Lots of talk about what you cant do on a 12'6

krankiman said...



quote taken from sup racer "training with jacko"

"After we've recovered from the run or ride, we add in a gym session just for fun. We do these gym routines pretty quick to keep the cardio gains going; you don't want to just gain a bunch of muscle mass and nothing else, otherwise you'll be too heavy to win the big races"…

so are you guys giving us false info on sup racer??..lol

the weight of the paddler certainly has an impact on a paddle boards performance, as it increases wetted surface area. this has a huge impact on hull speed as you will push more water,

sure being bigger may give you some advantage in regards to power, but you are also moving an increased mass not including the added drag of the board. so it is effectively mitigated.

A 12'6 will sink more with a 100kg guy than with a 65kg guy, so will a 14' assuming the 2 boards have the same volume the ratio of wetted surface area will change far less on the 14' due to the increased length providing more bouyancy and displacement. this reduces the weight advantage considerably. by further increasing board length this will be reduced even more.

to put this into dryland terms, 2 cars of equal weight and horse power go driving on the sand, one has wide tyres, one has narrow tyres, the outcome is the wide tyres will out perform the narrow tyres. but putting a lighter car on the narrower tyres would reduce this advantage.

the only way to race fairly is to use identical boards, (length, width displacement) with a ballast system to even the weight of the lightest paddlers, with that of the heaviest then whoever can produce the most watts for the longest period of time will win.

or at least make some dimensions restrictions on width that even things up a bit.

if you can beat 14's on a 12'6 awesome if you can't get a 14' or bigger.

at the end of the day, anything that evens the field is a good thing for the sport, obviously logistics sponsor etc, drive pro events, but is does put the big guy at a disadvantage and is a shame.

I hope organisers keep an open mind and look to the future and longevity of the sport.

paul.j said...

The more I think about this topic the more I think balance skills have to be a big part of it!! Take someone like Pete Dorries can paddle my board just as fast as I can and he is 94kg but he has good balance skills. Part of out training is balance work stuff like standing on balance ball or paddling clubie mals and stuff like that. It would be good to get a 100kg guy and work with them to get there balance better and see if it makes a difference!! Any big guys out there working on balancing skills? I would love it if SUP was a huge advantage for guys under 70kg as I suck at basket ball and always cry that the rules should be changed to help the smaller guys!!

RJK said...



i agree with a few things you say. but the car analogy doesnt include the fact that when you 'grab a lighter car and put it on skiny tyres' you are grabbing a car with a smaller engine so as to reduce weight.

big guys complain that they hav to go wider on a 12'6 and its unfair cause wide boards are slow, but its all relative!!! a big guy may have to go 30'' while the lighter guys go 28'' or 26'' on a 12'6. but put them both on a 14' and the bigger guy is happy cause he can ride a 28'' board, but a lighter guy then has the option to ride say a 20'' board. its the same level of so called disadvantage!!

im over 90kg, am i in the disadvantaged class or not?? i would like to know so that i can start using it as an excuse

Al Hunter said...
........and the real question should be
Is the Australian national title a big race that should be recognised as a big event itself ( and nomination for the ISA World title a by product of it) or the only purpose of the Australian national title is to select 2 men and 1 girl to go the the world title?

PTWoody said...



A friend of mine wanted to establish a new basketball league for people less than 6' and with the hoop about 2' lower so us short arses could dunk.

As for the balance skills and strength, one thing the Melbourne crew has come to realise is that our racing out on the bay and in the rivers has done very little for our leg strength and balance. Once we hit the waters of Bass Strait for the state titles or the Pacific Ocean for nationals, a 20km marathon is a whole different experience than it is in Port Phillip. In our longest club races on the bay and our 15km+ training sessions, we might end up with sore shoulders, forearms and backs, whereas the state and nationals has destroyed our legs much more so. Not to mention seeing us get wet a whole lot more.

OG SUP said...


This is a vid I posted a while back, vision is not great due to wind squalls and in a homer moment i forgot the tripod but you'll get the idea.