OK, I bought a 9'1 'creek' at the start of the year after deciding it sounded like the perfect next 'development' board up for a 9'1 x32 hokua.

Initially I found it very tippy and just sooo different to surf from the hokua. Couple of things to keep in mind here are: Im 52, 98KG average to medium surfer and mostly surf down in gippsland where the conditions have been very poor with no swell and choppy wind effected swells most of summer.

After half a dozen sessions on the creek which were typically a mixture of a few good waves and a lot of learning the board I swapped with a guy on a 8'6 hypernut. WOW this felt like a plank. Super stable, bit weird with the wide square nose. It was really junky surf and only had a few waves on the nut, but felt it was defiantly more stable may be not as fast or quick in turns.

Today I demo'd an 8'10 speeed. Never ridden one before but had 3 hours of back to back comparo with the creek. Swapping over every 20 minutes or so.

Thoughts, very similar, Creek was (maybe) faster on the wave and more flickable but I had my longest and best wave on the speed. Was either easier to paddle ? which had better glide? honestly I couldnt tell. They are both easy to paddle and punch through waves. I probably found the creek easier to turn when lining up to catching a wave also a few times I buried the big square nose but that is probably more due to not enough time on the speed.

Put both boards together and there is no noticeable difference from mid board to the tail, its all in the nose. I didnt find either overly 'tippy' so maybe my balance is improving or im just used to constantly adjusting now.

Which would I buy - I want the length of the speed but the sexyness and prefer the pointy nose of the creek !!! As i 'own' the creek I will stick with it, if i didnt...well.... 'mummy i want both.."!!!!

What I would also like to add is Iam super impressed with the lightness of the Sunovas and just how damn tough they are. I went to move the Hokua today and nearly broke my arm...

If i surfed in glassy clean conditions more (bit like in STC videos) the 'creek' would win hands down. But i dont so which of the three ..mmm would like more time on the nut before answering that one.

Sounds like you've got the right board to me Dave ...maybe get a smaller model down the track .

i couldn't make up my mind either with the 8.7 and 8.10 flow ,so I brought both ...and sold off a couple .

It took me 6 months to get use to them ,also coming off the x32 Hokua ...but I like the extra speed of the sunova s .

and I think I'm surfing better

Take time to learn your new board, practice flat water turns and spins, find out where the tail sinks by how far back you can go etc.. then more flat water practice.
I have an 8'10 speeed, it's my biggest board, the other are 8'7 Flow and 8'3 Shroom.. if I were you I'd definitely keep the Creek, then in a year when happy go for something smaller if you are rippin on the Creek.

I'm considering a smaller Speeed, 8'2 probably, so you can see by the size of my boards that I'm a fan of smaller surf SUPs.
Am I chasing the ultimate surf Sup? Probably, but it's great fun playing ..

Bomberdave, I've been on my 8'10" Speeed for about 6 months now and , although not impressed with its stability for a while, I've recently had it out in 2'-3' clean surf and it's a keeper! my balance is improving and my wave count is right up there. When I get on the tail, even on small waves, it responds beautifully. I can't wait to get out in something clean with a bit of grunt....but that also means sharing with proners. Such is Life! But I would love a demo on a Creek! [PS: I came from a 9'6" by 32 wide so the Speeed was frustrating in anything bumpy...not so much now]

Hi Dave
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback and comps.... that really helps folks that have experience with one of the shapes, understand a board better.

There is actually a huge difference in the rail line between the Speeed and the Creek.
More curve in the Creek rail line makes it turn easily, without being on the tail.

I have always relied on "pumping" a board for speed.
That is easier with a curved rail line.

Have fun learning your new board and I hope you get some clean juice to carve up!

It's hard to lay one outline directly over another and see both, so I offset the outlines, to make the difference more seeable.

How has the board been treating you now mate?

i would agree , that is pretty similar to my experience - i found the speed has more depth overall

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that guy said..
i would agree , that is pretty similar to my experience - i found the speed has more depth overall

What size board are you comparing it to?

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Nugdam said..

that guy said..
i would agree , that is pretty similar to my experience - i found the speed has more depth overall

What size board are you comparing it to?

more depth than the creek .. size is not really directly correlated.
but for arguements sake lets say equal literage ..
in my opinion a smaller speed would be the next choice to build a quiver (of 3 boards ) because it would handle a much bigger range of conditions than a smaller creek.

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that guy said..

