Looking for the right board

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on boards for waves.

I am 93kg, intermediate kiter (unstrapped in waves), decent surfer. Mostly ride in Perth slop, but get down south fairly regularly.

I am looking for a kite board that is similar to the board that i surf, something that is light, but also something that i wont destroy in a few kites. I typically surf something around 6.3, 19.5, 2.5. I am struggling to find a kite board around these dimensions. I like the look of the North boards (WAM etc), particularly 2012 given the weight reductions, but they don't really produce anything as big as i want.

So far, i have just been buying cheap surfboards and destroying them pretty quick.

Anyone got any ideas?

Cheers

I used to surf around 6'4", I started kiting on 6'2 but these days use somewhere around 5'9 for Perth slop. I do still have a 6'2 still for when I am on bigger cleaner waves but find that I hardly ever use it, most of the time I just use the 5'9, you are not paddling in so don't be afraid to go smaller than you are used to.

Thanks for the comments. Do the tufflite boards have holes for foot straps - while i am ride strapless prob 3/4 of the time, there are times when foot straps are necessary. Sorry - didnt mention that in my original post.

Heel and front foot dents are good for keeping your board under you feet, Like the Josh Mulcoy pro-board, But a polyester fibre glass board will crack the heel after 6-10 sessions and if you have FCS or other brands, will actually snap your preffered side off the tail of your board. You live in WA, in in Yangebup if Its close will be glad to help insert, For a bottle of wine for my time.

^Yep there is some good production boards, such as the WAM etc, but don't be afraid to get a custom made glass board, guy's like Stoney from Gero (Stone Surf Design), Marty Littlewood down South (Delta Designs) or even some of the local guys such as Colin Earle or my latest Chris McKenzie (Oceanline) can all custom make a strong poly board to your specs for cheaper than most of the production kite boards.

Here is a couple of my latest a 5'8 Stoney


and a 5'9 Oceanline, probably went a little bit overboard with this one heavy duty tow in blank with thick stringer 2x6oz all over and an extra layer of 4oz on the deck but it rides great and I'm guessing will be stronger than most.


Obviously this ugly fella is not me , it is Radman trying out my Oceanline .

Hi Lortap

I can give you my 2 c worth on board construction, I made my first windsurfer in 1980
out of closed cell polystyrene which is having a come back called XPS, and tried just about all combinations of foam over the years to get the perfect weight to strength ratio in windsurfers and from 2000, on for kite boards.

A poly urethane blank is always goingto be heavier than a EPS or XPS blank, although there have been some experiments with light PU blanks, which again have the drawback of loosing strength, proportional to the weight.

lightest boards on the market at the moment are high density EPS (expanded, open cell polystyrene)blanks glassed with epoxy and standard glass lay up. you cant put plugs into these boards unless theres a chunk of harder foam in the plug area. these baords will ding up pretty quick and just calculate that its going to break if you jump it, also due to the open cell structure they will suck in the water like a sponge if you get a hole in the skin.

The EPS blank is also sold as so called tough lights and some other brand name, differance is, the whole blank has been wraped in Diviny cell from nose to tail, thats a PVC foam, used in sandwich construction, the EPS used on these boards is usually low desity, thy are very durable, a lot stiffer than standard boards, you can have plugs in these boards, but they will suck water even faster if the diviny cell gets a crack .

XPS, this is extruded polystyrene, chemicaly identical to EPS but has closed cells, glassed with epoxy resin and looks more like a real foam, not the esky stuff (EPS) with ball stuckture.
This stuff gets a new run every couple of years or so. Every new generation of board builders will discover it new, as the answer, its tough realy hard to break and almost as light as EPS. The experiments with XPS always end in heart break(you can read all the tales about it on SWAY LOCKS forum), the problem with XPS is, the surface structure will break under stress, resulting in delamination on the deck and on impact areas on the bottom, you can give the board the diviny cell wrap, but you lose the weight advantage.

PU - Poly urethane the traditional board foam, this stuff is closed cell, so wont fill up with water ( but will penetrate in 1 cm or so)
Is still a great option, problem is, put a lot of glass on the board, it gets quite heavy, So what to do?

Take your favorite surf board to a good shaper, and get it shaped a lot thinner in PU, then have him vacuum down a diviny cell layer on the deck only, doesnt have to go all the way to the rails or the nose, one layer of 4 ounce between the PU and DC. 2 layers of glass on the top and bottom.
by thinning out the blank the board still flexes and wont gain that much weight, the sorface wont ding up quick.
Its the best of both worlds.

Or just keep replacing the boards each year with a cheap poly board.

Theres a guy In Lancelin who actually glasses a lot of boards for other shapers in Perth, he builds boards for Lano locals too, who want to take off at main break and land 20m high jumps with out the board caving in on them.

Some of these guys will do the board with all the fruit too - Diviny cell bottom, bamboo deck, foot straps, futures. I know Stoney does the whole hog for $1200 same price as a production board. You could probably get stuff like carbon rails/tail if you want or a combination of any of the above. It's a custom after all so you get to choose!

I had a chat today (in buying a board for my grom) with Dave about his Kite boards, he builds both epoxy and PU surfboards and will beef them up for kiting and install plugs if required. His epoxys are EPS cores with timber veneer and carbon rails. They should be fine for kiting. I am tempted to place an order for one.

cheers

thanks for all the help. Bought a second hand 6.2 tufflite today to get me by while i sort out a custom board, with strap plugs. Will have a chat to some of the shapers mentioned.

Cheers