Wow I was so set on getting a 12'6 race board kind of an all rounder for flat water, choppy water and the odd downwind that was 27.5 or around that wide as I only started in jan this year but am fitness training and want to enter comps not to win to have fun and compete.
But new info has got me thinking that I will need around a 30' wide as it was pointed out that going out through the waves and downwind I will prob spend some time in the drink as im not that experienced yet. Im 77kg, 165cm tall geez told you to much now.
Want to keep the board for a while as cant justify spending more money a couple of years down the track. Aghh please help what width would be suited? Im also gonna demo the boards but need choices first and knowledge. Thanks
Kickels 27.5 should be ample width, a challenge is better than having to trade in two months. I run a falcon 27.5 in 12'6 and I like it and there are a few gals on them and the 25" up here on the sunny coast.... BUT!! there are loads of others suitable. . DEMO DEMO DEMO. . Goldy has SO many good brands at your door step to try. If you can't organise a demo, come up to Sunny coast on a thursday arvo for the time trial, there is just about every form of 12'6 available.. I can get you Naish and Fanatic to try from Ocean Addicts, and I'm sure Trev or Di would let you have a spin on the starboards...Linc is on Lahui Kai.... you get the picture : )
Hi Kickels,
Apart from the throng of options from all the major brands supplying 12'6" boards, have you thought about the new Surftech Candice Appleby crossover 11'er.
I understand Candice wanted something for all round use and training, as well as punching in and out of surf. Her opinion was to have more stability with the wide tail and generous dimensions and better control with a smaller board to the 12'6" options. OK, so it won't beat a narrow 12'6" in a flat water race, but it isn't intended to.
They look great and would probably fit the bill for what you are looking for. Just another alternative .....
DM
Thankyou for the replies ive been doing some more homework and think I am toen between 3 boards the fanatic falcon 27.5 or 30 and the surftech laird tuflite race which is 30' wide so unsure ?
Hey Kickels I am born lazy and usually take the easiest option and I had actually ordered a 30" falcon, but then I got on the 27.5 it is stupid stable and I have found the same in the Bark and the Starboard. I would suggest that the newer boards are really stable and I reckon you could even look at a 26 in the Starby. I have used a mates 26 a few times and it really is difficult to fall off. Give them a go before you dismiss them I reckon.
Agree with the guys; my girlfriend recently got a 12'6" x 30 carbon falcon and she is progressing past it pretty quickly. The 27.5 should be plenty stable enough, but also, as the guys said......demo......demo......demo......demo.
Kickels - here's a few thoughts, for what it is worth:
1. No-one can tell you what is best for you. The ONLY way is to demo boards in the conditions that you are going to use them most. NO amount of internet research can replace this first-hand experience.
2. You need to decide where you are going to be paddling most: sea or inland flat water.
3. You need to decide how much emphasis you want to put on paddling for fun, or racing.
4. If you are going to be paddling mainly in the sea then there's a lot to be said for getting a 29-30" wide board. There are many times in the "real world" where a stable but wider board is faster even if you are racing. It will nearly always be faster and more fun when you are cruising.
4. If you are paddling only in flat water then you can go very narrow indeed, and if you want to race seriously you will pretty much have to go as narrow as you can. As other have said here, the latest designs with sunken decks can be surprisingly stable despite being narrow. For a first board, 27.5" should be fine for most people. How much narrower you go will depend on how much you care about falling. My wife HATES falling because she fears that she will hurt herself. This is a reasonable worry, no matter what the big butch guys on this forum will think about that... So again, this is a decision you have to make for yourself. The issue about stability is not just about pleasure or speed, but also safety - no matter what environment you are paddling in.
5. There are other issues linked to stability also: For instance, if you are paddling flat water for pleasure and know you are not going to fall in, it means that you can wear different clothes. Nicer clothes....more comfortable clothes... if you always think that you might take a dip then you have to tog up accordingly, which can be a pain especially in winter (but bear in mind that I live in the UK so it matters a lot if you are going to fall in in the winter.).
6. Most of the guys on this forum are so good that they have long forgotten how difficult SUP is when you are starting out. Often on forums you get advice which is excellent if you are past the very early stages of SUP, and/or want to do well at racing. Only you can judge to what degree this is true of you. Demo, demo, demo.
7. Buy secondhand. I have regretted a couple of my new purchases, but none of my secondhand ones. If you buy a mainstream board that everyone knows and is a tried-and-trusted design (like e.g. a Bark Competitor) you pretty much can't go wrong: sell it in 6 months if you don't like it and you will lose virtually nothing as long as you have looked after it, and you will have gained a lot of experience for free. In fact, the Bark Competitor would be an excellent choice for you, probably, because its pretty good at just about anything, and can be ridden by all folks almost from first timers to experienced riders (it is 29" wide). If you have a "pre-loved" board you also won't be to worried when you e.g. drop it or a friend falls on it and dings it. That WILL happen.
8. Until you have developed a really good stroke, a super-high performance uber-narrow race board will not be faster for you than a more stable all-round one. In fact, people starting out can often be faster on a surf-board shape rather than a displacement hull one, especially when cruising. This is because maintaining tracking on a displacement hull board is technically harder than on a planing hull-type board, because of the effects of reverse steering and windage, and changing sides means you lose strokes and are slower. If you doubt this, borrow a friend's 12-6 raceboard, and a friend's planing hull cruiser-type of similar length (e.g. like the Starboard 12-6 Cruiser) and try to paddle on one side only for 1 mile (this demonstration is best done in some cross-wind). Most beginners to intermediates can't manage much more than 20 strokes on one side at a time on a race board, even if they are fine on a planing hull board. They will meander all over the place like a drunk old granny in a liquor store, and maybe even just go round in circles despite their best efforts not to. Narrow race-boards are only faster if you have the skills to utilise their features. These skills can take quite a while to develop.
Hope this helps a bit. Good luck - and let us know what you end up with.