Needing a stable SUP for my girl but limited to 10ft to fit in the car. 90% flat water, she is a beginner, weighs 60kg. I have looked at the JP wide body and looks good. Any other recommendations please?

Starboard Whopper

10' Naish Mana.. 10' Coreban EZ.. and 10'2" NSP Elements are three of my favorite boards in that size.

DJ

Hey Straddie
While the boards mentioned by Mal and David are all great boards they are bigger than you need for a 60kg girl for 90% flat water paddling.
I don't think you need to go with the wide body Board either
Check ou the 9'8" x 31" JP Fusion.
Same brand you have been looking at, fits the max length criteria, very stable, tracks really well and if she does have a crack at the surf it's a beauty

Select to expand quote

DavidJohn said...
10' Naish Mana.. 10' Coreban EZ.. and 10'2" NSP Elements are three of my favorite boards in that size.

DJ

DJ, those 10'0 boards could be a bit of a beast for a 60kg rider. They will be stable though!

If she is a complete novice to surfing, then those 10 footers could be an option. But the second hand pages on here for a real bargain...

Why do so many people refuse to post their "state of origin"? I'm happy to help you search for boards close to you, but you aren't helping me!!

11'4 Nalu is probably more versatile than a 10'0 Mana. But good though.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Stand-Up-Paddle-Surfing-and-Cruising-Boards/~aubj7/2012-Naish-Nalu-11-4.aspx?search=lT%2friExlz8unIVHqRVJaokXIVeBHmJUA

Or this...

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Stand-Up-Paddle-Surfing-and-Cruising-Boards/~ah1ds/2012-Fanatic-Fly-10-0-762-cm.aspx?search=lT%2friExlz8unIVHqRVJaokXIVeBHmJUA

JP 9.9 widebody is the hands down best girls board that Ive ever come across. My missus is "more than" 60 kg and she absolutely loves her 9.9. She has never paddled a sup prior to this board and she does all her paddling in open flat (ish) water.

I also love this board and its my first pick for all surfs up to 3ft.

FANTASTIC FUN STABLE BOARD.

Nice avatar Bill!

Select to expand quote

Simondo said...
Nice avatar Bill!

Too subtle ???

Ok..

The question was .. "Most stable.. 10'.. and mostly Flat water (90%).."

Then why answer with things like If she's only 60kg you don't need a board that size.. Or this board surfs better.

Or even mention a 11'4" board.. (btw the 10' Mama is much more stable than the 11'4" Nalu).. Good idea suggesting the secondhand boards but cheap or secondhand wasn't in the question ..

I'm thinking he/she wants a very stable board that no longer than 10' and mostly paddle flat water...

Maybe she wants to do yoga on it.. Maybe she wants to be able to paddle two-up or with small kids.. Maybe paddle with a large dog on board.. Who knows.. Maybe even load it up for a sup camping trip.. .. Or just a super stable fun board to learn on.

If the question was for a board that was for mostly surfing with some flat water paddling I would have suggested different boards.. (like the Whopper.. It surfs great) or even suggested a shorter board to get better surfing performance.

Also a 60 kg girl carrying a big wide sup is going to need a good handle.. Like the Naish or Coreban.. That's partly why I suggested those boards.. The 10'2" was just a cheaper option.. That JP 9'9" sounds good but I was only recommending boards that I know about and that I've used.. I'm sure there's plenty more good suitable size boards out there.. I'm thinking that JP might also have that great Naish handle.

I'm not complaining about anyone or their answers or ranting.. or even pimping brands.. Just saying what I'm thinking .. .. and pls don't anyone take it personally..

DJ

It's a good point DJ makes. Very often people offer advice but with their own bias, and by that, I'm not talking about pimping brands. And it's not just here on Seabreeze but I think in a lot of the shops as well. Someone says they want a certain size board and they want it for 90% flat water - anyone who surfs automatically assumes the other 10% is surfing and inevitably that will lead to more surfing and so they are recommending a performance surf board. The problem is, as DJ points out, the needs of the OP may have no connection with surfing at all. 90% flat water might well mean a river and the other 10% might be choppy ocean swell, but not surf. Statistically speaking, the vast majority of people getting in to SUP have absolutely no interest in surf. If you push people towards inappropriate equipment, they will not enjoy the experience, they will resent having bought an expensive waste of shed space and they will lose interest in SUP all together.

