Ok gang. I know you get this often, but I'm hoping you'll bear with it just once more. And please forgive me if I get long winded, I just want to give some accurate background. I'll be 55 in about 3 weeks. Fit and athletic. 78kg 186cm. Always had the balance of a cat...now an old cat...but still good. Never surfed or SUP'd before this past August. Come to this from a whitewater paddling background, so good paddle technique and great braces. Now I'm hooked! Paddle an 8'10" 31" wide Blair sup (think Allwave). Love this board. Quick, stable, good on late drops. My performance on a wave....or better yet, what my skill set allows me to do on a wave....well, I'll brag to the ladies, but you guys will expose me as a poser in half a second, so I won't try BS you. Our surf is mostly mushy 2'-4' with the occasional chest to overhead days. A lot of wind driven chop. Beach break stuff....ha, ha, I laugh because I barely even know these terms. From day one I've refused to go out on my knees, even when it's rough, cause I figured it's a skill set I needed to develop (yeah I've had my ass handed to me plenty), but I can do it well now. Good pivot turn to catch waves. Being a carpenter I just built and installed the displays and board racks for a local surf shop in trade for a couple of boards. And I want to get a shorter performance board (eg 8'2" JL Stun Gun) for days that aren't too windy, choppy...and a longer board of the same style for those terribly bumpy days when it would be no fun fighting just to stand up. I'm up for pretty much any brand that you guys think would fit my weight, experience, type of waves, etc. Any help from you guys will be greatly appreciated.
Haha....no wind up. When signing up I was given a range of choices....who wouldn't want to be an Ocean Janitor for the Big Daddy?