Had an emergency board replacement due some complications with what was going to be my winter board, ended up going as small as I've ever attempted to ride: 7'4" x 27" x 4". After a few really fun days trying to figure it out I learned that there are some cool side effects to going small:
1) You are super sore (in a good way) after every session, so you actually feel like you were working hard.
2) You learn how to take off a lot deeper and a lot later, which is a really good skill to have. On bigger boards I've found that I kind of cruise in on the shoulder and thus miss a lot of the excitement of "making the drop".
3) After a long session on the small board, I come home and take absolutely epic naps.
4) Sometimes short board surfer guys give you props for paddling the little board.
5) Most importantly, and I am absolutely stoked on this: It got me out of a skill plateau that I didn't realize I was in for the last couple
years. It seems like the little board opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. Very cool to be taking different lines, and feeling
different feelings.
All in all, this has been a really cool experience. Anyone else have similar stories about dropping down in board size? I also want to give big mahalos to the guy who recommended the right board, I think he's a pretty famous countryman of yours, said his name was Kealoha Del Aboiturques or something like that. Nice guy.
I am with you 100%. I really enjoy pushing myself on my shorter board. Sure, you can have a ton of fun on the longer board, but to take the later drops and experiment with turns adds a whole new level of fun and adventure to SUPing. You just have to push through the frustration and stop yourself asking "why am I doing this when I could catch more waves on a bigger board?!?
".
I definitely had a few of those moments of frustration, but after locking into a good wave that feeling was magically gone...
Forget frustration because every boards got its share and if you consider like I do that only the magical feeling is the prime thing, this is the board you need to match the 6 points you have been very right to point on.
To me its 7' 27" 89 liters is a confortable ultimate board.
Select to expand quoteKami said..
Forget frustration because every boards got its share and if you consider like I do that only the magical feeling is the prime thing, this is the board you need to match the 6 points you have been very right to point on.
To me its 7' 27" 89 liters is a confortable ultimate board.
Very nice looking board, Kami. What was your thinking behind doing the thinned out tail on the rail? To remove all of the volume at the rail that gets in the way of turning? Will the tail be thin enough to flex?
Hey JKimbler I agree I currently ride a JP 7'4" x 27" but it is still a bit big (but I am still new to sup surfing) but good fun, I have owned a 7ft Raptor for a short while and that was good at the start but then felt too big, I also owned and tried a 6'4" Bam Bam that took a while to get used to (but only for small waves), also owned & tried a 7'4" Airborn, and a 7'6" Fanatic - they all perform like short boards to a degree - and you should be able to surf a short sup like a short board (or as close as possible) so you can have one of those magic days when the surf & conditions are almost perfect, and even when it is not you can have some fun and a good workout. Don't forget to have a bigger board or a gun for when it is too big or messy :-)
I think we have the same board John, and I definitely feel like I can do a nicer turn on this board than my short board. I'm pretty much a dawn patrol, glassy, no wind SUP guy so this board will be awesome. One thing I like about the JP is that it surfs pretty well off the front foot as well as back, I have a bad habit of not getting my back foot far enough back and this board doesn't punish me for it. This board's counterpart is a 10' 6" x 27" x 4" pintail quad gun, hand shaped by Kevin Seid. That thing is the perfect North Shore weapon for when it gets big, and a really good recon type board to get out to the mysto spots on the island. Plus it's been buckled and fixed and looks like crap so I won't be too sad when it does get destroyed...
Yes I design it , here is the acomplishement of almost 2000 hours of learning my CAD that last 3 years and few hundreds boards I hand shape shape those last 47 seven years
Like SUP to the proned surf, virtual shaping on S3D is a renewal . the geometric exactitude( micro metric scale) of the CAD allows to perform what I'v been searching every time I pushed the sanding block or sand screen on a PU blank.
For example, on the bottom shape of my 7'27" SUP I just find yesterday what I call " the pass" which is the natural flow which separate the nose concave to vee concave at tail as shown on the picture above ; As well as mono concave front of fins (shown on picture below here) coming from a point in the nose, getting flat and flush though the tail end of the proned 5'8" of my son in those both drawing cases the CAD brings up geometric comprehension of the shaping art.
still have to fix some flush at the tail
:
Select to expand quotemagentawave said..Kami said..
