I everyone, I came across a Smik Bonza in one of my local stores the other day, and its a board I had wanted to see in the flesh for some time. It was also the size that I was interested at 8'8x31 125ltr, I mentioned it to my good wife and to my surprise, instead of the usual "no you have enough SUPs" she said to get it if I wanted it. Did you spot her mistake there

So here are quite a few photos showing the outline, rocker and fin setup for anyone interested. I struggled to find much online about the board so I these might help anyone else interested in the Bonza.

























I hope to at least get a paddle in on the weekend and will let you know how I think it goes. I you have any tips or questions about the board please share them too.

Have a great weekend all.

Steve.

Nice one Steve! A new board and win should always be celebrated!
I looked at a Bonza for a while, look like a really stable and fast board. Made for more drawn out turns but can handle the juice (from what I've understood).
I haven't ridden one, but might need to be driven more from The back tail?
looking forward to the actually on water review!

I'm curious as wel, after a long time thinking I went for a custom Hipster twin pin 9.0 myself, but this is looking very good to

looks Smik ,and interesting fins

Great board, I have the long board version. Lots of fun turning from the middle of the board on a long fast wall and when you put more weight on the back foot she really loosens up and turns so well. When it's really glassy the fins hum and if you push the back foot down it accelerates really well, have fun.

Hi Dave ,hope you have been getting waves,especially Noosa,the fin humming thing in your post got my attention,fins should not hum at any speed,check them out for any imperfections ,resin build up on trailing back edges ect ,,may need a slight sand .As far as the bonza design goes on a sup ,i demoed the 8.3 smik and found it to be very unstable,standing around,but surfing ,it was very fast down the line and very manoeuvrable,on reflection it was just to small for me,I would like to try the 8.8, as the overall plan shape I love,IMO Scott got that right,and was pretty courageous in bringing that design to the marketplace.

Thanks everyone, just had my first surf this morning on the Bonza. At a punchy beach break that stands up more like a reef than a beach. Two to three foot with sets just over my head, and plenty of push from the take off.

First paddle out, hmm its only seven ltrs less than my 8'6x31.5 Hipster, but I have full on Bambi legs this is going to be interesting.

To be fair the wind was calm, however there was plenty of cross bumps running through the line up at an angle to the swell. Weeks of NE sea breezes around here lately, so it would be challenging on any board but the Bonza is a full balance exercise at first.

I found that the board has a very small sweet spot when standing out the back, with the deep concaves and V under your feet its not a relaxing wait for the next wave. It did improve by the end of the surf, so I will see how it goes as I get more use to the board.

Paddling speed was ok, and once I went into surf stance to catch waves I had no problem with stability. And it feels like you could drop into any size wave on the Bonza. And yes the speed was there as expected, I never had to think about pumping the board to make a section. Indeed for the first few waves I was playing catch up to the board as it was finding speed by its self. The rights were very punchy and the lefts running with the swell direction fatter and slower, yet even on the few lefts (backhand for me) that I caught the board still had plenty of speed over the dead spots.

Now for the thing that did surprise me, this board turns like nothing else, you think about it and next thing you are flying out of that turn and onto the next. Normally at this beach the local surfers would rather give me stink eye than talk to me, but a few commented on how good the board seemed to be going. Its so lively in its turns and you come out of a turn with more speed than you went in with. In this size surf its a great feeling, will be interesting to see what its like in smaller waves, but in these conditions the board felt a foot shorter than its size.


So an interesting first surf on the Bonza, in cleaner conditions it will be easier to live with. But the performance on the waves easily makes up for any standing challenges, the board feels alive on a wave unlike any another I have ridden. And its turning ability is insane and on one wave towards the end of my session the squirt off the bottom turn on take off was like someone just lit the rockets as I made two sections with easy. Then stepped back and used that speed for a nice round house cutback that had a surfer hooting for me.

That sums it really.

A great start and it should only get better over my next few surfs.

Have a great Sunday all.

Steve.

