Under 8'

Select to expand quote

colas said..

tamarackjanito said..
colas,
great pics! if I may ask a question? How in the heck does somebody own so many dam sups?

I guess it comes from living in a land without good consistent waves (the Mediterannean sea is just a big lake), and being older. Younger, I drooled over uncommon surfboards (retro shapes) knowing I would not have the water time to really learn to ride them. SUP changed all this, as my wave count has exploded, and put me back on the water. Basically, SUP has motivated me to live a healthier life, and the price of a SUP quiver is a cheap investment in this regard. And as you grow older, that kids are out of school, house is paid for, ... what the heck! Plus specialized boards allow you to enjoy marginal conditions, raking up your sessions count.

Plus, Gong boards are quite inexpensive to buy, and resell well, so you loose very little money rotating your quiver. Most of the time I do not even have to put them on sale, as people just beg to buy them from me. The last one I put an ad for was sold in 6 minutes...

For instance, on my last trip at Hossegor I bought a special big wave SUP, that I pre-sold to a guy living there. So I was able to try this gun shape even though I would not have had the conditions to use it at home...

The real expensive part of a SUP quiver is... the van to transport them :-)

You will be getting them cheaper too if you are still a Gong Ambassador?

Someone else on not so small waves with a 6'10"
6'10"

Select to expand quote

tamarackjanito said..
Ghost,

I think you said it best, all people including myself see is the person ripping on the wave or dropping in on a complete bomb! I was lucky enough one time to be at a certain break while a couple of regular sup surfers were shooting a photo session. It really opened my mind when I saw these guys falling off there super short sup's while waiting for that SET wave also they were getting towed past the white a lot of times. To many surfers prone and standup are completely mislead by these magazines and other publications. Maybe they just want to sell magazines and the normal guy struggling and just maybe catching one good wave during a session just doesn't sell magazines like they guy sitting on his board the whole time or getting towed in or towed out does.

Tamarackjanito,

The entire thrust behind my argument centres on the assessment of reality versus perception. Perception is that these ultra short boards have the capacity to really rip on a wave
which creates the further perception that they must be easy to paddle with whether it be waiting for a wave or getting on when in fact the reality is that these boards can be very
problematic even for the elite riders. Showing one part of a very big picture is disingenous to my way of thinking. Perception sells boards. Reality leaves a lot riders somewhat disenchanted.

Cheers Ozzie

Ghost,
Couldn't have said it any better. Breaks my heart that people that see these's particular type boards being ridden and then they get the idea in their minds that they could ride those boards, they go buy a board for well over 1700 dollars(american) then they realize that they have no shot in hell to ride the board. They try to sell the board then realize craigslist is saturated with boards, stuck with the board, they lose there stroke for sup and give up. Its a vicious cycle. Some may argue that it dwindles the crowd and that is a good thing, but I like the idea of just being truthful and putting people on boards that they can succeed at and then enjoy the waves and respect the unspoken rules of the ocean.

I am sorry I don't understand what you just typed. It made no sense what so ever to me.

I get most of it. The paddle is god it gets us out the back easier then our little handies and so what if we kook it while waiting fckm maybe ego stuff but what matters istakeoff an wot u do

Select to expand quote

Slab said..
You will be getting them cheaper too if you are still a Gong Ambassador?

Yup. Altough the rebate depends on the years and on the model. Sometimes there are no rebate at all. The main factor is that the demand is so high that there is often a waiting time to buy a new one, that boosts the second hand market. At some time ambassador boards came with no fins and pads.
I often sold boards to people travelling to France and that could not find new boards available while they were there.

Colas, I really don't care where you get them, I just want to ride one! If you're ever around Bells you better make sure you call me to have a go on your 6'8"!! Matter of fact, if you're ever in australia I'll fly to you for a go.

I think people need to both do a bit of homework about how small boards go and make sure they demo what they can, especially if they have little/ no experience on a sup or surfing. It took me 4 years of regular sup surfing after 25 years of prone surfing and 5 years of bodysurfing ( back injury) to get board size down under 8'0". All the feedback and advice on this forum said demo demo demo and go slow, so I did. Not to mention my early experience being a kook on a 10'10".....

As wel, perhaps it's worth thinking about how different our motivations are for sup - personally, I wish I had a magic paddle that disappeared on takeoff and a board that morphed into a 6'10" x 19" short board. I think paddles are a pain in the $rse, but I can't paddle prone and get to me feet so I have no choice. I'm trying to surf like a short board or longboard as much as possible. Don't get me wrong I love it, but give me easier tube rides and hooks in the pocket any day!! I know there are some advantages, but I prefer burying my arm inside the barrel and damned if I can do it easy with a paddle in there with me at my age.

So just ride what you ride, enjoy it, and get on with it. Just don't expect everyone else in the lineup to cut you slack when you haven't earned it yet.

Cheers

Select to expand quote

Winsup said...
I get most of it. The paddle is god it gets us out the back easier then our little handies and so what if we kook it while waiting fckm maybe ego stuff but what matters istakeoff an wot u do

Bahahahahahahaha

Select to expand quote

John4F said...
Someone else on not so small waves with a 6'10"

I like that Gong but too thick rails, For my size, I would like it at 85-87L and with less than 4" rails... how would that go?

If I ask a local shaper (surfboards not SUPs) to shape it, what tips or considerations should I give him?

Rails of Gong Short SUPs aren't 4" thick:

Select to expand quote

Kami said...
My recommendation is to leave the elliptic template and to migrate to a square design

Thanks. Now I understand.

Select to expand quote

Kami said...
Sorry but this shake 7'4" is a disk over 29 wide .

Well, this model is actually advertised as an "egg", and is designed for tall and/or heavyweight people, so it makes sense.

On the thickness of rails, well, there is much more to a rail than thickness. The shape is really important. Note on how most world cup boards have actually boxy rails (very thick compared to the board general thickness).

The Fatal 6'10" on the video is surprising in this matter: the high volume rail does not dig very deep, but the hold is provided by a rail shape that make the water flow moving around the rail. On the water it is a very different feeling than a very thin rail:
- a thin railed board is "plowed" in the wave, dug dep, the pleasurable "carving" experience we all remember on good waves with these boards
- these "Fatal" rails give you the feeling of a rollercoaster car: the board on a rail does not brake, but feels like on ball bearings, speeding high on the water but still holding. Of course, on ultra hollow waves, you may spin out, but I do not have the ability to tackle these waves anyways. The feeling on good - but not extrem - waves is exhilarating, but not exactly "carving".
- but I have ridden boards with rails that seemed to me like the Fatal ones, but were just slowing the board: they had the same thickness but not the same shape.

In summarry, after trying many different rails, I think I could hear the boards wipsering me "You know nothing, Jon Snow" :-)

Select to expand quote

John4F said...
@Kami: come to SUP on the North Sea or Med and you will love shapes over 29" wide for stability reasons in choppy conditions. If one is tall (6foot or more) 31" 3/16 makes the difference between riding waves or climbing on your board.

As Co(oo)las explains : thinner rails are not always an advantage in waves (depending on the type of waves)

Good luck with your board shape.

Sure you need these extra width to enjoy your local waves, i was just referring to Enzo 's present topic which is calling for board under 29' width

Finally, i'm going to do this 7'4" 27" with a bodyboard as fin system to play with my paddle in the summer 2014 local beach break, i will post later more details...

Select to expand quote

John4F said...
@tamarackjanito This guy is tall (1m85 at least) riding 6'8" (again from the well known brand in Europe)

Yes, thats me! i'm 1m92 and 85 kg.
And now riding the new model Gong One 6'8 XTR with footstrap!