Jeff and I both offer coached downwind runs on Oahu and our customers often ask to use a narrow board thinking it will help them go faster and catch more bumps. I like this video because it shows that even for experienced paddlers a wider board can be not just easier to paddle but actually faster than a narrower board.

This Stand Up paddle Downwind video filmed and narrated by Jeff Chang and myself shows how a wider board can be faster in rough conditons. In this video, we are all on 14' Bump Rider models. Jeff Chang is on a 30" wide version, Tyler Jaggers (blue shirt) on a 28" wide one and Robert Stehlik (white shirt) on a 27" wide board. Other than the width, the boards are very similar in terms of rocker line, rails and volume distribution. The footage was shot on a downwind run from Sandy Beach to Waikiki. The final few miles of the Molokai race go through the first part of this run, so it's a great training run for the M2O race. In our experience, a wider board is often faster in windy conditions, even for a good paddler with good balance. Besides being more stable, a wider board also creates more lift which can result in more, longer glides on the bumps. Thoughts?

So true.. Try and tell most salesmen in sup shops.. and they won't believe you..

Seems like common sense to me - wider board = more surface area to be 'pushed' by the energy of the wave. I'd say the additional 'drag' of the board width would be easily negated by the higher coefficient of wave/wind energy? I'm certainly not a hydrodynamics expert but that seems plausible to me for sure

good info

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DavidJohn said..
So true.. Try and tell most salesmen in sup shops.. and they won't believe you..

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808-Obsession said..
Seems like common sense to me - wider board = more surface area to be 'pushed' by the energy of the wave. I'd say the additional 'drag' of the board width would be easily negated by the higher coefficient of wave/wind energy? I'm certainly not a hydrodynamics expert but that seems plausible to me for sure

I have been riding the 26.75 inch wide Fanatic for most Downwind Races. At training I use the 24.75 inch. I tire sooner on the narrower board and lose a lot of bumps due to unsteadiness.
On the wider board, although I may need to push a bit more to get on a runner I am so steady I can surf the board where I want, paddle on to the next bomb and also rail surf so much easier. Legs and core are not fatigued so less chance of been in the water.
Results at Downwind races or runs prove this as normally in front of sponsored, Younger riders or keeping the Elite riders in sight ( sometimes).
The most important aspect of this is the FUN level. It goes through the roof.
We have now got people up in Queensland paddling the wider boards ( be it Fanatic, Starboard , Naish it doesn't matter) and having way more fun and going quicker on their DW runs.

Cheers

To me there is no easy answer to that question.
These are my finding for my own paddeling
In low wind downwinders where there is more paddeling between bumps a narrower board is often faster ( no narrower than 24,5 for me). If the conditions are small and well organized a narrower board is also faster.
As soon as the conditions get rough or there the wave is at an angle a widerboard (27 ) is better for me. The numbers are not really relevant. What is iimportant is that you use your energy in the most efficient way to go forward without vasting energy trying not to fall in .
If you are as comftable on a 24 ' board as you are on a 28' I am sure you will be faster on the narrower board.
Most of the time I paddle the SIC bullet v2 (27,25') and I can handle that in a lot of conditions, in more average conditions I would like for it to be 25-26' wide in stead

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SurfNiels said..
To me there is no easy answer to that question.
These are my finding for my own paddeling
In low wind downwinders where there is more paddeling between bumps a narrower board is often faster ( no narrower than 24,5 for me). If the conditions are small and well organized a narrower board is also faster.
As soon as the conditions get rough or there the wave is at an angle a widerboard (27 ) is better for me. The numbers are not really relevant. What is iimportant is that you use your energy in the most efficient way to go forward without vasting energy trying not to fall in .
If you are as comftable on a 24 ' board as you are on a 28' I am sure you will be faster on the narrower board.
Most of the time I paddle the SIC bullet v2 (27,25') and I can handle that in a lot of conditions, in more average conditions I would like for it to be 25-26' wide in stead

Well said, I totally agree. All I'm saying is that in those conditions, the 30" wide board was the fastest for us and we are all experienced open ocean paddlers with good balance.

