Hey guys!

ive been supping for about 10months now following a snapped archillies which kept me from surfing for nearly 2 years. I'm addicted and pushing it hard.
after going through a few boards I've settled on two I like- the 8'1 gulliver vbox Evo 2 27.5x 118l which is pictured and I've taken to double overhead. And the Ecs pw2 9'0 x29.5 x 120l which is basically the same volume but longer, wider and a touch more stable when really choppy.

I'm routinely the only sup with surfers in our west coast and continually chasing bigger waves.
the pics of me surfing the vbox are what I could call small conditions. The lower ones were pretty heavy and around double overhead that I was out in the weekend.

my question:
on days like the weekend where it was heavy, relentless beach break with no rips or channels I got absolutely smashed trying to get out back. Even on the 9'0 getting over a 5ft white wash wall was near impossible and once off the board I'd head hammered trying to stand back up and get speed for the next wave.

what board would you guys suggest for getting big but out back / over heavy white wash?
wide boards I imagine would be a dog in big sTuff and lose performance. Longer, thinner boards I couldn't machine wouldn't have the stability to get out back if it's hard on a 29.5" board already. I can sometime get over big a Stuff still standing, and on smaller days I can get out back without even getting wet sometimes.
its just big heavy, relentless beach break white walls I struggle with.

thoughts and suggestions?

Thats a hard one. Not many stock boards come to mind that match your requirements. I would look at getting a custom. I might be biased but suggest contacting Scott at Smik for example.
There are plenty of other such as Deep and Surefire. All these brands make excellent boards of the highest quality. The best thing is you can chat directly to the shaper. If you are honest with them about your ability and the conditions you want the board made for you will get exactly what you want/need.

P.s. they cheaper than the big brands aswell.
Cheers Bender

I don't think that a different board will help you much for this. Maybe a shape like your PW2, but with a wider tail for more heel stability, but still a narrow nose for piercing the water?

Surfing the conditions you've described requires a high level of fitness and perserverence. It's difficult getting through solid whitewash and a heavy impact zone on any board. I'd focus on the wave riding performance you're looking for in the board - down the line speed to make sections, manouverability etc. I have the same board as you ECS PW2 but 8'6. It's a good all rounder and capable in solid waves but not the ideal board for your conditions. Consider ordering a custom from a shaper who is familiar with your conditions.

Just making myself this board just for waves 6ft and over. Part of the joy with what we do at ONE Sup is the custom work for people wanting that bit different.

Vilayta was pretty happy with the board we made him for the canaries.

I've had the 8'5 starboard pro but was just way too tippy in our choppy, long paddle shore breaks.
Tonight I went out in offshore 2-2.5m waves and got out back easily on the gulliver vbox. I can rip on that board pretty hard and nearly got a double overhead barrel on it a few weeks back- some surfers gave me a bit of respect which is rare at my local breaks!

the pw2 is quite nice but seems like it needs more vee in the tail and a round tail for bigger stuff would be cool.
Just with our heavy dumpy white wash breaks even that board at 9'0 isn't enough to get over / past some of them and then once off the board you get smoked by the next few waves!

im 72kg, fit and strong as anything. I went down to a 95l 8'3 x 28 x 4 rounded pin tail but the lower volume seemed way worse for getting paddle speed and past the white wash so went back up the volume scale again.
The gulliver was way more stable than my 8'5 pro and soo much faster.

what would you guys suggest for size, volume and length?
I guess if I kept the gulliver it would be for anything head to double / triple overhead

Sunova flows are pretty good big wave boards ..size is up to you ...my 8.7 flow seems to do the job.they
hold a nice down the line feel ...without sacrificing movability .i like the quad set up in big swell .
i also use the 8.10 in big mess ..I'm 26 kgs heavier .

there is the acid too ...which they claim is their big wave stick ....

nice wave you got .

If the waves are consistently 10 - 15 feet I will use a 10' x 28" board.

I think its nuts people trying to catch waves of this size on smaller boards. I am out all the time with 'shortboard' surfers on 7' boards and they just don't have the paddle speed to catch the waves I can catch on a 10' board.

When it regularly goes over 15 feet I will use my 12' x 28" gun. This board glides in early on huge bombs. Almost like cheating. In really big stuff the 10' board lacks the board speed to get in early meaning vertical drops on 15 - 18' waves which can be terrifying.

This is an example of the good medium stuff on the 10' board:

The upper limits of the 10' board's catchability:

To catch the really big ones requires a big, fast board.

