For reference, here is my Gong quiver of sub-7' SUPs for my 100kg and slow (short period) waves. From left to right:
- 6'10" 126l proto Simmons XTR 6'10" x 30 1/4" x 4 7/8"
A true Simmons shape. Fins (C-Drive twins) are here on the tail for control in powerful waves (well, chest high or more). For weak wakes moving them a notch forward helps loosenes
- 6'8" One 125l XTR 6'8"x29.5"x5.5". Fast and furious modern fish, more spontaneous than a Simmons shape. A 5th nubster can help in power. Quad C-Drive XL+QM
- 6'10" 120l proto Fatal XTR 6'10" x 30" x 5 3/16" A true shortboard feeling for handling power and tight turns in the pocket. Thruster C-Drive XL
Great boards and great surfing colas & and I like the C-dive fins, I am trying to sort my fins out on my new 6'10" - but I think your boards are better :-)
Great vid and still nice conditions (at last better as we usually score in Holland).
Nice surf colas, great waves and welcome to spring for you. I think they are some of the best waves I've seen in your videos. I had to actually dust off the wetsuit last week as its starting to get cool. Cheers Whitey
Thanks for all the praise!
I must say that I was always found of the surfers able to keep their speed during maneuvers... but my limited (prone) surfing abilities and the weakness of the waves where I live kept it an unreachable goal. Thanks to SUPing and the revival of non-contest oriented shapes, I can now enjoy glide even at my level.
New trip to Hossegor/Seignosse, trying to get to grips with a new "Tomo" low volume shape, but in the meantime using the trusted Simmons to get fun on crappy days....
Starting Thursday the morning sickness should depart as the favorable morning winds are scheduled to return.
Maybe even a bit of a swell pulse to sweeten up the surf. Enjoy the visit.
Yup, even starting tomorrow conditions seems to become great: small, clean, sunny (and windy in the afternoon for a welcome nap after a meal with local wines :-)
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New trip to Hossegor/Seignosse, trying to get to grips with a new "Tomo" low volume shape, but in the meantime using the trusted Simmons to get fun on crappy days....
I just find that amazing. That board is 6'4"!?! You either have big feet and inches in France, or you have the balance of a cat!
6'10", but it is wide (30.25"), with wide one-foot-offs and has confortable volume (125l for my 100kg)
I resold a 8'2"... but with 27" width, that was too hard for me.
Also, I am short (1m67), so it helps a lot my balance. a 6'4" guy would need for instance a 35" wide board to have the same stability as me on my 30.25"
Colas, it's interesting you mention that as i've always felt being a bit taller (6'3", 94 kgs) has hurt my ability to ride narrower boards. i've never felt comfortable on any board under 31" wide, but most relationships between board and rider are talked about in terms of volume and weight only. i did read somewhere that every inch taller requires another 10 liters in board volume given similar weights. anyway, it'd be nice to know the actual relationships between rider weight/height and board volume/length/width for those of us who cannot demo every board we're interested in. and yeah, i know i'm leaving out other factors of board design that come into play beyond those, but i like some 'general rules of thumb' to go by.
Basically:
- stability is in the width. Not only the main width but the one-foot-offs too. Imagine a board sliced like:
the real stability is given by the sum of the slices widths (mathematically, an integral sum). You can see that pointed noses & tail will be less stable.
Width is relative to your height. This is simply proportional to your heigth.
beached56, you should not be ashamed to use wide boards. Remember, your height will give you the leverage to turn a 35" board that a midget would think unturnable.
- boxy rails are stabler than thin rails, flat and concaves bottoms are stabler than Vee, etc...
- long boards are easier to paddle (less row), more glide, and easier on take off as you just motor your way in. Shorter boards rely more on timing for taking off.
- volume should be chosen relative to your weight. Minimum to float (Archimedes) is in litres your total weight in kg (you + board + paddle + wetsuit). More than this give more leverage against your feet to gain balance, and is less tiring. 20 to 30 litres more is quite comfy once use to it. Note that it works the other way around: chop has more leverage on a high volume board to tip you off. Picture a board underwater: it is in a quiet zone, away from the chop. But balancing a sunken board is a different (and more tiring) technique, and should not be attempted too early in your progression.
Volume should be proportional to your weight.
More volume will help in weak waves, low volume will be more manageable in hollow waves.
Hope this helps!
- flat rockered high volume boards are stabler because more board is resting on the water, but high rockered board can be stabler in the low-volume boards, as their provide a kind of "rocking chair" natural balance.
Bravo colas.... this last reply should be a fixture on every forum.
Great breakdown of components and variables.... it should have it's own thread.
Colas, you should make an app.
You could enter your weight, height and ability (and desire to improve) and let it describe the types of boards that would be appropriate.
You could enter the dimensions of your board and it could rate them. (You could add a database of boards and just select from a list.)
When thinking about a new board it could help you make a selection (but then what would we chat about on seabreeze?)
You could describe the surf conditions (choppy/smooth, wind strength and direction, swell height, tide) - or connect it to magic seaweed - so it could tell you which board would best suit the conditions.
And then we would not have to think 
Select to expand quotecolas said..
6'10", but it is wide (30.25"), with wide one-foot-offs and has confortable volume (125l for my 100kg)
I resold a 8'2"... but with 27" width, that was too hard for me.
Also, I am short (1m67), so it helps a lot my balance. a 6'4" guy would need for instance a 35" wide board to have the same stability as me on my 30.25"
I feel better now, I am 6'3".
