as SUP surfing gets more popular I can see a bigger difference in board design appearing from Hawaii compared to Oz. Being that we have such different waves
Thanks DJ... This is an old vid from last year that they finally got around to putting online... Since this time we have really went crazy developing and testing hull bottom boards in all sizes for all types of uses... It's mainly evolved into 2 types. The paddle fast, thicker, surf models like the 10-6 in that video and the thinner, surf only performance models that vary from 7' up to 12' big wave guns.
Lately I been on performance Hull prototypes in the 9-2 range, thinned out for extreme ripping with an Asymmetrical tail. My personal surfing has improved dramatically in the last few months. Consistent solid rail surfing and bigger, super fast hits are much easier for my 47 yr old body... Haha!
I'm really working hard at getting these going in production so they can and will eventually be down under for our Aussie friends too... In the mean time, a few more shots... One things for sure... SUP surfing has never been more fun! Aloha, BC
Another vid of Austin having fun on a 9-3 Hull Ripper... You can see the level of his surfing has dramatically improved too... Now when we surf all we wanna do is spray each other... Ha! Aloha, BC
Interesting as Dale Chapman, Travis Grant and Andy Davis said the waves over here were different to the east coast. We get a lot of bounce bump and chop with a bit of power.
But I think a good board is a good board no matter what. Certainly the pros have favourites they keep for years.
Definitely think the rocker and rail profile are key. SUPs need to be surfed on the rail that is why I like quads as well.
Big Volume is not for short beach break waves... It's for those looong slow burger rollers. Our hulls that we are turning vertical etc are in the 3-1/4 to 4-1/2" type of thicknesses depending on what kind of weight the rider is, ability etc... The Hull Ripper itself is not a model... It is a bottom concept that is made into many models for various applications...
The pics of me turning hard are on boards of much less volume. (Those turns BTW I never could do on a consistent basis before) The truth is, flat bottom, low rail boards for ultra high performance surfing by the best guys is limited.
Just look at the best in the world surfing at their best... Is everyone satisfied with that??? I'm not... I don't look at them carving a turn and say WOW!! That's awesome!! I look at them and it just proves my point traditional surfboard design bottoms are holding the best performances back... Waaaaaaaaaaaay behind where I want it to be and know it can be... They've had more than enough time to push it and are showing us all the limitations of mainstream board designs... It's not their ability. The top guys are more than talented enough to rip at a much, much higher level. I have yet to see anyone rip on any brand board including mine the way I think we should be ripping by now. The level of small to medium wave surfing should be so much farther ahead by now.
The average person can have mega-fun for sure with a flat bottom low rail board. It's more than enough to have lots of fun on. I'm not talking about that. Where I want to take the high end of the performance spectrum is not possible on a flat bottom board with low rails... The problem is width not thickness. We already are going thin enough to blast but I still don't see anyone doing what I think is possible. Wide planing bottoms and tails equal less power and ability to throw it on rail quickly. Anyway... More on this later if you guys are interested... I won't ramble on about it if no one wants to hear it... Waves are calling and I'm losing valuable time sitting here typing!! Haha! Gotta go surf!! Aloha, BC
Blane full respect to you as a board builder and surfer.
From looking at your videos and photos the way you turn the board at the lip and also your bottom turns are no different to what some guys are achieving on standard boards.
I have seen all the videos on this site to make this claim.
What i also see is that your turns look more natural compared to some who make it look ackward.
That may be ability or board design.
I heard somebody mention to me this chine line a while ago,we where talking about
wide boards like 32-35 inch wide how they would be better with less planning area.
But at rest still have the stability.
You have created that.Good luck with your visions as they will benefit most SUP'S
XXL Hazza
dont bring the world tour into it.............. it doesnt prove anything either way. Im yet to see footage of them surfing waves that are clean and not massive and/or totally wind effected.....wind is the bigest killer to SUP.
Blane, the fastest board (on wave) I have ridden was 8.8 x 27 1/2 x 4 1/4, it had a very pronounced double concave at the tail coming tappering out over more than half the length of the board. I would have liked more rocker in it and a little less nose volume. But so far nothing has touched it for speed on the wave.