PS: A small race paddle also helps in these situations. Lightweight with high turnover is required. No way to catch this wave on a 10' board without going deeper.

This video shows what happened to the guy who went deeper he is actually falling on the right. The video thumbnail and the photo were taken at the same instant.

Bender is right custom the way to go Sunova or Smik.
Couple of good sleds here. 10 year old PSH is a kraka too.

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scott mckerc said..
Vilayta was pretty happy with the board we made him for the canaries.

That is a nice shot

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scott mckerc said..
Vilayta was pretty happy with the board we made him for the canaries.

What i want know is HTF is able to walk with balls that big??

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Tardy said..
Sunova flows are pretty good big wave boards ..size is up to you ...my 8.7 flow seems to do the job.they
hold a nice down the line feel ...without sacrificing movability .i like the quad set up in big swell .
i also use the 8.10 in big mess ..I'm 26 kgs heavier .

there is the acid too ...which they claim is their big wave stick ....

nice wave you got .

@ Tardy: the Acid becomes a handful in conditions over a certain size (harder entry into waves / not enough control on the wave) so if you want a stock Sunova for bigger waves...the Insane is a better call

@ benjl: listen to Beasho....if anyone is use to riding consistently big waves...it's Beasho although...Mavericks is in a different league vs our west coast conditions

Hilly / Scotty / paulJ / Bender are all bang on about their advice e.g. a custom is always a good option (SMIK / Sunova / Surefire...there are plenty to choose from) otherwise there enough stock boards kicking around e.g. JL Bombora series / Insane

IMO, a 10'+ board will be a lot of board for you to handle @ 72kg's in hollow west coast conditions + it still takes a lot of work to get any board through the impact zone in big surf unless, you have the luxury of a channel

See link re the 10'6 Bombora in action....impressive stuff: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Great-Jimmy-Lewis-vid-

Keali is bad-ass. He showed up at Mavericks and was on my buddy Andrew Dorn's boat.

Andrew introduced me to him, I was on a SUP. I sit wide at "Denton's Peak" shown above. I was looking for a swinger and he paddles to the bowl and just charges it. I bow to him.

The only people that regularly SUP Mavericks are Ian Wallace, Haley Fiske, Jeff Clark and me.

My blue board is a 12' Paddle Surf Hawaii gun. I was paddling out with Haley and he say "You know that was the best Mav's board I ever owned that thing paddled in and would catch everything."

The same day I am sitting super wide at Mavericks. Ian paddles over and says "That board sucks dude you need a new board." What! I say.

Haley just said "This is the best Mav's board ever." Ian says

"Yes if you want to sit out here and catch these bombs (which I do) but if you want to go deep, into the bowl you need a shorter more performance shape (which I . . . . don't want to do).

Here is a glory shot of Haley on the PSH 12'. He will claim this is the biggest wave ever caught on a SUP. This was from 2009. Haley is a machine, he keeps going and going, and nothing kills him. I just listen.

What I love about the second photo is the look on his face. He is like the little engine that could "I think I can, I think I can. . . ."

The f--- ing wave is landing on his rear foot.

Awesome!!!

This is what a One sup custom looks like! My every day board 8'2" x 28" at 105 litres.
Perfect shape first time.

Awesome pictures beasho.
now that's a big wave ...I don't know if benji is thinking that big ,but skies the limit right .

how long do you have to be able to hold your breath on those big wipeouts .?

Hi Benji
Huge reefs in the pics are impressive, but big wave breaks are impossible to paddle out in, without a channel.
Beachbreaks like yours don't share that luxury.

I have been way more scared surfing Cape Cod beachbreak when it's on, than I ever got at big Sunset. (at close out size)
Your breaks look a lot like my home break in winter, when we are in full wetsuit gear.

I have ridden a ton of different boards... some paddle better than others, but nothing makes a real difference IMO.

OH beachbreak is all about timing and perseverance.
At 69 I break easily, so I depend on by brain more than my brawn.

My MO is to watch, learn the rip of the day, use the rip and timing to get out past the pain in the a$$ inside stuff.
Once out to the bigger stuff, I take a few hits, but bigger usually has longer period...
if I can limit drag & keep my board close, getting out past the big impact zone is easier than the relentless white-water inside.
When you get a break.... paddle faaaast

My main concern paddling out on OH days is to keep my board clear of the impact zone (bottom pic, I stopped paddling and waited a bit inside, to avoid the lip)

At 107 kg, I ride a 32" wide board in this stuff with zero issues and great performance.