This topic makes me think about a conversation we had post- race at a recent event. We were dicussing boardweigth and I made the broad statement that not one single position in the race would have changed if the rider had a lighter board. It was and open ocean race and I think that ocean really is the big equalizer when it comes to equipment. A good rider could win a ocean race with a 2-3-4 year old board he feel comfortable on. I don't really agree with all the talk about supracing beeing expensive. Buy a second-hand board and start training..

That's a great video, as well as a great discussion on the various widths and when to consider using a wider or narrower board. I bought an NSP Open Ocean 14x28" in carbon this spring for the smaller conditions, and kept my SIC F14 for when Lake Michigan gets a bit wilder. Unfortunately, the NSP has been so much fun, i haven't been on the F14 since April.

Sort of validates the theory behind the downwind board I'm building...

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magillamelb said...
Sort of validates the theory behind the downwind board I'm building...

Do tell....

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excav8ter said...

magillamelb said...
Sort of validates the theory behind the downwind board I'm building...

Do tell....

16'8" x 29" x 400L.

Everything I know about stuff that floats is that stability translates to speed. Just enough stability to push hard constantly...

^^^
That will be epic- magillamelb
Do you have photos/ plans? Please share-
I love watching a board/ boat build.

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magillamelb said...

excav8ter said...

magillamelb said...
Sort of validates the theory behind the downwind board I'm building...

Do tell....

16'8" x 29" x 400L.

Everything I know about stuff that floats is that stability translates to speed. Just enough stability to push hard constantly...

Yeah, but the top paddlers feel very stable on boards that the rest of us can barely stand on for five minutes. To them the narrow boards ARE stable. And you don't need any more width than helps you to be stable. If you hardly ever fall in at 18" wide then any extra width is just pushing foam for the sake of it.

The rest of us lumbering beasts just have to play catch up paddling barn doors.

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And then said..
^^^
That will be epic- magillamelb
Do you have photos/ plans? Please share-
I love watching a board/ boat build.

I'll send some pics later today. The board is my own design, done on AkuShaper and the file converted to a CNC file and cut on a machine.

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SurfNiels said..
This topic makes me think about a conversation we had post- race at a recent event. We were dicussing boardweigth and I made the broad statement that not one single position in the race would have changed if the rider had a lighter board. It was and open ocean race and I think that ocean really is the big equalizer when it comes to equipment. A good rider could win a ocean race with a 2-3-4 year old board he feel comfortable on. I don't really agree with all the talk about supracing beeing expensive. Buy a second-hand board and start training..

Just done it. Nice clean 2016 Falcon at 29.75 wide.

agree - as always , conditions dictate the choice of board and some boards suit a wider range of conditions

dealer warning - selling a 12'6 x 27" allfound faast sunova - in N.Z. ph 022 4622625 ..
trademe.co.nz #1485296330)

just seen this same topic in a surf ski page on facebook after a guy paddled a 50plus cm ski in the recent downwind races in WA and did some of the best times hes done, at the end of the day everyones different, and board design has some input, but if your swimming your not going to be quicker than someone who is on their board

Jarryd

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Area10 said..

magillamelb said...

excav8ter said...

magillamelb said...
Sort of validates the theory behind the downwind board I'm building...

Do tell....

16'8" x 29" x 400L.

Everything I know about stuff that floats is that stability translates to speed. Just enough stability to push hard constantly...

Yeah, but the top paddlers feel very stable on boards that the rest of us can barely stand on for five minutes. To them the narrow boards ARE stable. And you don't need any more width than helps you to be stable. If you hardly ever fall in at 18" wide then any extra width is just pushing foam for the sake of it.

The rest of us lumbering beasts just have to play catch up paddling barn doors.

I agree it's all relevant to ability.
If you are 60-70kg and have excellent skills 23/24 would feel perfect.

i much prefer to feel stable out there than worrying about balance issues.