Hi Team,
Thanks for all the replies. In terms of more information;
The board she has learnt on is a SUPLOVE adventurer 11'2. She loves its stability and flat water glide and i have used it in small surf but it is too big both in terms of length and weight. 10ft is max to fit in our 4wd.
I have a 10ft Laird which i love but she finds it way too unstable.
She will do very little surfing as she is from the country and not comfortable in the surf, hence 90% flatwater and maybe the occasional go in small surf. If the board suits her needs and i can also have the occasional surf on it (I am 85kg) then that is a bonus but its about no longer than 10 ft and will work well primarily as a smooth water board with option for very small amount of surf.
Thanks heaps for the valued feedback
(We are based on brisbane/north stradbroke island)
Cheers,Cooper

Whats interesting here is the board is for 90% flatwater but in the 10 foot range is there any boards that arent surf shapes?

Select to expand quote

Cuttlefish said...
Whats interesting here is the board is for 90% flatwater but in the 10 foot range is there any boards that arent surf shapes?

No I think the shortest race or flat water shape tends to kick in at around 11'. It is a bit of an oversight in the market I feel.

Select to expand quote

Cuttlefish said...
Whats interesting here is the board is for 90% flatwater but in the 10 foot range is there any boards that aren't surf shapes?

No, not really. Unless you go to inflatables (which could solve the OP's girlfriend's car space problem in a different way). There are a couple of inflatables in the 10-11' range (Hobie, Fanatic) that are intended for flat water cruising rather than surf crossovers. We have a 10' Hobie pump up that my wife and kids fight over, it has a bit of camber (negative rocker) and a fairly straight outline and goes really, really nicely in the flats and light-medium chop.

Lahui Kai do a sub-10' version of their Manta for kids and one of the other gold coast mobs was playing with a kid-size race board (can't recall who it was)

Smallest displacement nose board we have is 11'.

If I can throw a spanner in the works here what about one of the following-

1. Something like a 9'10" Hokua which we find paddles considerably quicker than the Mana.

2. Otherwise as Cartoon said an inflatable board

She is welcome to come and demo some of our boards if you like. We have Whoppers, Mana and Allwave in our school.

Briskites,

Would be keen to do a demo - r u guys around all weekend and whereabouts r u located?

Not keen on an inflatable, prefer to stay with a conventional board 10 or under.

Thanks again for all the continuing forum feedback - the site is awesome!

Cheers,
Cooper

Hi Straddie,
I,m long time surfer short time sup and really have only ridden my own board until last Sunday where I went to a open day, where I test rode lots of different boards and brands.
I got the surprise of my life when I rode the inflatable it was nothing how i thought it would be. The board was very fast and very stable ,I,m 92kilo and I moved around the board like it was a table top, two stokes and I was on the glide ,I couldn,t believe the way this thing paddled and handled the chop. I,m sure in yrs to come this type of board will revolutionise the sport with better designs for all scenarios. The benefits are they roll up into a bag for easy storage, easy transport and light to carry and are so user friendly for beginners right up to more experienced riders.
Best have a go on one.

Red..

Hi Straddie,roof racks not an option mate ?concerning the board my daughter weighs 50kgs and can traverse all over my nalu 10.65 with out a hassle due to her light frame in relation to the boards volume,this i believe allows lighter people access to a wide range of boards as the sweet spot for balance is increased.

I would go as far as to recommend a custom as there doesn't seem to be a <10ft'er flatwater board? A good shaper will sort that out for you and honestly...many times they are cheaper than the 'off-the-shelf' brands.

Also, I owned a 9'8" starboard element a couple of years ago (ended up snapping it in big conditions), but I found that even with my weight (110kgs) it paddled well on flatwater. It doesn't have a huge rocker so works well on flatwater & small waves, and the rounded nose & width gave it plenty of volume without being a thick board. An added benefit was the windsurfing track also.

starboard whopper extra 10' x 36"

Starboard whopper 10 x 34" or Naish mana (various lengths)

Never paddled one (probably never will) but sounds like an inflatable maybe the best option? Others say they are remarkably better paddlers than you would expect. Some make touring shapes too.

would have to definitely agree with dj's first post all great boards, if it is going to be predominately for flat water maybe look at something inflatable as this would solve your transport issues and you could get a 12'6 or something a little bigger which would be lighter and cover the km's better than a smaller board, just my 2c, maybe try and demo a few boars if you can just to get an idea as design can play a big part in stability,

Jarryd

She's 60 kilos (and probably is only 5'6" or something - she DOESN'T need a wide board!

