Hi
I am new stand up paddle boarding.
I tried it about 5 times when on holidays in Hamilton Island and became hooked.
Looking at buying something now so that I can take it up as healthy hobby as well as have something more interesting to do when going down south coast. My considerations around purchasing a board are based
around pragmatism. I want something I can easily store, easily transport and also take away on holidays. I have considered roof racks but the extra cost and need to strap down don't appeal to me.
So I am seriously considering an inflatable SUP. I have also considered that with the seats down in my CRV I can fit a board up to 9'4'with no other passenger . That way I could inflate board before going to beach/lake.
Based in my weight of 64-65kg and height of 5 foot 4
I was considering a smaller SUP that I could initially use just for flat water paddling and later possibly for trying small surf (very small surf). Also my girls could have a go .
The boards I am considering are:
Starboard Astro Converse 9'0
Starboard Astro Wide 8'2
Fanatic Fly Air 9
Uli Fat Ass quad 9'4
ULi Mini quad 8'4

The 8'2 astro wide looks appealing due 32 width and shorter length but will this be to difficult for a newbie ?
Maybe the converse would be a better allrounder ? I know most of the above are consider surf sups but with my shorter an smaller frame maybe they would be fine as an allrounder ? I have no surfing experience just bodyboarding

The final question I wanted to also ask....can you leave these boards inflated for weeks or even a month or do they need to be deflated each time to ensure longevity ?

Hi Gboots. There are plenty of good quality inflatable SUP's on the market but i would recommend finding a good shop that will let u demo some before you buy. If you live in the Sydney area the Guys at Sup Gear Australia based in Manly have a range of good quality inflatables that you can demo. For what you want to do an inflatable will be good as most of them are very stable and work surprisingly well in small surf. I know guys who have inflatables that haven't been deflated for over a year just dont store them in direct sunlight on hot days while there inflated.

Thanks Karl.
I am on other side of Sydney near Cronulla .
Having the option of keeping inflated for a week or so is appealing.

In terms of stability is width, length or volume most important ?
Eg starboard astro wide is 32 wide but volume only 130 litre

Whereas starboard converse is 30 wide but 170 litres and at 9 foot seems a better allrounder alternative for a shorter lightweight person ?

Is my logic correct ?

The wider the board the more stabler it will be but the narrower board will track and paddle better. I would personally go as narrow as i could as long as i was comfortable on it you want it to be a little bit challenging but not so hard that you get worn out in 10mins trying to balance all the time. Try and test ine in the conditions that you will be using it because thers a big difference from paddling in calm flat water and surf even if it is only little 1 foot waves

Hi Gboots,

I had the ASTRO WIDE POINT 8.2, the 2014 and is a really nice board is very stable and once you are ready you can take for surf without any problems.

I am under 88 kgs and you can sit a small kid for paddleling in flat water or glass ocean, the flotability is really good.

You gonna feel the difference between normal board vs inflatables even the fabricants say the board is rigid, you will fell the wooble on the water, so is taken no more then two session get used.

For taking waves with this board once you are on the drop you had to open more the space on your legs to keep the board rigid while dropping and later adjust back tail for bottom turns. This is to avoid the nose flap with the air on speed while droping

You will sorprise how well this board can surf in small to medium waves.

By the way the starboard sale a automatic pump to inflate and is really nice, or if you prefer you can warming after 5 to 10 min to inflate.

On the board bag you can put inside the 3 parts paddle, the automatic pump, manual pump, the fins, leashes, had a good space and they had to wheels for transportation

The board with all this is about 24 kgs you can take on the planes, but carefore with the automatic pump, due used cell battery is square block, the security on the airport get interesting on this i will take you in a separed room and asked about this, i think now you can not travel with this battery on the load compartemnt in plane.


regards.

Are the short wide boards stable in flat water ?
Noting that I am only 65kg and not tall ?

Eg. The Starboard Astro Wide (8'2 long 32 wide or
ULI Fat Ass Quad (9'3 long , 34 wide)

How important is the board length to stability in flat water ?

The shorter lengths need not necessarily be a stability concern, depending upon the width and equally importantly, the thickness of the board, all of which adds up to volume. Inflatables are usually 4" or 6" thick. Because those short lengths are intended as "performance" wave boards (as much as any inflatable can be called a performance wave board), they are probably going to be 4" thick. So that will mean they are probably low volume boards and therefore harder to balance on. But more than anything else, I think you should consider that a 9'4" or shorter board which is also 34" wide is going to have very ordinary tracking in flat water, which will just mean you are going in circles rather than where you want to go, and it will be pretty frustrating.

Thanks PTWoody. Going round circles doesn't fun or productive ......
So if looking to use a smaller board for flat water I really need to go as minimum width as possible. For example a 9"0 long and 30 to 31 wide would track better than a 9"4 long 33" wide.

At only 65kg and I would expect 30 to 31 wide and 9"0 foot long board would track reasonably well. ....Ratio wise. I am not expecting miracles. As a 44 year old I am looking to get out there and have some fun. If the board is too big, I can't store , or can't transport easily then that's not good either . I would preferably like to pump up the board before getting to beach/lake hence the presence for a shorter all round board . My young girls would also enjoy using the board

Just wondering what you ended up with.Im also looking at an inflatable. Drift keeps popping up on facebook and i like the look of fanatic and good rep aswell

Get a Red Paddle Co. 9'8" x 30" Ride. It's a great all arounder for the light paddler. The 100mm thickness is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Once you paddle the thinner inflatables, there's no way you'll ever consider a 6" thick board again. You may think 32" is a good thing, but at your height, it definitely is not. It's stable to a fault, but you'll paddling is much easier on a 30" wide board.

Got the 2015 Starboard Converse Deluxe 9foot 30 wide. It's going to be a great summer

Haven't tried yet but tried inflating deflating etc. Inflated it to 15PSI and was very rigid.
Not a big fan of the removable side fins (I.e need to screw in and the screws don't seem to go in far) otherwise board seems excellent
Thanks to the guys at Cronulla SUP