Hi,

I've noticed that board makers have taken two different approaches to surf SUP's, but end up at the same volume.

What are the pro's and con's of each, and what surf are they suited too?

Cheers
Chris

Imo width , and lack there of, is the key to a good surfing board. Sups are slow just by the shear volume of them compared to short and long boards. Width is drag. Not only in the water but with wind/air catch.

I would go narrower before i went shorter. I ride a 10 x 26 custom mal sup. 26 is about as narrow as i can personally go for a every day board. My next one will reduce thickness even though im already at 3 1/2. If i was getting a pointy surf sup it would be built around 27 wide and probably 8.8 long.

I understand why manufacturers make them wide. It gets bums on seats. But alot of emotional/ego goes into board purchase by most of us and people just think shorter is better...

I agree on the narrow surfing sup being far superior, added width doesn't just create drag but also makes it much harder to transition from rail to rail making turning harder/more cumbersome. IMHO going much over 30" makes for a sluggish (to turn and down the line) board.

Yep at 105kg 29 wide is the magic number. If I was lighter I would go as narrow as possible. Then as short as possible.

In small beach breaks plus a bit of mush give me a short wide well designed SUP any day.
Mine is 7ft 4in x 29.5 wide nose and tail


Having said that I also have a 10ft 6in Nalu in my 4 board quiver.

Been through the whole trial & error phase which has certainly burnt a whole in my pocket however I would reiterate the sentiments above, the narrower the better (including the thickness of the rails) providing you are comfortable on the board in average conditions

But that is the trouble is interested it finding that magic board for all conditions without having to put aside 6g a year for boards.

Love my 8,10 jp surf but starting to feel a bit big especially when on a good wave

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husq2100 said..
Imo width , and lack there of, is the key to a good surfing board. Sups are slow just by the shear volume of them compared to short and long boards. Width is drag. Not only in the water but with wind/air catch.

I would go narrower before i went shorter. I ride a 10 x 26 custom mal sup. 26 is about as narrow as i can personally go for a every day board. My next one will reduce thickness even though im already at 3 1/2. If i was getting a pointy surf sup it would be built around 27 wide and probably 8.8 long.

I understand why manufacturers make them wide. It gets bums on seats. But alot of emotional/ego goes into board purchase by most of us and people just think shorter is better...

Yes. I can't understand why more manufacturers don't do those longer narrower boards??? My old Surftech Ron House Laird is 10' x 27" and near a decade discontinued. Other than the fact it is not a noserider, the thing rides beautiful. They used to do a few similarly narrow Takyamas that would rival any recent makes. Almost wonder what went wrong???????? And how about searching for those Takyama moulds????????????

I'm my experience, the longer u go the narrower u can go while still keeping stability..I have a 10.1 x28.5 Long board style sup but i would have liked it around 26/27, my wife uses it hence the 28.5 width...my shortboard is 7.10 x 27.5 and is my everyday board, I had an 8.2 x 29.5 which was only 8 litres more than the 7.10 and it turned like a pig compared to the 27.5. The 10.1 was way more stable than the 8.2 even tho the 8.2 was wider... Hope u can understand all that

My first board was a Bonga Perkins 9'6. Very narrow for it's size. I didn't know that at the time.

A great first board, narrow and long is definitely my preference unless it's a slate style sup.

Great thread. Riding the 9'6 x 27.5 sunova style at the moment and loving it. Dreaming of a custom 10'6 x 26 for cruising on small days.
Husq who did your board?

old fat supper , needs long wide board ......... formula is ............. 60yo@100+KG=11'+x32"= ..................

Short and wide rules for me

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Slab said...
Short and wide rules for me

Does not work in a decent wave. Also crap to paddle to outer reefs.

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hilly said..

Slab said...
Short and wide rules for me

Does not work in a decent wave. Also crap to paddle to outer reefs.

Yes but I don't have a decent wave and don't paddle out to outer reefs....short wide rules for me. I am on a JP Widebody and it is ideal for my waves.....

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Slab said...

hilly said..

Slab said...
Short and wide rules for me

Does not work in a decent wave. Also crap to paddle to outer reefs.

Yes but I don't have a decent wave and don't paddle out to outer reefs....short wide rules for me. I am on a JP Widebody and it is ideal for my waves.....

