G'day crew,
I will be returning to live in Perth around the middle of the year and am keen to get into SUPping, Surfed all my life and currently ride a 6'6" fish (self built hollow timber board) and a long board, also kitesurf (but not for a couple of years)
I after advice on what board to get to learn on and for DW and surfing Perth metro area (will be living in trigg) I am 6'2" and ~120kgs after a couple of good years on NZ beer...
My fighting weight is 105 to 110kgs. One long term goal is to do the doctor next year and other races
I would like to get a board to start off on over here in NZ then ship it home. I will probably end up building a surf orientated hollow woodie and probably a couple more knowing me...
Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere I have spent a bit of time reading the old posts and on the search button.
cheers
Shane
Hope you have not forgotten how bad the surf is at trigg. From previous threads here it sounds like it depends on what you can get your hands on in nz really.
Anything 10+ by 30 or above will do to start with. Demo if you can. Starboard, naish, psh, coreban and JL all have boards suitable.
nuh havent forgotten, even worse I am leaving Taranaki behind...
. Ah well got to go where the work is....
Looks like I can get most major brands, what about the laird 12'1 or 11'6" or 11'6" naish or Mctavish 10'
Not many shops have them here in the naki for demos and I have only just started looking..
Surfing wise the naish 10 mana would be better than the 11 6. No experience with the laird or McT. Both would be good if 30+ inches wide. Demo if poss.
Generally the longer they are the more flat water focussed they are. 12 foot is a lot of board I have the 12 gun which is pretty good in the surf but not in Perth slop where it just closes out.
Hey mate,
I started on the 11'6 Naish and have also recently tried the 10' Mana and 10' Whopper.
The 11'6 Naish is a good option for cruising the flat water and small waves, the Mana is exceptional in surf conditions and the Whopper is too wide.
I've just last week picked up a Laird Surftech 12'1 (Ron House) and it kicks all there arse for knee to waist high peeling waves and flat water.......floats great, paddles a treat and for driving straight sections and having fun it's a must have.
Only down side for me is that it's quite stiff, stiffer than the 11'6 Naish so for surf conditions over 2 foot and driving off the bottom and top, maybe the Naish 11'6 but for small Trigg and paddling about on flat days the Laird is a class above.
Cheers guys,
what about downwinders in Perth, do you crusie and surf the beaches or do you just cruise down the coast? I use to do city beach to trigg on the kite and theres some nice banks and short peeler's on a windy afternoon.
I would manly surf meths and toms as they are my home breaks, not sure about a SUPping at toms due to the crew in the water...and meths is a party wave spot as well...
Local shop has chinese epoxy boards 11'6" by 28" with paddle going cheap but I think they will be too narrow?
Local shop has chinese epoxy boards 11'6" by 28" with paddle going cheap but I think they will be too narrow?
They will probably creased up nicely and you will end up with a couple of 5'10's
Hey mate - if you wanna try a coupla boards you could perhaps pm kagey on the breeze and try to hook up with him. Think he has a laird 12.1 and a 10 Subvector. There are also demo/hire nsp's and a c4 at raglan. think very seriously before shipping a sup to WA as there is an abundance of very well priced sups in perth at the moment and I am sure that will continue. I reckon you will pick up an as new board in perth for not too much over a grand so weigh that up against buying and shipping from NZ.
Shippings not a problem as we have a container comming back, just be without a board for a few weeks....I dont mind buying a bigger board to get the basics sorted then pick up a more surf orientated board when I get back to Perth, or I can just get an all rounder now
Do you think I would be pushing it to start on the 10' Naish mana or 10' Mactavish, both are over 30 wide and I think the naish has a bit more float. i am 120kgs at the moment.
thanks for the advice
The flyiers on the tail of the McTavish take a bit of stability out of the board pretty quickly, but it rocks on the wave
I'm 107kg and 6'5" - I've done a couple demo's and sused something in the 10'6" x 30" range is about as small as I want to go for a "learner". The Starboard Drive, PHS 10'6", Simon Anderson 10'6" were the stand outs for the boards I tried.
I haven't tried a 10' Mana yet but the huge amount of volume makes me think it'll be a little corky, I did try the 10'6" Nalu and found it a little unstable (think it was the 28" width) but I'd probably grow into it pretty quickly.
Managed to have a go on flat fresh water today on a coreban 10'6" rocket, plenty of float for my lard arse and for my first time on a SUP not too tippy once under way, seemed quick enough on the flat water as well.