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DaveSandan said..
When it's really glassy the fins hum

Donaldson is the cure for the humming disease!

colas.nahaboo.net/Surf/TheDonaldsonTrailingEdge

Bonzer hydrodynamics. Side fin cant (look closely) plus angle compresses water pressure between fins and is enhanced by the massive double concaves feeding side pairs and between sides and centre... Squeeze fluid through a smaller space and either it or the surrounding space has to go quicker (both will obviously, And... the surrounding space moves to reduce pressure i.e. board lifts... reduced pressure/drag, thus speed) on a turn pressure increases because weight, equals more lift and drive thru turns... enhanced by better side fin angle being more vertical/perpendicular to resistance during a turn.

Hang on and enjoy the ride!!!

Hi everyone, had my second surf on the Bonza this morning at the same beach as the first time. Conditions were much the same although it was a little bigger and much more peaky, and a lot more push in the waves.

Again standing around waiting for a wave is not yet a pleasant experience, the board has a very small sweet spot for your feet, and the back of the board will quickly sink down if you move a little too far back. I'm around 6'3 and 98 kg for reference.

The cross swell left over from last nights cross onshore winds, coming at an angle to the swell meant that I had to really concentrate on my position and moving the board to match the bumps. After half an hour or so it was better, but in these conditions I have yet to feel totally at home waiting out the back. Paddling out I did a lot of prone paddling, mainly as the swell was close together and punchy so I did not want to get in anyones way getting to grips with this board.

Plenty of surfers out this morning making the most of the some what clean conditions, they have been rare at the moment around here. So to give myself some space, I was standing little further out than I wanted, this was not ideal in trying to get to grips with a new board and caused me to miss a few waves too. It was good for the largest sets, but I was still needing to really push to get on and was standing a little further on the board to get into the waves.

This coupled with my slow feet resulted in a face plant at the bottom of my first wave when trying to set the rail. I was too far forward on the board and felt the fins let go as I blew my bottom turn, something I have not done in years. There was that much power in the waves I was thinking that in these conditions a thruster setup might work better as the wave was giving all the speed you needed.

Had already thought about getting a new centre fin in FCS tool free adjustment range and slightly more area too. I picked out a 7 inch model and I really should have taken the stock fin with me into the store this afternoon. Because it looked a lot bigger until I arrived home





I am hoping it has a little more drive and hold, but its a lot closer in size than I thought it would be. Still it makes a matching set with the side keels





So I will see how that works tomorrow, and hopefully the more time on the board will see me getting dialled in with the Bonza.

Cheers.

Steve.

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finsup said..
Squeeze fluid through a smaller space and either it or the surrounding space has to go quicker (both will obviously, And... the surrounding space moves to reduce pressure i.e. board lifts... reduced pressure/drag, thus speed)

Dont fall for the bull****.

Forcing water to go through a funnel creates tons of drag.
The "squeeze" force you must exert to force the water is the drag... that is subtracted from your board speed.

Concaves provide control and different riding feelings, but there is no free lunch: any force generated must come from something, and the only force available on a surfboard is its speed relative to water, and consuming it creates drag by definition.

For an analogy, imagine dragging a funnel through the water: it is literally called a floating anchor. for a reason.

www.nootica.com/webzine/choose-floating-anchor.html

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colas said..

finsup said..
Squeeze fluid through a smaller space and either it or the surrounding space has to go quicker (both will obviously, And... the surrounding space moves to reduce pressure i.e. board lifts... reduced pressure/drag, thus speed)

Dont fall for the bull****.

Forcing water to go through a funnel creates tons of drag.
The "squeeze" force you must exert to force the water is the drag... that is subtracted from your board speed.

Concaves provide control and different riding feelings, but there is no free lunch: any force generated must come from something, and the only force available on a surfboard is its speed relative to water, and consuming it creates drag by definition.

For an analogy, imagine dragging a funnel through the water: it is literally called a floating anchor. for a reason.

www.nootica.com/webzine/choose-floating-anchor.html

What about half a funnel? Then there would be a force perpendicular to the flow.

I dunno. Whatever happens it's a fast design.

Hi everyone, had a surf with the new fin this morning and it went better than expected.

A couple of reasons for that, the waves for the most part were a little smaller, the sets still had plenty of punch though. I had the fin all the way back in the box and my feet moved into better positions from the take off.