Forget frustration because every boards got its share and if you consider like I do that only the magical feeling is the prime thing, this is the board you need to match the 6 points you have been very right to point on.
www.seabreeze.com.au/images/forums/icon_smile_tongue.gifhttps://www.seabreeze.com.au/images/forums/icon_smile_tongue.gif' />
To me its 7' 27" 89 liters is a confortable ultimate board.
Very nice looking board, Kami. What was your thinking behind doing the thinned out tail on the rail? To remove all of the volume at the rail that gets in the way of turning? Will the tail be thin enough to flex?
My thinking is from the need to have thinner rail specially around fin on a 4" thick board, this is the goal.
About Flex, yes you find it 
because I want to add some XPE wings as I made on my first shortSUP , few years ago now which was flying like a snowboard in the powder
JohnDesu would like it, she was a magic board 
Yes JK I think we have the same board - what fins do you use? - I have found that two front fsc H2 fins & the original JP wooden 5" fin box fin on the rear work best for the board :-)
And yes to Kami - I would love to have your board :-)
Select to expand quoteJohndesu said..
Hey JKimbler I agree I currently ride a JP 7'4" x 27" but it is still a bit big (but I am still new to sup surfing) but good fun, I have owned a 7ft Raptor for a short while and that was good at the start but then felt too big, I also owned and tried a 6'4" Bam Bam that took a while to get used to (but only for small waves), also owned & tried a 7'4" Airborn, and a 7'6" Fanatic - [u]they all perform like short boards to a degree[/i[/u]] - and you should be able to surf a short sup like a short board (or as close as possible) so you can have one of those magic days when the surf & conditions are almost perfect, and even when it is not you can have some fun and a good workout.[i] Don't forget to have a bigger board or a gun for when it is too big or messy :-)
Same thinking about Raptor too big
they all perform like short boards to a degree: those board are too long to get feet in a single position like proned surfboard. Because on that kind of pointy nose board you get front foot behind the widest point of the board. Only Vangard type allow to get front foot forward the widest point ; except as many board of that kind getting too long nose for confortable paddling.
Reading you make me confident in getting short. 
Select to expand quoteJKimbler said..
Had an emergency board replacement due some complications with what was going to be my winter board, ended up going as small as I've ever attempted to ride: 7'4" x 27" x 4". After a few really fun days trying to figure it out I learned that there are some cool side effects to going small:
Same here! I would add:
- Realising that you can actually surf micro waves, not just glide along on a log
- Opening up more places to go to on the wave
- Having less fear of being caught in hollow sections
- ass-kicking (literally) accelerations
Sorry Kami I find your english a bit hard to understand - can you explain a bit more, what I have found (in my limited experiences) is that I do not like the square nose of a vangard shape board - I think a more traditional pointed nose with a pulled-in tail (not big and fat) with thin pinched rails is more suited to my style of surf riding (and I am still experimenting) but for a super short board you do need a bit more volume and thickness all round - it is just finding the correct balance, And as far as what Colas (the master himself) says I totally agree :-)
I'll add:
-the ability to pump down the line like you would on a shortboard
-being able to turn as hard as you want on any size wave
-effortless direction changes, roundhouses, etc
-sore face from smiling so much!
Kirk
Select to expand quoteSandsy1 said..
Sorry guys. Benefits of riding a short sup? None!!!
Get a real short board.
I know you are trolling, but let's play... You should get a reality check.
2 days ago we had some nice small (6") waves. I was having a total blast with my 6'8" SUP: accelerations, rollers, ... fun.
The shortboarders didnt take a single wave.
Anyways, most shortboarders do not realise how much some volume is mandatory to have fun in weak waves (unless you are a pro), paddle in hand or not. And that a paddle in hand makes volume manageable on the wave. But they are very welcome to come to my spot to decorate the water as floating buoys, to entertain our seagulls :-)
Add to this that I cannot prone surf anymore (my hips are now too stiff to sit on a surfboard)
Select to expand quoteJohndesu said..