Thankfully I do

Recently purchased a C4 Waterman 9'0" Batwing, 9'0" x 26 1/2" x3 7/16" for 105l. The planshape with the fuller tail helps with the stability, also as an older design the rails have a fair bit of volume which also contribute to stability. Have ridden it in some challenging conditions and as a fly weight have found it very stable.

The best one is the one that gives you the most fun
You need to take into account where you surf, how you surf and personal weight and how often you surf.
Getting this right will put a smile on your face every time.

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JoffaDan said..
Great thread. Riding the 9'6 x 27.5 sunova style at the moment and loving it. Dreaming of a custom 10'6 x 26 for cruising on small days.
Husq who did your board?

here you go Dan:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/DEEP-OceanBoards-10ft-Log/

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steve35 said..
The best one is the one that gives you the most fun
You need to take into account where you surf, how you surf and personal weight and how often you surf.
Getting this right will put a smile on your face every time.

true steve.... to a point.

I started SUP about 6 years ago. When I first started, no one really cared, commented on board size.
Then boards got shorter and every SUPr, especially the new guys would paddle past and ask, "how short is that one" (not even a hello mind you)
Then the "volume" thing became popular, and again as SUPrs paddled past they would ask "how many litres is that one" (again, no hello)

so the pattern is popularity, even if its not the better option. Alot of people riding low 8 x 30 or even sub 8 x 30, would never have ridden a board 27 wide. So how can they compare. They can only compare to the longer AND just as wide board they came off.....

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husq2100 said..

JoffaDan said..
Husq who did your board?

here you go Dan:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/DEEP-OceanBoards-10ft-Log/

Magnificent. How is the construction holding up? Do you still ride it?

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JoffaDan said..

husq2100 said..

JoffaDan said..
Husq who did your board?

here you go Dan:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/DEEP-OceanBoards-10ft-Log/

Magnificent. How is the construction holding up? Do you still ride it?

its my every day board. I pretty much only ride it. Unless the surf is crap and I go paddling/fishing on the river on my 12.6. Holding up superbly and im not that easy on boards. Super strong and looking great still

I took up supping just over a year ago. I used to surf a lot as a teenager in the 1970’s. So there’s a clue: I’m now 58 and with multiple injuries, I can no longer surf lying down. In fact I haven’t been able to for over twenty years. My best mate who is 62 years old and who I used to surf with as a teenager, still rides a short board. He encouraged me to pay for a SUP lesson with ESS Erina. And he has been almost as stoked as me since we have been able to surf together again now, after so many decades. (Apologies in advance for this really long post! I think I really must be Sup-obsessed!)

I just wanted to say thanks! I can’t believe how unbelievingly stoked I have felt and how much like a teenage grommet I have been over the last 12 months as I’ve tried to improve my SUP surfing. I have fallen in love with surfing all over again! I have also tried a lot of SUP boards in this last year and when I saw this thread, it made me realise how much I must have progressed and how I have spent a LOT of time thinking about this question and testing and trialling shorter and more narrow boards. Let me just say, it has been fantastic fun along the way!

The first board I remember I trying in my ESS lesson at Terrigal lagoon was a 10’ 6” Naish Mana. I didn’t know this brand from a Darren Handley/Mick Fanning board. But I felt good on it. But I got talked into buying a new ATX 10’ 6” 180L board from ESS. It was really heavy, but I managed to catch my first little stand up wave (about knee high) at a little right hand point break north of Newcastle. And I was absolutely stoked. I loved the feeling of the glide. I was happy just to catch a wave and go straight across and not fall off.

But after a couple of months, I felt like I wanted to get something that was a bit easier to turn and was a new challenge. I demo’d the Naish Mana 10’6” x 32” again but found I got frustrated paddling it because it seemed a bit slow. Perhaps for me, it had a little too much rocker and so was pushing too much water. Anyway, I decided not to get it and I traded the ATX for an ex-demo Fanatic 9’ 5” x 32.25” x 170L. I caught my first left/back-hand wave in over twenty years on this board. STOKE!

