School me on flatwater SUPS

[more force 4]

I thought the whole point of SUPs originally was to be stable and be long enough to glide easily to catch waves that would not be rideable on short boards. I'm sure the same holds true for 80 liter mini Sups. Sounds like kc7s has exactly the right board!

[nanmoo]

I thought the whole point of SUPs originally was to be stable and be long enough to glide easily to catch waves that would not be rideable on short boards. I'm sure the same holds true for 80 liter mini Sups. Sounds like kc7s has exactly the right board!

Sort of, but not really. The point is to catch more and do more with the waves that would otherwise be lame on a tummy board. A 7'-8' SUP can make a garbage wave look really good because of all that leverage a paddle provides. Top and bottom turns don't require near the same speed to carve and hit the lip and therefore you can get radical when things aren't. For our waves this is so huge as we suffer from a lack of power and shape most of the year. You see it in action as the tummy guys slide over to where the SUPs are thinking it's better only to find out it isn't - it's the equipment. Any wave that peaks can pretty much be ridden on a 7'-12'+ SUP, it's just a matter of how early you get in. That said, longer, more stable boards get uber boring quick, so the question is do you want to be challenged and get rad, or stand around like an idiot but catch waves easily that you then can't turn on. Based on a quick board survey of the BWD crew I'd say the answer is obvious.

[downwind dave]

you can't catch little wind bumps with a small sup. that's what the long sup boards do. it is really a whole different sport from catching waves in a traditional surf line up, so there is no point arguing what 'shreds best'. Flatwater sup design is strongly influenced from sea kayaks and surf skis, vessels that are very commonly 12 to 17 feet long. The long waterline gives you hull speed, which gets you glides (for that 'on crack' feeling). .

[nanmoo]

I've surfed my 7'7" on 12" or less bumps across the sandbars at the fort rodd lighthouse and sort of gotten almost turns. It was almost fun, but certainly more fun than a 12' board would've been. Seems to me it does everything the longer board foes except non-breaking waves on downwinders. If it breaks 12" is plenty even for a small surf sup to dick around on, which in my mind makes a small surf SUP the most versatile. It fits in your car, You can flatwater around the lake or ocean, surf tiny waves, and then even surf proper conditions and have a lot of fun. Only thing it can't do is go fast.

[KC7777]

my 7'7" ..... You can flatwater around the lake or ocean, surf tiny waves, and then even surf proper conditions and have a lot of fun. Only thing it can't do is go fast.

Hey Tony,

Obviously you are great on a small SUP....I'm not.

I have toured around Hornby and Nitinat (no breaking waves) on my 8'10" Wave SUP and 12'6" flatwater SUP. The 8'10" ploughs whereas the 12'6" glides. Makes it a completely different sport. I can cover 2 - 3x the distance on the 12'6" in the same time. Which makes it able to explore Heliwell cliffs or Tribune Bay from my parents place. I would/could never to that on a non-gliding wave SUP.

Same discussion re skis.....I can ski my super wide rockered pow skis on ice.....but why.

How the frick did you become so good at wave SUPing anyways?

KC

[nanmoo]

I'm more speaking towards us mere peasants who can only afford to buy one SUP. Obviously if you can have more then one then it makes sense to have big and small.

TOW.