Other than that, at my 6'5" 112kgs I cannot comment with any validity.

Select to expand quote

NeilInOz said...
She's 60 kilos (and probably is only 5'6" or something - she DOESN'T need a wide board!

Agreed, BUT the question was double barrelled. Which is the most stable 10" and which is the right board for her. That is why the responses of 32 and 34' wide boards.

Just to sound like a broken record.... I did a ton of flat-water on my 9'10 Allwave.

They are extremely stable, they paddle very well.
They fit in cars. Mine traveled inside my Honda Civic.
They are reasonably light, have great handles, and are very easy to load and carry.
They are fairly indestructible.
They fit in small spaces... up creeks... in estuaries, dinking around in the shallows (5.8" fin is longest)

For my money... a great flat-water pick.

I paddle my 8'10 all the time and love it.

I just want to comment that I often come across a lot of bias when it comes to beginner sups and especially beginner female sup riders with the tendancy to recommend boards which seem to be overly wide. Why? Why assume that the person in question has to necessarily get on a board which HAS to be wide in order to facilitate stability. I have been out in the surf in pretty horrible conditions as well as out wide with females on boards no bigger than a 9'6 and under 30 inches wide, deal with those conditions in a very competent manner. I find women to be a lot more flexible and "softer" in their movements than most blokes and their ability to adapt to conditions whether it be on flatwater or outside to be largely understated. They certainly arent as hopeless as some may believe. Where you will turn off many women is having to lug around a big heavy board that is overly cumbersome and I think that it is this reason that manufacturers have realised that the average punter wants a board that is nice and light not just for being able to throw the sup around on the surf. My advice is to find the happy balance between a board that will provide the stability that you need or you can grow into as well as being light to carry. Women get the ****s having to unload the car after having done the shopping let alone carry a big board down to the water:)

Oz

One thing to consider... She is pretty new to this. There is no need to go extreme race boards if her plan is to cruise around and just have fun. You can do that on any board that provides enough stability to be comfortable and tracks well enough that you're not all over the place.

People automatically assume an extreme (either surf or race/downwind) but for most newbies its all about getting out for a splash. They don't need extreme anything.

My wife started on a Fanatic Fly 10'6 and found it massively oversized (she's 54kgs at 5'6). She downsized to a Surftech Al Merrick 9'1 and hasn't looked back. The only problem is the old school handle and the weight (it's heavier than my 9'10 Hokua).

When she gets on my Hokua it cruises just fine. For a flat water cruise the secret is to only use the centre fin and make it a big one. We run an 8" centre that's got some significant size to it... in other words not so narrow as a dolphin fin. It used to belong on my 9'1 Mal but I found it was difficult to turn so changed up to a Dolphin in the same size. The mal now turns much better and I use the old fin on the Hokua for flat water (at 90kgs). It tracks reasonably well for my size and excellently for my wife.

So for my money I'd look for a lightweight board with a good handle. Get one around the 120-150litre mark and she should be very happy with the stability. And make sure you have a nice big fat centre fin so it tracks well.

Oh and Demo, Demo, Demo

Too bad PSH stopped production, for a girl, 90% flat water, I guess the best board should be something like the "PSH hull paddlers", in 9' to 10' but in light construction. Something with surfable rails, and and nose that can displace water, but with no hard "keel" in the front to be surfable.

Or a "Medium Simmons": 8'6" tp 9'0", belly front. These shapes are ultra stable even when not too wide (wide tail helps a lot), the twin keels counter the row very well, and with enough belly can tackle some chop. Beginners (up to 75kg) fins my "8'0" medium Simmons" the most rider-friendly.
And of course you will have a treat when surfing it :-)

I would avoid things like the "wide body" surf shapes (JP, Starboard, ...). The curved outlines (and wide board in general) push water on the flat and add to the row, and the generous front rocker slow the board. A streamlined shape with parallel rails, and maybe a semi-pointed nose (for stability and chop handling) could be very good.