But soon I was feeling a little too comfortable and stable again. So I bought an Evoke carbon 8’ 10” x 32” 148L from surfboardwarehouse.com.au one Saturday evening while I had put my Fanatic in for repair. (I had gone down to check out the surf, untied my board on the roof-racks, and then changed my mind and driven home only to find no board was no longer on the racks!) The Evoke turned up in really quick time and I went for an early morning surf at a fast little right-hand break and made it through a section that I didn’t think I could ever make. It seemed to zip along with it’s concave bottom. STOKED again!

Then I got a little frustrated as I set myself a goal of doing a simple bottom turn. And yet this board got me through winter and I felt increasingly confident in choppy winter swells, when more experienced SUP riders were struggling to stand while waiting for waves on their narrower shorter performance boards. I played with a smaller center fin without much success. I demo’d other boards including the Starboard Nut 9’5” x 29” x 140L and the Starboard Hypernut 8’ 6” x 31.5” x 140L at the Jungle Surf demo day at Forster. These boards were as far as I was willing to push myself at the time with any confidence, based on the fact that they were only 8 litres less than the Evoke I had been riding. I liked the combination of glide and maneuverability of the Nut probably more so than the Hypernut. This was an interesting comparison and I was surprised at their relatively similar stability despite their differing lengths and widths. They did have the same volume 140L though. I managed to catch and turn on some waves with both of them but I didn’t feel convinced enough to part with the money for them.

Then I demo’d a Sunova Skate 8’ 8” x 32” x 135L I was surprised at how stable it was even though it was 13 Litres less volume and 2” shorter than my Evoke, maybe it was due to the extra wide moon tail. But I found I nose dived on it a few times. Then I swapped it in the surf with a mate who is very good, but pretty heavy and who rides a Jimmy Lewis Striker 8’ ll” x 30” x 130L board. I was really surprised at how stable it was even though it was only 30” wide and 130L. It gave me confidence to demo a Sunova Speeed from Balmoral Paddlesurf at Manly, my old teenage surf-stomping ground. At 8’ 10” x 29 1/8” x 130L I figured this was my limit. So I invested in one just prior to the Merimbula 2015 Classic last November. I was surprised at how stable it was even though it was almost 3 inches narrower and 18 Litres less than my now relatively old Evoke. I was also really taken aback at how it seemed to turn so easily going backhand for some reason!

At Merimbula I stayed at the NRMA caravan park on the headland and surfed the back beach in the mornings and even though I liked the overall feel of the Speeed as I searched for the sweet spot for my the placement of my feet, I found it hard a couple of times to make the drop on a steeper beach break, whereas with my Evoke perhaps due to the slightly more drawn in nose and pronounced rocker I never seemed to have a problem with that. At Merimbula I demo’d a Naish Hokua Le and at 8’ 2” x 32” and 130 Litres I found it felt a bit like riding a circular disk. It was very wide for its relatively short length and while stable for a short board it felt a little weird turning it.

At Merimbula I also demo’d a JP Australia Pro 8’5” x 30” x 130L board. It felt like it turned really naturally, almost inviting me to try a re-entry and I could definitely envision myself naturally doing a bottom turn on it. I ended up doing a deal with the guys at JP Australia and bought this actual demo board from them at a good discount. (By this time my wife is seriously questioning my growing quiver.) I have been riding this board since then and feel really comfortable on it now and have done many satisfying bottom turns and even a few very slow roundhouse cutbacks. Although I do find I have to pre-meditate the cutback which means I just have to practice way more! Yay!

For my next challenge I have been eyeing off the Jimmy Lewis World Wide. I would have loved to demo the 8’5” x 30.5” x 127L version of this because the lower volume potentially allows for thinner rails and consequent greater maneuverability. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem possible to demo Jimmy Lewis boards in Australia which is a shame, because if you demo a board it is really the best way to determine whether it suits you or not.

Having said all this, I am now really longing for a long board style SUP to add to my quiver to also enjoy that true glide feeling. I have been eying off the Atlantis Noserider 9’6” x 28 ¾” x 120L versus the 10’ x 29” x 130L. Also recently I saw a Fanatic Stylemaster 10’ x 30” x 135 L which looked really sexy in the flesh with its thin rails and beautiful colour finish.

Finally, I have sold my Fanatic and my Evoke and just purchased a C4 Spudnik 8’ 4” x 28.85” and 125 Litres. I have ridden it once and it is more of a challenge but I am looking forward to riding it over the next two weeks on holiday, at the same place where caught my first stand up wave in twenty years, just one short year ago on my ATX 10’ 6” x 32 x 180L. What can I say, except I have had an absolute freakin’ blast, playing with and thinking about so many different fun SUP toys!