Sorry Kami I find your english a bit hard to understand - can you explain a bit more, what I have found (in my limited experiences) is that I do not like the square nose of a vangard shape board - I think a more traditional pointed nose with a pulled-in tail (not big and fat) with thin pinched rails is more suited to my style of surf riding (and I am still experimenting) but for a super short board you do need a bit more volume and thickness all round - it is just finding the correct balance, And as far as what Colas (the master himself) says I totally agree :-)
Dont be sorry about my english as well of I agree I have been confused in what I wanted to explain .
I try to explain that 7'4" or 7'6" pointed nose get a wide point forward the center despite shortest pointed nose of 7'4" or 7'6"are still too long to get the widest point of the board around or close to center and/or outline hips between feet .
Widest point is the most important parameter of looseness and so all the pointed shortest SUP are still looking like mini gun ( 7' short board) rather than a 5'8" beach break board.
This is why Vangard style get a square nose, it's not the fact to get square, outline get square at nose when you balance the board design to get hips between front and back foot. As you can see on this picture my feet are pushing( nearly) both sides of the Redline TC front fin . GX-Q trailing behind with no effect except they are stabilizing my way.
About the very functional Vangard fat tail which is balancing square nose area , my idea that I demo is you dont need center fin on a SUP because for the most of those wide shape you cant really pivot on the back fin as you do on a 5'11" proned thruster surfboard.
Last point: square outline board get more volume for less width to a better whole stability of board , IMO Vangard type are a better way to do do ShortSUP shapes and getting the more benefits to go short and teeny.
Kami, how do shapes like the one in the pic above work if you wanna make tight turns?Reason to ask is that I suped today in Cornwall in perfectly glassy 2.5/3m waves. I,m 188x 93kg right now, wearing a 4mm wetty and boots all adding weight and was paddling my Starboard Pro 8.5x29x112l. The board floats me, but is small and hard work as soon as its becoming choppy/windy. For the crap I have my Airborne8.8 :)For me the Slender 8.5Pro its as small I can paddle in such type of shape right now.When I,m just racing dtl like in your pic the shape works fine, but if the wave is a bit slower/less steep and let me make serious bottom to top turns the rails a long way in (one of the shortboarders complimented me with that as well for the commitment). I,m looking at the Hypernut/Slate kinda shape but can,t visualize how to make a full round bottom to topturn with that type of nose without digging it in in lets say 2m wavefaces (and unfortunally I won, see this kind of boards at home so trying isnt an option either). Just curious.
Select to expand quotecolas said...Sandsy1 said..
Sorry guys. Benefits of riding a short sup? None!!!
Get a real short board.
I know you are trolling, but let's play... You should get a reality check.
2 days ago we had some nice small (6") waves. I was having a total blast with my 6'8" SUP: accelerations, rollers, ... fun.
The shortboarders didnt take a single wave.
Anyways, most shortboarders do not realise how much some volume is mandatory to have fun in weak waves (unless you are a pro), paddle in hand or not. And that a paddle in hand makes volume manageable on the wave. But they are very welcome to come to my spot to decorate the water as floating buoys, to entertain our seagulls :-)
Add to this that I cannot prone surf anymore (my hips are now too stiff to sit on a surfboard)
Barring mechanical issues, stretch.
44 and can get my nose to my knees.
Hip flexor stretches, groin stretches, hammy stretches, back stretches. They should be mandatory for all water sports enthusiasts over the age of 25.
Kami,
very interesting posts and I enjoyed reading them a few times over to try and get a better understanding.
John,
I kept the fins that Keahi had in there, carbon G-5 on the sides, Jackson Close carbon center, it's small (about the same size as the sides). I run the center fin almost to the rear of the box and it's still loose as can be. Can be a bit twitchy at first, but it will slide at will and hold when finessed.
Colas,
Great feedback, always enjoy your posts, even back before they booted me from the standupzone... Haha..
Sandsy....