Thanks guys. Haha @ supthecreek, those are the exact kind of conditions I'm referring to. Big, hollow, no rip. My break more often than not has a side current so even If you find the rip, you end up being sucked down the beach in a few minutes to the break zone.

@scotty, that board looks sick!! Would actually love that as my daily!

How do you find your board in overhead stuff at 32" wide?

I think that 9'0 is about my upper limit of length, or it's just too much to handle if the wave starts getting hollow etc. I'd also ideally like this board to be able to be used from around head height as an all rounder with the ability to handle bigger stuff and not just track straight like a gun.
I mean people told me the Gulliver was not meant for Overhead but so far I've used that as my daily from waist to double overhead. Only the first time in the weekend following a cyclone did I start to feel it was slightly out of it's depth with the big fat rails, tail and flat rocker.
The hardest part for me is just getting out the back on those days.
I had one day on the starboard pro 8'5 that after 3x failed attempts and 45mins of trying later, I just gave up and sold the board the next week. Just too tippy for lots of water movement and big whitewash.

Re. the paddle, I currently had a carbon 96 sq in" blade size which I know now is too big considering my weight but I work it pretty well.
Do you think getting a smaller higher cadence blade size would help with getting past the white wash etc?

Out of curiosity, what width, length, tail shape etc would you guys recommend for what I'm ideally wanting?

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benjl said..
Thanks guys. Haha @ supthecreek, those are the exact kind of conditions I'm referring to. Big, hollow, no rip. My break more often than not has a side current so even If you find the rip, you end up being sucked down the beach in a few minutes to the break zone.

@scotty, that board looks sick!! Would actually love that as my daily!

How do you find your board in overhead stuff at 32" wide?

I think that 9'0 is about my upper limit of length, or it's just too much to handle if the wave starts getting hollow etc. I'd also ideally like this board to be able to be used from around head height as an all rounder with the ability to handle bigger stuff and not just track straight like a gun.
I mean people told me the Gulliver was not meant for Overhead but so far I've used that as my daily from waist to double overhead. Only the first time in the weekend following a cyclone did I start to feel it was slightly out of it's depth with the big fat rails, tail and flat rocker.
The hardest part for me is just getting out the back on those days.
I had one day on the starboard pro 8'5 that after 3x failed attempts and 45mins of trying later, I just gave up and sold the board the next week. Just too tippy for lots of water movement and big whitewash.

Re. the paddle, I currently had a carbon 96 sq in" blade size which I know now is too big considering my weight but I work it pretty well.
Do you think getting a smaller higher cadence blade size would help with getting past the white wash etc?

Out of curiosity, what width, length, tail shape etc would you guys recommend for what I'm ideally wanting?

At 105kg I ride a 9 6 x 29 in solid conditions. Custom Sunova Insane. Go as narrow as possible.


www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Rosie-in-her-natural-environment?page=1

This is what I use as my step-up big wave board... Perfect for reef breaks or big beachies- note not me in picture :)
The Stun Gun is the most versatile wave board for decent to excellent waves. Smooth semi gun outline with it's soft round pin tail makes it hold through quick carving turns. It has a flat bottom all the way from the nose to just in front of the fin area where the "V" starts and flows off of the tail. With that flat bottom there is no governor on the speed and the "V" bottom in the tail allows the rider to lay the board on rail effortlessly to initiate a hard bottom or top turn.
*Note-very stable for it's thickness/volume
5 fin box set up.
Comes with JL 5 fin set. (allows for thruster or quad fin set up).
Thruster set size- 4.5"
Quad set size- Front 4.5" Back 4.0"
SIZE 8'7"x29.5"x3.75" (110L)

everyone is naming boards and showing them riding waves etc

but your problem is not your boards, you have no problem surfing big waves

yeah it sucks in big beachies sometimes, there is no easy way of getting out, even the best pros would struggle to pop over 5 foot of white water, no board will fix this, there is no trick or easy way of getting out, it involves a **** ton of fitness, and a bit of luck, you will take beatings and you will realize how unfit you are, sometimes you just need to prone paddle put your head down paddle hard and get hit by a few, or find a point break or reef

Jarryd

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Jradedmondo said..
everyone is naming boards and showing them riding waves etc

but your problem is not your boards, you have no problem surfing big waves

yeah it sucks in big beachies sometimes, there is no easy way of getting out, even the best pros would struggle to pop over 5 foot of white water, no board will fix this, there is no trick or easy way of getting out, it involves a **** ton of fitness, and a bit of luck, you will take beatings and you will realize how unfit you are, sometimes you just need to prone paddle put your head down paddle hard and get hit by a few, or find a point break or reef

Jarryd

However, it is easier on a longer narrow board that paddles fast, tracks well and transitions easily from rail to rail at speed.