The development of SUPs has been so fast. I currently mainly use a Deep miniun 7ft2 and a Corban 7ft 11. I want to get a lonboard noseriding style board. The few that I have tried have been in the 9ft 6 to 10 ft range and about 135 liters. I dont know the otger dimentions. It seems like too much board and too much volume. Has anyone advice. Im thinking of a longboard sryled board... about 9ft and about 110 liters.
im 70 kg

The development of SUPs has been so fast. I currently mainly use a Deep miniun 7ft2 and a Corban 7ft 11. I want to get a lonboard noseriding style board. The few that I have tried have been in the 9ft 6 to 10 ft range and about 135 liters. I dont know the otger dimentions. It seems like too much board and too much volume. Has anyone advice. Im thinking of a longboard sryled board... about 9ft and about 110 liters.
im 70 kg

Suporator - great story. I think there are a lot of us 'not so young but want to stay 18 dudes' on here who have had the stoke reignited through stand up paddle.

Something to think about. When sup first started boards were rarely wider than 29. Most 28 or 27. It was the drive to mainstream and mass sales i.e. ease and instant fun that made boards 30+ ...not board performance in the surf.

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tannaman said...
The development of SUPs has been so fast. I currently mainly use a Deep miniun 7ft2 and a Corban 7ft 11. I want to get a lonboard noseriding style board. The few that I have tried have been in the 9ft 6 to 10 ft range and about 135 liters. I dont know the otger dimentions. It seems like too much board and too much volume. Has anyone advice. Im thinking of a longboard sryled board... about 9ft and about 110 liters.
im 70 kg

Look above at my link to joffadan. Contact Simon at Deep. He will build you what you need/want.

This is definitely an interesting topic and realistically the thinner the better too get that surf style feeling.
The problem is it comes down to ability and everyone is different due to fitness and age.
The pros surf some serious short narrow and thin SUP's but are pretty much underwater when paddling.
The average punter needs something about 10' x 30" 150-160 lt to start and then progress from there as they get supitis.
Most short boards are less than 20" wide and Mals are generally about 22-24" wide.
It is almost impossible to get a board that is 30" wide or longer than 9" to go rail to rail and even if you watch traditional long boarders they pivot off the tail and engage the the last third/half of the rail.
The beauty of SUP's they have glide until you go short and fat. The long thin SUP's have glide but generally cant stay close to the pocket.
One thing I have found through trial and error, demoing and burning a hole in my wallet is, the tail shape and thickness combined with fins make a huge difference to the performance of the boards even if they are 30" wide. No it wont go rail to rail like a short board but it will engage the back third/ half of the board and get that part of the board on a rail and turning well.

At the end of the day its good to be challenged and to be able to go shorter and thinner but its no fun swimming.
Its a balance dictated by ability and bank balance

Great topic.
I used to think SUP meant long and wide. How wrong I was.
I will look out at the ocean tomorrow at dawn, and see how I've woken up, and choose between an 8'0" x 29" ironing board, an 8'8" x 30" traditional shape fishtail rocket, a comfortable 9'2" x 31 everyday board, or a 10' x 29" carver.
I love what I do on every day that I have off. Sometimes it's a challenge. Sometimes I roar like a bull. Sometimes I get home smiling like a goofy kid, and my wife just looks at me kinda funny.
I've lost heaps of weight, and have managed to keep it off, despite the amount of beer and food I consume. My body shape has changed entirely.
I feel fitter, and have clawed back that magical stoke.
Something I try hard to do every session is finish on a decent wave, cause life's short.
Long, short, narrow, wide. Whatever floats your SUP.

The problem is the average punter wants to buy a board and head straight into the line up for waves. When i bought my first board i practiced on the river every week day and then started in the tiddlers in currumbin creek mouth. Kick turns for paddling were my biggest hurdle. I dont see people doing these anymore???

Funny how the above went shorter before he could bottom turn. My first board was 10.7 Takayama and i had never surfed before. That and any other board will surf better than I can. You dont need to go short to turn you need to learn how to turn.

My mate rides a 7.4 x 24 thats way past my ability . I stick with what i know and can handle safely