hi,can anyone give me some advice on going from a 9.0x29 jp surf to a smaller carbon model,do bigger heavier boards handle choppy conditions better and what would be pros v cons in over head surf,cheers

really,145 reads and no replies

Not really sure if a heavier or lighter board handles chop better or worse. If your board has too much volume it will feel "corky". The wind and chop will blow you around. Too little volume and you will have to paddle to keep from sinking.

Going smaller will allow for tighter turns and higher performance surfing. Biggest plus of carbon is the swing-weight becomes almost none existent!!!! Once you ride carbon surf SUP it's hard to go back. Shorter boards will handle late drops better too.

A con can be that going too short you may not have enough paddle speed to get into the wave and/or maintain it on the wave.

Hope that helps. If you are looking for more help you should be a bit more descriptive of your exact concerns.

A vee bottom all the way from nose to planning area as well that a bit of weight, both of those characteristics can help in choppy faces.

More rocker or scoop than usual is very helpful attempting late take off. As said by SaltH20, shortened length can help too.

Loving my JP Pro 8'2. Only negative I find is that when we get strong off shores it's really hard to paddle into waves as the wind lifts the nose up really easily.

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mort69 said..
really,145 reads and no replies

Sorry. I was hoping for answers as well. Was looking at going from a 9'1" x32 GT (wood) to an 8'8" x32 LE (carbon deck). Will demo obviously, but interested in feedback on carbon SUPs too.

cheers some good points, im 80+ kilos and ive been told I could ride a board as low as 80l but im not sure that would be much use ,im more looking for something that will be best for charging over head reef, down the line speed but still turnable, what about fanatic 8'5 x28'75 at 109l pro wave carbon, any one ridden one of these.

I'm about 83-85kg, sometimes more, and 6'4". If you're 80+kg then either 1) you are extremely good at sup and have enviable balance, or 2) whoever told you could get down to 80 litres is having a lend of you.
I have had the starby 8'5" 106 litres and airborne 98 litres both in carbon. I find when the carbon boards are underwater a bit rather then on top of the water they are more stable, but their lightness adds to the cork factor you get with additional volume. But once you go carbon it is hard to go back, as, at least with starbys, the way they surf is way better due to the lightness and way the board flexes. And it's way easier carting them to the water!

On the volume: take your weight, add the board + paddle + wetsuit weight, and you get the minimum volume in liters to barely float without having to paddle constantly to stay afloat.

Then, you must add some liters as a "buffer" to dampen small inbalances. The amount depends on your abilities, fitness, experience and conditions: chop and especially water movements (rips) need more buffer. For me 10 liters is a good all-around buffer (meaning a 120l board for my 100kg), 0 liters I can manage (up to -10) but it is too tiring to be worth it, and 15 liters is confy for heavy chop. But these figures are very personal, and means that a 80kg guy will experience a board differently than a 89kg one.

And you must add your height in the picture for the width. For instance, a 29" board is to me at 5 5 3/4" is like a 31 3/4" one for a 6' guy. People tend to forget that width is spectacularly dependent on your height. Be wary of people advising you a width without knowing your height.

And finally all the magic of boards is in the rocker & rails, and the flex behaviour. Rocker & hull profile are especially important in chop handling.

I find weight useful to help for the drive in turns (especially in chop), but I found swing weight always bad: I like boards with the weight center as far back as possible, or short enough to decrease the apparent nose weigth.

In a nutshell, it is impossible to advise you without knowing you.

I'm surfing a Fanatic 9'1 carbon Allwave and really am enjoying this board. Put shapers fins on it and it goes well. highly recomend.

nice one colas,finally an advantage in being not so tall,one more question what is preferred for larger waves,extra length for glide into the face or can a shorter board still get in fairly well, as a rule for short boarding once a wave gets over a certain power and speed longer boards are generally better ,does that roughly apply to sups.does any one surf jacking waves on a sup ive heard it dosent work to well.your probably thinking go and find out for yourself but sups are so expensive and the learning curve is a long one cheers

In bigger waves, extra length is good to move around the spot, fight rips etc...
Extra length allows to have thinner rails by spreading the volume more in the length, having a deeper bite with a longer rail is stabler at speed in turns.
Shorter boards need definitely to take off closer to the peak, and this can be manageable or not depending on your spot/crowds.

On jacking waves, SUPs have 2 drawbacks:
- the length: just like a 9' longboard, late take off on a 9' SUP is tricky, and the longer the board, the greater the risk of breakage in half. ShortSUPs are so great for late take offs...
- standing up. prone surfers are "embedded" in the water at take off that helps stabilizing the body. SUP balance is trickier on take off

So, it depends on the spot. Longer is better for survivability, shorter for late take offs. Some length is better, how much depend on the spot and your confidence.

Carbon boards are much more responsive!
I couldn't go back, no way!

cheers for the replies all, that sums it up to colas