Nugdam said..

that guy said..
i would agree , that is pretty similar to my experience - i found the speed has more depth overall

What size board are you comparing it to?

more depth than the creek .. size is not really directly correlated.
but for arguements sake lets say equal literage ..
in my opinion a smaller speed would be the next choice to build a quiver (of 3 boards ) because it would handle a much bigger range of conditions than a smaller creek.

STC I'm in your territory .. New York for s few days .. Tis a "bit" fresh not sure how you guys surf in these conditions. I think I'll stay and do a bit more bar hopping. What are your thoughts on the9"1 ??
Hope to get plenty of water action over easter

I have recently acquired the 9'1 Creek and have been surfing it for a few days now in Bali. I'm 95kg and 6'2.
Scoring a mixture of waves from knee high to fast hollow overheads. Been a bit of wind and tide movement, so to date not classic "Indo glass". Wave count is high, which gives a great opportunity to really test aspects of the board.
Am a Sunova fan having owned 2 Speeeds(still have one), and the Flow. The Creek is something different again and I'm enjoying experimenting.
Firstly looks amazing, and the finish first class!! My board weighed in at 9kg on my digital scales.
First impressions on the water are the board paddles nicely with minimal yaw. Feels slightly tippy for its width, though nothing horrible.
On smaller waves, say waist high/chest, it gets into the wave easily and the board feels loose and responsive under foot. Still working on foot placement to find the sweet spot.
Scored a few nice sucky overhead waves and the Creek showed promise rocketing down the line and staying controlled at speed. Get back on the tail and lean into a big cutback on the open wall. Take offs on the larger head plus waves though have been a little hairy at times and I've have ended catching the nose, resulting in a nice tumble wash, so thinking maybe a little bit more rocker required.
Another 10 days of surfing so should hopefully have the Creek wired by then

Awesome.. not jealous at all

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bomberdave said..

that guy said..

Nugdam said..

that guy said..
i would agree , that is pretty similar to my experience - i found the speed has more depth overall

What size board are you comparing it to?

more depth than the creek .. size is not really directly correlated.
but for arguements sake lets say equal literage ..
in my opinion a smaller speed would be the next choice to build a quiver (of 3 boards ) because it would handle a much bigger range of conditions than a smaller creek.

STC I'm in your territory .. New York for s few days .. Tis a "bit" fresh not sure how you guys surf in these conditions. I think I'll stay and do a bit more bar hopping. What are your thoughts on the9"1 ??
Hope to get plenty of water action over easter

Hi B-Dave
I ran away for the winter... i am in sunny South Florida for a while longer.
I have a friend that has an 8'10 Creek... he lives in the NYC general area, maybe I can arrange a meet-up to check his board out. and hear his thoughts on it.

I have had 5 sessions on the 9'1 and am very stoked. No surprises from my original Creek.... same board, only quite a bit smaller.

Paddling wise, I had fun on a voodoo chop day. 18mph, straight side-shore.... crap waves.... I was just out testing the stability in nasty conditions. The deck is half wet when I paddle in flat-water, so that day was a great test. I was sort of amazed how little trouble I had. It seemed almost easier than my bigger 9'4, because I was under the chop. Whatever... it was pretty sweet, I hardly fell at all.... until the shark got too close, then I fell down

I posted a video of the session in my "Intro" Creek thread

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surfsun said..
I have recently acquired the 9'1 Creek and have been surfing it for a few days now in Bali. I'm 95kg and 6'2.
Scoring a mixture of waves from knee high to fast hollow overheads. Been a bit of wind and tide movement, so to date not classic "Indo glass". Wave count is high, which gives a great opportunity to really test aspects of the board.
Am a Sunova fan having owned 2 Speeeds(still have one), and the Flow. The Creek is something different again and I'm enjoying experimenting.
Firstly looks amazing, and the finish first class!! My board weighed in at 9kg on my digital scales.
First impressions on the water are the board paddles nicely with minimal yaw. Feels slightly tippy for its width, though nothing horrible.
On smaller waves, say waist high/chest, it gets into the wave easily and the board feels loose and responsive under foot. Still working on foot placement to find the sweet spot.
Scored a few nice sucky overhead waves and the Creek showed promise rocketing down the line and staying controlled at speed. Get back on the tail and lean into a big cutback on the open wall. Take offs on the larger head plus waves though have been a little hairy at times and I've have ended catching the nose, resulting in a nice tumble wash, so thinking maybe a little bit more rocker required.
Another 10 days of surfing so should hopefully have the Creek wired by then

surfsun.... very happy to hear reports from Bali waves! Keep us up on your trip!
Video please.... I'd love to see some Bali Creeking