The board was still a handful waiting out the back, if you are thinking about this board and are my size you will need to have good paddle control to used it a as third leg. I was finding it hard to paddle quickly as my weight would shift forward and push the nose of the board under if I was not in a surf stance. I missed a couple of good set waves because of this.

Again paddling into waves I found I needed to add a few more strokes to push the board onto the wave. The right-handers today were really wedging up with a steep take off and I had a few late drops. That nose kick on the board might slow the paddling a little, but it never felt like it was going to catch on take off. I really have no doubt about paddling into any size wave on the Bonza. A few of the drops I had today would be a little challenging on my Hipster. So as it says on the box the Bonza is a board that can handle bigger challenging waves.

The new fin/or my better foot placement worked really well today, plenty of drive and a solid feel under my feet. These waves had really hollow sections and a solid closeout end section and I was really leaning on the inside rail a few times to exit the wave. And it never once felt like it was going to lose grip my other boards in those type of sections would have let go. And the instant speed of the board had me making a few waves that on take off seemed to be a closeout.

So after three surfs the Bonza is going to be a great board in a larger range of conditions than I though it would. And in strong challenging wave its easy a go to option.

Cheers.

Steve.

Awesome Steve great to hear a similar experience. I have the 9'5 and yes it can be a handfull when there is a bit of chop, and yes the tail end is 'sinky' i know what you mean there. BUT, when on a wave it is bloody good fun! I have only ever done a proper cutback on that board. You just get blasted out onto the shoulder and you lean into a turn then before you know it you're facing the other way. And thats in super fat mush. Id like to try the longboard.

Hey Steve dunno what part nsw your in but this prolonged bout of onshore northerly airstreams and 2 distinct windswells is a killer.
I did my knee supping these conditions while negotiating a rip just to add a bit more bounce to the show. So good on you for having a crack and fingers crossed for better days to get a handle on your new stick-which is what I was trying to do.
FWIW I can still prone surf and don't want to risk fkn up my knee any more in this marginal poop

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finsup said..
What about half a funnel? Then there would be a force perpendicular to the flow.

I dunno. Whatever happens it's a fast design.

If a force is created, it must come from somewhere ==> drag.

Airplane wings create lift. but also drag. there is no free lunch.

Concaves add control. And on shortboards they help converting the force of the pumping movement into speed.

Read all the feedback on bonzers: everybody agree they work on better waves because they need more power from the waves to work and convert some speed into control. On weak waves they create too much drag compared to what the wave can offer.
E.g: "I can't just lazily trim along like I can on a single. The fin cluster feels too heavy/draggy for that. It think that also makes it poor for small waves. It does like to be a rail. And I agree that I get much more projection on my bottom turns than with a single. "

Look at waterskis: flat ones are faster, concaves add control (drag helps control for waterskis) at the expense of speed.

Watch this explanation by Devon Howard at 9:20:
He explains that the M23 is faster because it has a flat hull.
A similar board with a concave (the "big happy") will need a shortboarder to pump it "you have to work it, wiggling, pushing the board" otherwise it will be slower, and he as a longboarder he struggles with it.



Flat is faster.
Anything other than flat is for adding riding characteristics that the rider can make use of, even going faster if they are aware of the tradeoffs and how to exploit them.

I agree with Colas. Flat is fastest. Concaves are for control.

If you have two identically shaped boards, one with flat and one with a concave bottom, which board will allow water to flow across its bottom faster? Which rock is better for skipping; a flat or round one?

Another advantage of flat is that the angle of attack is not limited by the direction of the bottom contours. That is, a flat board turns easier in any direction bc it is not locked into a direction by the alignment of the concaves, which are essentially mini fins placed in the middle and sometimes front of board.

Concaves require pumping to accelerate bc concaves need to be unweighted to break the grip of the concaves and allow the board to move up the wave to higher/faster portion of the wave.

I recently surfed my flat bottom board after surfing my concave board. On my first drop I really overdid it and went straight down bc I was used to forcing/pushing my concave board down the wave face - something that is not necessary with a flat board.