I surf shortboards all the time. Actually surf standard boards, fish, other weird stuff, mini guns, guns, sailboards, kiteboards, SUP boards... The small SUP boards are a blast and I honestly think I do my best turns and other shenanigans on them. It's a very different feeling from regular surfing and once you get a feel for it you get hooked. The challenge factor is really cool too. I rode a mid size SUP last winter: 8'10" x 28 1/4"x 4" , and I found that while I enjoyed the ease of use, my surfing got pretty weak and I really hit a plateau skill wise.
Select to expand quoteJeroensurf said..
Kami, how do shapes like the one in the pic above work if you wanna make tight turns?Reason to ask is that I suped today in Cornwall in perfectly glassy 2.5/3m waves. I,m 188x 93kg right now, wearing a 4mm wetty and boots all adding weight and was paddling my Starboard Pro 8.5x29x112l. The board floats me, but is small and hard work as soon as its becoming choppy/windy. For the crap I have my Airborne8.8 :)For me the Slender 8.5Pro its as small I can paddle in such type of shape right now.When I,m just racing dtl like in your pic the shape works fine, but if the wave is a bit slower/less steep and let me make serious bottom to top turns the rails a long way in (one of the shortboarders complimented me with that as well for the commitment). I,m looking at the Hypernut/Slate kinda shape but can,t visualize how to make a full round bottom to topturn with that type of nose without digging it in in lets say 2m wavefaces (and unfortunally I won, see this kind of boards at home so trying isnt an option either). Just curious.
My 6'5" 27.75" for my 78 kg would be out of control in 2.5/3m glassy waves except if there are mellow, up to 10second period over this period forget it . You was perfectly geared with your Starboard Pro 8.5x29x112l to fit your tough body.
Those kind of shapes allow to stay closer of the curl compared to longer board (pointed ones) so you get more speed and better wave positioning , IMO surfing is a feeling first not the amount of spray around the board.
Go for the Hypernut or a slate but don't over sized it, stay close to the ratio weight/liters 1,1.
Between Slade and Hypernut, I would take the Hypernut cause the widest point is back from the center allowing more maneuverability. IMO
Have fun you desserve it Jeroen
I agree with L41surf and also with colas regarding the surfability of short sups & light short sups (6kgs & under) - they are unreal.
And Kami I understand what you said now and I agree to a an extent but weight plays an important factor also that you need to consider when making & designing your boards - and then try / compare the difference in performance :-)
Gotta admit I'm a bit bummed nobody though my Keahi De Aboitiz joke from the original post was funny.... 
Haha. Anyway, just had two great sessions on the board today and it's really clicking. Every session it feels a bit more stable, a bit more normal. Loving the feel, loving the turns, what a fun board.
Select to expand quotethedrip said..
Hip flexor stretches, groin stretches, hammy stretches, back stretches. They should be mandatory for all water sports enthusiasts over the age of 25.
Yup, I realize it now... time for setting up a stretching routine!
Select to expand quoteJKimbler said..
Gotta admit I'm a bit bummed nobody though my Keahi De Aboitiz joke from the original post was funny.... Haha. Anyway, just had two great sessions on the board today and it's really clicking. Every session it feels a bit more stable, a bit more normal. Loving the feel, loving the turns, what a fun board.
I did try to get it but finally I bailed to understand the joke, I did know something is under, don't be bumm as much as I'm.
Last arvo I had a some fun with my 6'9" 28.5" pointed nose in some 3' average power but well shape wave with some cross chop. I did'nt use that board for a year now and I found it less stable than my 6'5" 27.75" I used for about year now.
Like you I 'm stocked of the some much fun I had with that tiny board, anytime I go out I get something new as knowledge
As Colas and Thedrip talked about I would stretch more to get more flexible as well of drinking more fresh water .
Here is the board I design just come in of my last session this is a mix of my 2 favorites
Hey Kami
I would like a copy of that board (it looks great - an all rounder) in about 7ft x 26" x 3.5" about 75 - 80 L around 5 - 6kg / do you think that is possible ?:-)
thanks regards John ;-)
No problem, is this OK
About fins, I reckon FCS B5 ( small ones of the bonzer set) + thruster K3
