Intro video of the new Sunova "Creek" model

Hey Ric,
Watching you surf I think we are some kind of parallel universe except, the water is colder where you live, you are twenty years my senior and have new boards.
Half ya luck.
Aloha
Goggo

that's a nice Helmy!
Let us know how it goes?!

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Helmy said..
Supthecreek, I am not worthy!

What size is that Helmy?
Let us know if it rips!

Anything around 9 foot is always a versatile length . Sounds like a good investment

Picked up my custom Creek from Dave @ Core Boardsports in Torquay today...

- 9'0" x 30.75" x 129.5L
- Ledge Handle
- Arch Bar for Tailpad
- Carbon Stringer (on bottom)
- 3 FCS Plugs for the centre fin so I can move it forward/back
- Tweaked rocker and rails
- Custom colour etc.

I'm about 108kg so it will keep me honest, but I'm sure it'll rip once the autumn swells start!

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Hoppo3228 said..
Picked up my custom Creek from Core Boardsports in Torquay today...

- 9'0 x 30.75" x 129.5L
- Ledge Handle
- Arch Bar for Tailpad
- Carbon Stringer (on bottom)
- 3 FCS Plugs for the centre fin so I can move it forward/back
- Custom colour etc.

I'm about 108kg so it will keep me honest, but I'm sure it'll rip once the autumn swells start!

Nice mate.
Love those dimensions, and those options.
Rip it up.

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SunovaBouy said..
Stunning.
Great options too, what's the reason for the three plug rear fin?

To allow me loosen it up a lot without going to a much smaller fin

I've got 2 other Sunova's with the Liftsup and cannot stand them (the handles). My JL WW has the ledge and I much prefer it.

IMO In heavy shorebreak trying to lift it up and get out of the water quickly is harder than it needs to be... In thick winter gloves it can be HARD.

I'm super stoked on the ledge handle - simple, deep....you can just forget about it.

It was very easy to ask Sunova to change - as I was going custom it was just another box to tick...

IMO the liftsup is a strong positive feature of the Sunovas. 99% of my SUPping is a 400m walk to the beach, but on the occasions that it is on/off the car, i find the handle great for flipping/positive hold . When surfing there is no hole for your toes/forefoot. Shorebreak negotiation is also easier/better hold on the board(easy lift up over the shorebreak behind you) - but if you still had your glove on (rather than between your teeth?) i could see how this could be an issue

Great looking board Hoppo..... lime/yellow was my original thought for my color scheme... and will be, on my smaller "Summer Creek" next spring!

Let us know how she rolls!
I am interested to hear how you find the comfort level at a fairly 1.2 weight to volume ratio

Took it out for its maiden surf this morning at Point Addis for 3 hrs.

5'- 6.5' high set waves, reasonably glassy, but lots of water movement past the point and lots of crew in the water... I guess you get that when today was the best surfing day in weeks here and everybody checks swellnet

I weighed in at 109kg this morning. 9'0" x 30.75" x 129.5L board. I've been SUP surfing for nearly 2 years, but have prone surfed.

Here are my initial impressions of my Creek:

Float - feet mostly dry, only a tiny bit of water on the deck. About perfect.
Paddling - pretty good considering its volume and rocker, paddles in a straight line easily.
Stability - Easy. Could stand with feet parallel no problem, no need for a staggered stance. Only really started falling in the 3rd hour as I was getting pretty tired...
Wave catching - Dead easy, which surprised me actually, as the nose is much more pulled in than what I was expecting.
Speed - super fast on take off, just like a Speeed. Goes past sections super easy.
Surfing - High energy performance shape which turns from the middle and really snaps from (near) the tail. Lively.

Comments: Just like Rick has explained about his foot positioning on his Creek, guys our weight don't need to have their back foot right on the kicker to get it to go. I just simply leaned back and it went and if I wanted to do a quick snap, I put my foot back on the arch bar/kicker and it snapped. Pretty uncomplicated really.

What would I change (so far) - I'd go to smaller fins as the 105 sides and 94 centre feel big, although i'll try the centre fin in the forward position first.

So far i'm happy.

NB / I am a paying customer of Sunova and paid full price for this board. I have 3 Sunova's cos I like the construction, look and the fact that custom is offered easily. I just wish I had a hook up

Bomberdave,

Sweet mate...enjoy

Since this is staying active as the "Creek" discussion thread, I will re-post my latest vid here for new viewers.
It is a mash-up of my summer- fall sessions.
I am super stoked to see your vids!

