High guys, I haven't ridden a board over 8' for 50 years.
My current board is 7' 11".
I still enjoy surfing on it, but the last time I used it, I had lower back pain for a couple of weeks afterwards from paddling I think.
I don't think I'd get on with a SUP, so I'm thinking of going back to the days we could kneel on boards.
I have some 24kg/m3 stryrene in the shed I can do sandwich construction with.

It's a long time since I had a board I could kneel on, about 1966 I think, so is anybody doing this now?

I'm around 65kg so it doesn't need to be huge, but making the board too thick and it's corky, make it too long it's hard to turn. make it too wide you can't paddle it.
So what does that leave with? I have no idea.

Before making yourself a new board what fin set up does your 7'11" have?
I have spondylolethysis (or however its spelled) and find boards like thrusters and even single fins create torque on my lower back and cause me pain for days. Now surf loose set up twins and quads which are much less of a problem.
Also find boards that have me arching my lower back too much will also cause me pain. I prefer to be able to keep my chest as low as possible.
The knee paddler could certainly help but maybe its to do with the board/fins underfoot too.

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Cuttlefish said..
Before making yourself a new board what fin set up does your 7'11" have?
I have spondylolethysis (or however its spelled) and find boards like thrusters and even single fins create torque on my lower back and cause me pain for days. Now surf loose set up twins and quads which are much less of a problem.
Also find boards that have me arching my lower back too much will also cause me pain. I prefer to be able to keep my chest as low as possible.
The knee paddler could certainly help but maybe its to do with the board/fins underfoot too.

Thanks cuttlefish, hadn't realised that, I guess it's possible, it's a thruster.
I'll take one of my windsurfers for a paddle, and see if that gives me any clues.

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decrepit said..

Cuttlefish said..
Before making yourself a new board what fin set up does your 7'11" have?
I have spondylolethysis (or however its spelled) and find boards like thrusters and even single fins create torque on my lower back and cause me pain for days. Now surf loose set up twins and quads which are much less of a problem.
Also find boards that have me arching my lower back too much will also cause me pain. I prefer to be able to keep my chest as low as possible.
The knee paddler could certainly help but maybe its to do with the board/fins underfoot too.

Thanks cuttlefish, hadn't realised that, I guess it's possible, it's a thruster.
I'll take one of my windsurfers for a paddle, and see if that gives me any clues.

Decrepit./ cuttlefish F.....g spondys I used to spend up to 3 months out of the water every year when on short boards.got into lots of abb work and have been ok for about20 years still do abs daily but on a sup now as well as kneepaddle longboards.At 66 yoAnd 75 kg with bad shoulders I need at least 10 ft /24 wide /3.5 thick eps longboards,the old rule of thumb was the nose and tail need to be clear of the water when paddling,enjoy the comeback

I'm wondering if I can get away with 9' long and 4' thick.

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decrepit said..
I'm wondering if I can get away with 9' long and 4' thick.

Width and rocker are also key factors, Lacey who is slightly heavier could knee paddle a 9.6 x 23 x 3 noserider but he had a CW made wider which made it easier from memory it was 24 wide x 9.6 x 3 and something.

Mike I've got one of these and they work great. A lot cheaper than making a new board. I
paddleair.com/ergo/

Thanks Ben That looks like a great idea.
Mark has these in stock a lot cheaper, but I'm not sure the padding goes far enough forward, any idea?

www.surfsailaustralia.com.au/product/ocean-earth-mens-black-rib-guard-padded-ls-rashie#surf-sail-clothing-hardware

The paddleair might take more steain off you back
I find on long paddles i pump it right up and ita like laying on a pillow

OK I've ordered the long sleeve version, pity the exchange rate is so bad, $147 USD becomes $230 AUD
I'll report back once I've used it.

So had my first test of it today, and I'm very pleased.
Seabreeze was in, so surf didn't look too flash, I paddled across the length of the bay instead of walking round, to make sure I did plenty of paddling.
Surprisingly the wave wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, had a few overhead waves and a couple at chin high.
The pillow thingy felt a bit strange at first, but I quickly got used to it. The upper ribs got a bit sore after my long paddle along the bay, but just surfing it wasn't a problem. While on the wave I wasn't aware of it at all.
Came in and my back was a bit sore, but that went away after an hour, after my previous session it was sore for about 3 days.

I'll be getting out more frequently now, and may even wait for the breeze to come in and get rid of the crowd.