Yep..flat bottom ,with slight flat panel vee around fins .to flat off the tail...Jimmy Lewis secret sauce ..KISS PRINCIPLE,called the Destroyer model,I'm a fan!,

Faster but by how much? Overall shape, the rocker, surface area and outline matter more, also most concaves are fairly subtle. For instance the smik bronzer probably has a relatively narrow tail, adding concave gives more surface area and lift, roughly equivalent to a little wider flatter tail. I don't think concave is for control only or even mostly, a gun is usually flat maybe some panel v in tail, control would come from outline and rails. Bronzer design is unique I think. The shape has to all work together making broad generalizations about one thing kind of confusing. Anyway it sounds like the board works great, regardless of the theory, although I admit to being a little skeptical of the squeezed water flow.

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finsup said..
Awesome Steve great to hear a similar experience. I have the 9'5 and yes it can be a handfull when there is a bit of chop, and yes the tail end is 'sinky' i know what you mean there. BUT, when on a wave it is bloody good fun! I have only ever done a proper cutback on that board. You just get blasted out onto the shoulder and you lean into a turn then before you know it you're facing the other way. And thats in super fat mush. Id like to try the longboard.

Thanks mate, I was out today on my Sunova Casey Revo 10x30.5 and was thinking about the 9'5 Bonza, how does it paddle? As I never nose ride it could be an option for me if it glides into was better than the 8'8 Bonza.

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backbeach said..
Hey Steve dunno what part nsw your in but this prolonged bout of onshore northerly airstreams and 2 distinct windswells is a killer.
I did my knee supping these conditions while negotiating a rip just to add a bit more bounce to the show. So good on you for having a crack and fingers crossed for better days to get a handle on your new stick-which is what I was trying to do.
FWIW I can still prone surf and don't want to risk fkn up my knee any more in this marginal poop

Hi mate, around Newcastle for me, so we have a few beaches that somewhat deal with NE winds, but they get crowded out. I have only an old Mctavish longboard sitting on the rack at home these days. I look at various surfboards including the C.I M23 Colas posted as an option, but with three different sups and plenty of beaches that I can go to, I can usually find somewhere to SUP. It's really only those days with the wind blowing strong that I wish for a short board.

Hi everyone, re the discussion about the bottom shapes of boards, I look at it this way, flat face waves go for a very flat board, waves with curves and bowls add some curve in your board.

Today the swell had dropped down to around 1 to 2 foot, same beach as my first surfs on the Bonza, however I took my Sunova Casey REVO 10x30.5. If a board could be used as a strait edge it would be the REVO its bottom shape is almost totally flat. Yet it's still a very fast board and picks up any bump coming through. If the wave gives you a nice section it cuts back like a much shorter board, a must have board for smaller fuller conditions.

Today it was just about the perfect choice, however I did get a few waves that stood up nicely on the bank and you really had to be careful not to to ride in the curve of the wave too much. The Bonza fits in that part of the wave so much better, not that the REVO can't do it, it's just not the happy place for the board.

So I'am lucky to have the choice of boards to match the conditions, as I try to explain it to my wife you don't play golf with one club so I "need" a few different boards on the rack

Have a great weekend all.

Steve.

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drivethebus said..

finsup said..
Awesome Steve great to hear a similar experience. I have the 9'5 and yes it can be a handfull when there is a bit of chop, and yes the tail end is 'sinky' i know what you mean there. BUT, when on a wave it is bloody good fun! I have only ever done a proper cutback on that board. You just get blasted out onto the shoulder and you lean into a turn then before you know it you're facing the other way. And thats in super fat mush. Id like to try the longboard.

Thanks mate, I was out today on my Sunova Casey Revo 10x30.5 and was thinking about the 9'5 Bonza, how does it paddle? As I never nose ride it could be an option for me if it glides into was better than the 8'8 Bonza.

Negative. No much glide on the 9'5

BUT when on a wave all is forgiven.

The longboard option would be interesting and could be versatile. Would be fun to swap and try out completely different fin setups, esp if got a bigger/longer US box in the center.

as I try to explain it to my wife you don't play golf with one club so I "need" a few different boards on the rack

Gonna steel that one