How narrow do you think boards have to go before they hit the performance mark?
I agree... The World Tour has nothing to do with anything. I watch a lot the top guys surf off the tour in waves more "normal". That's what I'm talkin about... Giant windy waves are surfed hardly ever and even less by us mortals...
The board I'm riding now has doubles in it too. Good choice for speed. Speed is only part of the equation. It's actually fairly simple to make a board fly across a wave. Deep doubles definitely add to the ability to pump and generate even more speed. Flatter rocker, doubles all equal speed... Then what? Flying fast is all great till you need to gouge a devastating turn on rail and do it with control and power.
This is where width throws the monkey wrench into the mix... The ONLY reason sup boards are so wide is so we can stand and paddle on them. Mid width and tail width off the traditional bottoms regardless of concaves etc are the biggest drawbacks to higher performance surfing... There are a lot of people that are content with where performance is now. No problems with that... I personally want performance to go mental. I feel the top sup guys should be ripping the bag out of waves at a much higher level. It's not their ability. Those guys are really good surfers. There are incredible talented surfers doing sup now.
"How narrow do you think boards have to go before they hit the performance mark?"
What's Mick Fanning and Parko riding? We'll never get that narrow but this is the Holy Grail of performance in my eyes... I have come to grips that we will NEVER achieve these levels of performance but I am confident we can do a whole lot better than what's going on today... I don't know the answer to the question yet. An example of the board I'm riding is 28-3/4" wide with a planing bottom of 23". In essence I'm really cranking off of 23". We can get narrower no problem... How narrow? We'll see...
Tom Carroll and I have played around with other designs based on my Hull ripper concepts and other concepts he's brought to the table... In the end the best I ever seen him surf was easily on a hull ripper. One day he was freakin destroying sections... I just got a bunch cut for him with his concepts blended that are heading to Hawaii so I can scrub them out...
You can take Kai Lenny, Peyo, etc.. Heck I bet even Dogman (Goatman?)... Ask them are they satisfied where they are at with there surfing a sup? I'm willing to bet each and everyone of them want to get WAAAAAAYYY more radical... Way heavier, commited powerful turns... Way more gouging at speed with out the nose catching in steep sections etc... I just don't see how much farther you can take a traditional board design to achieve the level of shredding I'm thinking of... Sure we can make it better but it won't take us to where I wanna go with it...
This is all just my opinions... They are all toys in the end anyway... Let's play!! BC
Thanks for the insight into your designs Blane. Kind of amazing that you actually take the time to rap with guys on this forum.
I was talking with a friend the other day about surfing SUP and how so often you feel like especially in comparison to a short board you need to taper away from turns or think about how you will get back down before you go up kind of thing.
I for one am stoked that guys like yourself and local guys here also are playing with the factors to help SUP get to where it can be. The biggest hurdle as you say above is the fact that you need to stand on the thing to paddle.
If you have more to say about designs please share if you have the time, I know most guys here would be stoked to here them.
info@eastcoastpaddler.co.nz should get you onto to them. Apparently taking the Boardworks distribution over and looking to start importing some WAA and perhaps Rippers
Would love them to bring in some Hull/Rippers when available !
thanks for your reply Blane.
what sort of width and thickness are you doing for a board say 8' 5" and a rider @ 185lbs
Hi Blane
Are these boards going to appear as production models? I'm looking forward to trying out a demo board.
Hi Blane, great to read some of your ideas regarding design etc. But is width the real enemy of rail to rail surfing? Alot of other designers are building tail V into their designs to initiate the turn so if we get down to, say 25" wide boards aren't we just riding wide longboards? I was talking SUP design with another seabreeze regular at Point Roadknight(what a give away) the other day and his take on design seems to be the opposite. He recons( and I tend to agree) that over 30" wide boards are not the problem. OK, so here's my 2 cents worth. The last 3 feet of rail has to be at the greatest angle to straight ahead as possible, so that means in the last 3 feet of rail, the board goes from a fairly parallel rail to a severe round pin....... with very full round rails everywhere. Does that make sense? Let the kicking begin!!!