Now to choose between the rocket or the slightly smaller 10' icon....Either way impressed with the service from the Coreban crew very helpfull thanks..
Havent been able to demo any other suitable boards down here in the Naki
Thanks for the tips and advice looking fwd to trying it out in the surf in a couple of weeks time and make the most of my last autaum swell here in the naki.
Catch you all on a Perth northern beachie or reefie in June/July
I do believe this could be Jeremy Stephenson of supsnz on a starboard whopper at teahapou
Too wide? Too wide for what??
Thanks for posting that gizzie.
I also have a whopper and am very happy with it(95 kg, 6"4) but I was about to buy something narrower for bigger waves_Coreban performer?- perhaps, but will now give the whopper a go in bigger waves.
BTW I am in Perth northern suburbs and try and get out to the reefs as much as possible as i hate crowds. Have boat , but wife has banned me going out on my own as i have had 2 slightly scary incidents. Hilly occassionaly comes out, but he is way above my level. If anyone else keen to explore reefs (leave from Mindarie), let me know. I could probably get 3 SUPs on my boat, including myself.
Louis
PM me
hiya shane
I am based in Margs but spend some time in Perth and grew up there...downwinders HONK in Perth (IMO as good/better than Maliko run), almost SSW most of the time, 25-30 knots, paddle out from Freo sandtracks, line up OB city and run all the way to Swanny or City Beach.
I did a couple last week and loved it on a 16ft penetrator and then a 14ft SIC. Just watch out for the kiters, they are like magnets!
Cheers Cammo,
As much as I am going to miss taranakis mountain, surf and rivers I am looking fwd to comming back to warm Perth weather and all the marine based activities that go with it.
Realy looking fwd to getting into this Supping, and I can see some downwinders happening, it will just be hard to decide between the kite or the DW board.
Just a bit bummed out that I didnt think to try supping a couple of years ago when I first arrived in the naki...so many good waves...ah well next time.
hope u have been getting the goods at Stent, Rockies, Mangahumes and my fav The Patch whilst in NZ. I love it down there. In fact The Patch would be awesome on a SUP as you could just head out at the end of the road and paddle south.......save the walk along the beach!!!
Personally if you are a keen surfer I would go for something shorter and wider - its the width that gives you the stability not the length. The longer boards are fun to start with but after a few weeks you will find them dull in the surf in my opinion. Sure you can have loads of fun on them but once you bring that size down a few feet things really improve big time. You will pick it easily.....not sure how good a Mana 10 or Whopper would be on a down winder though. Anyway enjoy the last of your time in the Naki and I hope you are starting to get some of those early autumn brisk offshores. Its heaven at this time of the year down there and make sure you max your surf time in the uncrowded lineups. There is a chicks WCT event there later this year and then the word will be out for sure!!! If its not already he he he he he
Mikeman
You picked it. Apart from Rotto, leaving from Cape Naturaliste is about the only other spot you would get a true downwinder with the swell and windwaves lined up. Have yachted around there a bit in the past. As long as you keep out of the bay the breeze is fairly consistent from the wsw-ssw. I think you would find you would come in north of Bunbury if you kept the breeze directly behind you at about Binningup (75km). Would be a great run.
Cheers.
If any of the WA downwinders would be interested in this type of adventure please let me know. It looks like it should be a great trip. Once I have my 100km paddle wrapped up (Balina to Burleigh) I will be keen to give that one a go.
I would not even contimplate such a paddle on a 12' board. I would think that the minimum would be a 14' with a rudder system.
That sounds like a challenge 
Haha If only i had the money for a 14ft plus its the next board on the list but not cheap..
Belly
Mikeman,
Currently saving for a 17' board(not far off) for these sort of purposes. Would be keen to give it a go after a bit of training. Maybe its something that could be done the weekend after the Doctor, so that anyone coming from the east could spend a week down south surfing between runs. just a thought
Hello all,
Big thanks for all the advice, finally ended up with an Coreban 10' Icon woody and the kevlar paddle, looking fwd to getting wet tomorrow after I have put some rail tape on.. and wax the nose
That looks awesome shunter!!! I'm a long time surfer on boards of all shapes and sizes, but first time ever on a SUP about a month ago. I ended up with the 11'4" Naish below. I'm weighing in around the 105-110kg mark, and it's been great for me.
Lovin it!!
