costal cartilages). I started supping because it works your core/chest ,as mountian biking wasn't keeping my core strong enough by itself ( 31years of it). You engage everything from your feet to you neck when paddling.
Hopefully you could be OK. Welcome to this sport if you can. One of the most enjoyable things I have ever done ( flatwater included).

Hi Gregjet, yeah I have an old Fanatic Falcon that I occasionally use & you're absolutely right- when you 'set' your core and pull through the stroke it does stress the rib cage; I find it uncomfortable but not painful. Hoping that supping builds strength in the region. Thanks for your input!

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backbeach said..
Hey SW couldn't agree more about putting the hours in and reaping the benefits. I still love shortboarding but supsurfing gives me enough of a buzz to be a V2 surfing gumby after 40 odd years of surfing recommence the ego humbling slog of starting all over again. My issue is dividing time in the waves between what you can do and learning to do even though they're the same but different, and I'm guessing I'm no Robinson Crusoe here,
BigZ I've been thinking the same thing and can't wait to transition to something without trainer wheel width but the payback is spending more time above water

V2 surfing Gumby -gold! I remember Simon Anderson expressing the same sentiments in his book- how humbling it is to take up a new water sport- supping- after years of regular surfing.