Hi I am about 169 cms tall and 70 kg and would call myself a low intermediate Sup Surfer. I mainly SUP at Pt Leo here in Vic which is just inside Westernport Bay but also head over to Torquay and Anglesea. I havent surfed anything too big yet mainly 3 ft and under. I am currently using a Trigger Bros 9'6" around 170 litres as I traded in a smaller 8'6" model by them that I damaged. As the surf isnt great and limited opportunity to surf regularly so I decided the 9'6" would allow me to surf a lot more waves and improve my skills, which it has. It is also good for a long paddle in the Bay. I recently purchased a Naish Hokua 8'5"x28" 115L 2013 model that I found in a Surf shop. I have taken it out once and realised that my ambition far outweighs my talent and that it is much more suited to bigger surf than what I am used to. Should I hang on to it and try to master it or should I purchase something around 120-130 liters 8'6" -9" to help my Sup surfing improve. Also I have been keen to get into Longboard surfing and recently purchased one from Surfboard Warehouse at almost 50 percent off. I have just seen some vids of Jackson Close on a Deep Sup Longboard and there is one for sale near me 10'x26" 111 litres, at a very good price. Is it much easier to ride one of these boards in crappy conditions and smaller surf and then be able to noseride etc than trying it on a traditional longboard. I am in my late 50's now and still very fit but the idea of cruising on a longboard might be more sensible than trying to be Kelly Slater on a SUP. Would appreciate any info and opinions to help my decide what to do, Cheers.

I think if you could get the volume down to the 100 to 115 range you would be a lot happier on the wave, if you can get enough outline stability. The 10' deep longboard sounds perfect but there is a chance you might find the lateral balance tricky at 26 wide. How was your stability on the hokua, was that the issue or was it just dragging on the wave riding in your conditions?

I'm in love with friends board that is an Imagine Impact 9' x 28 118L, I think it'd be considered a longboard with a little bit of short board mixed in, but not sure if company still making the same quality board. It's very stable for the volume cause of full nose, catches waves really well, and feels super nimble to me. If I was wanting something more stable than a 115L 8'6 Naish Hokua I might look to one of these sorts of sporty 9' longboards. Our other friend who went too small on a Hokua just got a bigger one, like 120ish sized up to 140ish L and he's happy.

that said my friend who owns the 9' would surf his 10' 6" Naish Nalu if it were 3' waves or less.

I would keep it simple and get something like a Jimmy Lewis striker 8'11 or a sunova steeze. These boards are good at everything without specialising in any one area. At your height and weight you could even go shorter and still catch waves easily. I love sup because it allows me to catch waves away from large groups of people, if you go too small you end up having to catch the wave where all the shortboarder hang. This is fine if you are a great surfer (I'm not) but if not it will make it frustrating.

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slsurf said..
I think if you could get the volume down to the 100 to 115 range you would be a lot happier on the wave, if you can get enough outline stability. The 10' deep longboard sounds perfect but there is a chance you might find the lateral balance tricky at 26 wide. How was your stability on the hokua, was that the issue or was it just dragging on the wave riding in your conditions?

I struggled to stand up and paddle the Hokua I had to kneel to paddle out, I stood up ok when I got a wave in but It felt like it needs a bigger more powerful wave to be at its best. Im not sure I will be able to get enough time in the surf to practice as I jump straight on the 9'6'' and try to catcch as many waves as I can while I have a chance.

In this case you better try the 10 x 26 first or aim for at least 28 wide even on a 10ft board and see if you can still keep volume down. Although I have no direct experience with 10 x 26 I have tried 2 shorter sups with identical volume and the 28 wide one I could easily stand on between sets even without much use of the paddle. 26 is a different story, for me I can only stand on it in between waves for minutes at a time and it requires good technique or staying in motion.