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SoCalGremmy said..
STC,
Awesome R&D you've done on the Creek. And great followup vids and descriptions onfthe performance.
I am 66, 5'10", 84kg (naked), intermediate SoCal beachbreak (1 to 6') surfer, member of Stand Up Zone. I like to plant my feet and surf from 1 spot.
I've been surfing a 8'8" Naish XL32 for about 3 years. I really enjoy it when conditions are glassy, but still find myself struggling when it gets choppy, especially side chop. I miss alot of waves when I lose balance at the last minute. Also the XL32 is slow to paddle, hard to paddle straight, and difficult to catch waves in strong offshore winds.
I'm looking for my next board to be more stable, turn as well, or better, paddle faster, track straighter and improve my wave count.
The Creek looks like an awesome board!
Your advice?
Thanks,
Bob

Hi Bob,
Interesting challenge, since the 32LE was designed as a stability board... keeping all sizes at 32" wide.

I will break it down into pieces.

1st off:
The Creek is not a stability board.
I designed one board, for big old me in winter... so my 9'4 x 32" is a very stable, full on performance board.

As the Creek sizes down, it is close to pro level dims...
It is a high performance board, with "stability tools" built in. (more on this later)

My goal with this design was to give me the performance I had come to expect from my Acid, in a board I could ride in restrictive winter gear

Once winter comes, and I stuff myself into a full wetsuit, even my big 9'4 Acid becomes way too challenging for me.
The very thin, pointy nose and thin tail of the Acid were the issue.
The lack of muscularity in my legs isn't sufficient to recover from sharp dips... front or back.

To mitigate this, I designed the 9'4 Creek with some "stability tools"
I chose the wider nose and outline of the 9'2 Skate and the exact tail and tail rocker of the 9'2 Speeed.
Then I stretched it 2" to get the desired 148 liters.
I asked Bert to blend the Speeed tail rocker into the performance rocker of the Acid 9'4

The result is a full on performance board with a more forgiving stability than the average pro level design.
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Your issues with your 8'8 32LE:
On paper, at your height and weight, the numbers on your 8'8 x 32 at 141 liters look like it should provide reasonable stability, but what you may be experiencing is the very pointy nose on the 32LE, combined with the very curvy outline.

I surfed the 8'8 32LE a few years ago.
I found it stable, but tricky to paddle, because of the very curvy outline.
As I remember, the rails were pretty well foiled, so it didn't feel corky.
It may be the pointy nose dipping, just as you spin for a wave..... like the Acid does to me.

Your wish list:
plant your feet and surf from one spot.
paddle straighter, with more glide and have more speed down the line.
more stability in chop.

I'd suggest, that you go up in size.

here is where it gets interesting.
The numbers on the 9'1 Creek are reasonably similar to your 8'8
7/8" narrower, and 5 liters less.... but....5 " longer.
The numbers put it solidly in the "intermediate" range at 1.5 times your weight in volume. (84 x 1.5 = 126 L)

The fuller nose and outline may keep the "side to side" stability about the same, but the added length and much improved paddling qualities, should give you more "fore and aft" control in challenging conditions.
(I believe the deep Speeed "channels" give added stability by slowing water flow in a side to side roll)

I am confident that you would be quite pleased with the increased performance in all areas.
The Creek is extremely user friendly, with no quirks.
My vids have shown that I can keep my feet planted, more often on the Creek ( pic 2)



I superimposed a 9'1 Creek over and 8'8 32LE to illustrate where the narrower Creek may actually be more stable....
but I have never done an actual side by side comp, so it's just my best guess.

I hope this long assessment helps you, and others, to pick the right size Creek!

Peace
Rick

Hi Bob,
So you are more stable on your 8'10 x 30.5 Mana than the 32LE....
Ahhhh, so it really isn't about size or liters.... it is the added quirkiness of the sharply drawn in nose and curvy outline.

If you are fine with your Mana, then I bet the 8'10 Creek would give you reasonably similar stability and paddling characteristics.... but with a ton more performance and you won't pearl.

The 8'10 Creek numbers are pretty darn close to the 8'10 Mana's ,
At your weight, I'm not sure that you would benefit from 5 liters one way or the other, since 126 Liters is a solid target volume for you.

YES.... Bert will make custom alterations to any stock design for a modest fee.
Possibly $200 additional, but don't quote me, as I am not sure.
It's won't break the bank, if you decide to go that way.

Actually, there is a huge difference between the LE32 and the Creek, from the handle backward.
The Creek has a "bump down hip" at the channels.
This is where the magic of the "Speeed" tail kicks in.

Yes, the Creek outline looks a tad short, but I only have the bottom outline, so it would look shorter than a top view... I tried to adjust as close to actual, but still more for seeing the added stability in the nose.