I guess that's my other question- is it easier to get over big white wash on a narrower or wider board?
and how much longer before narrower gets more stable?

Im trying to keep my length cut off around 9'0.

question on paddles- what blade size do you guys use for bigger waves? Higher cadence or more stroke power? Again, which would be better for getting out back?

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benjl said..
I guess that's my other question- is it easier to get over big white wash on a narrower or wider board?
and how much longer before narrower gets more stable?

Im trying to keep my length cut off around 9'0.

question on paddles- what blade size do you guys use for bigger waves? Higher cadence or more stroke power? Again, which would be better for getting out back?

I use a diesel :) QB Slim Jim 95 square inch. Dig deep. Tried smaller paddles but find they pull through the water rather than propelling me forwards.

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Beasho said..
Keali is bad-ass. He showed up at Mavericks and was on my buddy Andrew Dorn's boat.

Andrew introduced me to him, I was on a SUP. I sit wide at "Denton's Peak" shown above. I was looking for a swinger and he paddles to the bowl and just charges it. I bow to him.

The only people that regularly SUP Mavericks are Ian Wallace, Haley Fiske, Jeff Clark and me.

My blue board is a 12' Paddle Surf Hawaii gun. I was paddling out with Haley and he say "You know that was the best Mav's board I ever owned that thing paddled in and would catch everything."

The same day I am sitting super wide at Mavericks. Ian paddles over and says "That board sucks dude you need a new board." What! I say.

Haley just said "This is the best Mav's board ever." Ian says

"Yes if you want to sit out here and catch these bombs (which I do) but if you want to go deep, into the bowl you need a shorter more performance shape (which I . . . . don't want to do).

Here is a glory shot of Haley on the PSH 12'. He will claim this is the biggest wave ever caught on a SUP. This was from 2009. Haley is a machine, he keeps going and going, and nothing kills him. I just listen.

What I love about the second photo is the look on his face. He is like the little engine that could "I think I can, I think I can. . . ."

The f--- ing wave is landing on his rear foot.

Awesome!!!

Awesome!!!

As for your question, I don't think its gonna matter what you're on when you're about to go toe to toe with 5ft of angry white wash. You get flogged. What you can control though, is how fast you are moving between those waves. There are a heap of suggestions on your thread already. And they're all good ones. My suggestion is Surefire. Mick made me a 9'10" x 29.5" that I took to Hawaii 2015. I was there the week of the Molokai race. A big swell hit the south shore and I got some epic waves on it!!! I didn't have the issue of paddling out because I stayed at the Hilton Village which has the boat channel right in front of it.

Where do you SUP surf? I surf the west coast of Auckland and it can take 10-15 mins to get out the back as relentless whitewater - or 1 min if you get a break. Sounds like you know what you are doing going out in heavy beach breaks - read the sets and rips - paddle like **** - hope for the best!

I find you need stability so width and extra volume is needed to keep the torque on when paddling out as you don't want to wobble out when the seas open up for that moment you can get out.

The Sunova Acid 8'7 or 8'10 is an excellent board for bigger stuff: sunovasurfboards.com/en/sup/pro-surfing/acid

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benjl said..
How do you find your board in overhead stuff at 32" wide?

In my experience, you do not actually need a pulled in tail for "big" waves, although I am no big wave specialist, I have not the training and condition to survive beatings by more that double overhead waves.

You need a pulled in tail if you want to be able to turn tightly in the hollow parts of the waves. But I found that straight rails are more stable at speed, curved ones slow the board and may induce "speed wobbles". Guns have actually long, straight rails, even with narrow tails. But you can get the same stability with a wide-tailed board, because it can have more parallel, thus straight rails. And the board will be faster, which will be a boon to make fast big closing sections. And it will take off earlier, so you can take off before things get too hairy, and get just the added time to setup your trim line to make sections.

So, if you are not doing SUP contests, and are more in survival mode than rollers-under-the-lip mode, a 29" wide "tomo" will be as stable or more than a 32" "mini gun" shape, and will be more efficient to enjoy the rides. I would however get a semi-pointed nose, or semi-tomo, trying to punch through whitewater with a big shovel nose is akin to russian roulette.

Actually a semi-pointed nose, straight rails, wide tail... is what makes the fish shapes so great for speeding across steep sections. So maybe use just a fish design?