STC

Great honest video, conditions a bit like what Ive been contending with most of summer. Yep that big shape was a tad too close Id have scampered too.
Loved the footage in the cleaner conditions. What i notice is that the 9'1 is a lot 'whippier' than watching you on the 9'4 where you seem smooooth.
Landed back in Melbourne a few hours ago. But planning to come back to the big apple next year hopefully in summer .... Planning on taking the creek to Bali in July. What are some good SUP friendly breaks SUrfsun??? I m planning to stay around Legian/Siminyak area

Another 5 days surfing under the belt on the 9'1 Creek. Has plenty of speed down the line and some other surfers have commented on me making section they thought would beat me.
Stays in control at speed. Over head+ and super sucky waves and the Creek seems to struggle. Tippy nature is a little hard to work out as it's not that narrow a board??
Having probably surfed 70+ waves now....it's still a great board and would give it an 8/10. Unfortunately nobody to take pics unless I take them myself. Taken with my drone after scsession, the pic is the typical wave I'm surfing the Creek on.

FYI This is how the board it sits in the water at 95kg.

I've had my 9-1 Creek out about a dozen times in crappy SoCal beach break and a couple practice paddles in the bay. SurfSun, I thought, like you, that at 31+" wide it would be more stable, but, it's about equal in stability to my 8-8 Hokua X32LE that had more rocker. Bomber Dave, I agree, tippier than I had hoped for. STC makes it look so easy and stable at 100+kg, but he has the agility of a mongoose..... not so, for me, intermediate surfer at 88kg, wet.
It's like even in glass and tiny swells, I have to be on my toes all the time, can't relax, gotta keep moving - the only way it feels stable.
I'm hoping that, with persistence and more time, I'll develop better balance (remember that thread of STC's when he spent weeks working on his stability?).
This might end up being my "perfect condition board."
No such thing as a 1-board-quiver.
On the good, it paddles straighter and catches waves easier than the X32. Feels easy to turn, but not quite as responsive. Haven't dropped in on anything bigger than 3', so can't really judge the rocker.
Mike (Zooport), how about you? Haven't seen a review of your 9-1 from you...

try playing with your foot position. I find I'm standing slightly forward of the pop up handle my heel is roughly inline with the start of the handle on the fin side. I find the creek to be super stable once I worked out the best position to stand in for me.

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SoCalGremmy said..
I've had my 9-1 Creek out about a dozen times in crappy SoCal beach break and a couple practice paddles in the bay. SurfSun, I thought, like you, that at 31+" wide it would be more stable, but, it's about equal in stability to my 8-8 Hokua X32LE that had more rocker. Bomber Dave, I agree, tippier than I had hoped for. STC makes it look so easy and stable at 100+kg, but he has the agility of a mongoose..... not so, for me, intermediate surfer at 88kg, wet.
It's like even in glass and tiny swells, I have to be on my toes all the time, can't relax, gotta keep moving - the only way it feels stable.
I'm hoping that, with persistence and more time, I'll develop better balance (remember that thread of STC's when he spent weeks working on his stability?).
This might end up being my "perfect condition board."
No such thing as a 1-board-quiver.
On the good, it paddles straighter and catches waves easier than the X32. Feels easy to turn, but not quite as responsive. Haven't dropped in on anything bigger than 3', so can't really judge the rocker.
Mike (Zooport), how about you? Haven't seen a review of your 9-1 from you...

its the different shape rails.....the sunova rails are designed to bite in .which does make them seem unstable .the x32 rides high and you basically float over everything with the fat rail.
you will get the hang of it .I also came from a x32 .i ride a 130 and 120 litre flows .the 120 /30 1/4 wide @ 97 kg sure did take some time to get use to.I took my 8,8 x32 out a while back ,i had to paddle like inspector gadget to catch anything .forgot about the rocker in these boards,

Nug, I did notice more stability by moving just a bit (even just 1 cm) forward. Got a side photo of myself, today and noticed the nose about 6 cm above water while the tail is submerged.
I'll concentrate on standing further forward, tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice...
Tardy, I feel ya about the X32 rocker, pushes water like a snowplow

when i paddle the 120 litre flow ,its always one foot forward .most of the time ..i suggest one hour of ballroom dancing a week ,will help .
it is 1st of april

socal gremmy said
" STC makes it look so easy and stable at 100+kg, but he has the agility of a mongoose"

ha ha... God, I wish I did ... I fall all the time!

My only goal , when I designed the Creek was to gain an edge on the Acid. Pure and simple.
I loved the Acid, but I couldn't stand on the 9'4 in winter gear and conditions....

The Creek has just enough meat, here and there, to keep me in the line-up, rather than under it.

What I have learned about Sunova's in General:
The ALL feel tippy.... but I don't fall near as much as I expect with the Creek, because the foiled rails stay wet and are slower to bobble when hit by chop. There is just enough in the nose and tail, to allow me to recover.

My goal was performance first.... but with enough stability "tools" to keep it enjoyable.

I put this video on a previous thread somewhere.....
The only intention of this vid is a LONG look at what I experience in crap conditions.
YES... I fell down a bunch, but the long clips are to show that I can actually function reasonably well in nasty chop, on a board that is basically underwater.


I will be 70 in a few weeks and I struggle daily to stay fit and agile enough to surf.

I think some folks have a vision of SUPing without falling down.... I simply want to stay upright enough to enjoy my sessions.... but understand that I am going to fall a lot.

I am after performance as long as I can chase it...... the Creek is first and foremost: a performance board.... with just enough stability that I can ride it.

The nice feature of the Creek is: You can ride a larger one and still get better performance than most smaller board.

Here is a pic of what my new 9'1 at 136 liter's, looks like with 99 kg on it. (my current weight) float factor of 1.37, which is pretty high, but still wet with Bert's rails.

the tail is just under, my feet are wet and the nose is dry.
I stand with front foot ahead of the handle, back foot slightly behind the handle....

I think relaxing is a key factor in feeling comfortable.... tense muscles over react. I get more stable as I get more tired.

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supthecreek said..
I think some folks have a vision of SUPing without falling down.... I simply want to stay upright enough to enjoy my sessions.... but understand that I am going to fall a lot.

Well said! I don't bother falling a lot while paddling as long as it doesn't prevent me to catch waves (i.e. I do not fall when I am focused). If you want a board you will not fall from, even while daydreaming, you will end up with a barge.

So CalGreemy,

Hang in there mate, ive now had about 12 sessions and find the board really easy. Infact i can now stand out the back without much effort. Im really loving the board its taking my surfing up a notch. Rick you did a great job designing this board. All I miss is the ability to rip out turns which were so easy on the x32. This may be as simple as trying different fins ..not sure as I have bugger all experience also cranking some backhanders thanks again rick...

Also nugdam is right I found standing a bit in front of the grab handle seems perfect and sometimes in a slight surfers stance...

Im 5'9 and 95 kg. I love my 8'10 Sunova Flow. The flat deck makes it some much more stable.

Im 5'9 and 95 kg. I love my 8'10 Sunova Flow. The flat deck makes it some much more stable.

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Nugdam said..
try playing with your foot position. I find I'm standing slightly forward of the pop up handle my heel is roughly inline with the start of the handle on the fin side. I find the creek to be super stable once I worked out the best position to stand in for me.

Thanks Nugdam!

I tried this today......big improvement in stability........I could stand in the lineup stationary with no problems...70 kg and 8'7" Creek.

Cheers

Bob

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FRP said..

Nugdam said..
try playing with your foot position. I find I'm standing slightly forward of the pop up handle my heel is roughly inline with the start of the handle on the fin side. I find the creek to be super stable once I worked out the best position to stand in for me.

Thanks Nugdam!

I tried this today......big improvement in stability........I could stand in the lineup stationary with no problems...70 kg and 8'7" Creek.

Cheers

Bob

Cool to hear mate. Loving my creek it rips! A bloke on the weekend said to me to try it as a twin fin. Apparently its next level fun.

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Nugdam said..

FRP said..

Nugdam said..
try playing with your foot position. I find I'm standing slightly forward of the pop up handle my heel is roughly inline with the start of the handle on the fin side. I find the creek to be super stable once I worked out the best position to stand in for me.

Thanks Nugdam!

I tried this today......big improvement in stability........I could stand in the lineup stationary with no problems...70 kg and 8'7" Creek.

Cheers

Bob

Cool to hear mate. Loving my creek it rips! A bloke on the weekend said to me to try it as a twin fin. Apparently its next level fun.

I have always liked using boards as Twinzers, so I was stoked to try my 9'4 Creek with twins only.
I did have some fun on it, but I felt the down side was too big.
Without the center fin, it seemed to lose it's drive IMO
I simply couldn't "project" out of turns so, I had to surf it a bit flatter to have fun.
Great on the cutbacks and interesting.... but next time I will use a small center to see if that give back some "thrust"