Reading this forum has raised my interest in SUP, I have been following the discussions for a while but the more I read the more indecisive I get.
I'm 74 kg, I want the kids and the missus to be able to use it, but I don't want to totally exclude myself from being able to use it in waves. We all had a paddle ( flat water) on a JL 10'8? x30 and totally enjoyed it and no problems with 2 of us paddling around on it.
Any opinions? help me make a decision.
crankster
Check out the 10'6" Naish and the 11' Watercooled. Both great for your weight and good wave machines.
I too have had the same problem with making the decision. I had a paddle on a 9'8 StarBoard and was comfortable with the balance aspect on that, but have decided the 11'2" StarBoard looks like the way to go, as I want it for both flat water and surf use.
I am 85Kg and it seems that this board will suit me for longer than say the 11'6 Naish, which while being an excellent board, may get too big very quickly.
My other consideration is that I want to be able to sail it as well, and I have been told today that the 11'2 has this option.
Finally decision made, now I just have to convince the financial controller that it is a good time to buy :)
30 is a great width, very stable for learners and good if u wanna chuck the kids on...
the advantage of goinig narrower n than 30 is that it will surf better, easier to swap from rail to rail, should also go better in bigger waves..
if u want an all rounder i think at your weight u should look at something like sb 11'2 u might find the naish 11'6 too big .......
the JL's are fantastic boards, but due to there immaculate slick finish there not as sturdy as other boards i.e chipping and scratches.... could be a prob with kids!
The JL's have a super gloss finish and the last thing Id wanna do, if I had one, would be to put wax on it for the kids.
Im not sure if you can get JL's with the full deck pad, but once again why would you wanna spoil the nice look finish.
Kinda like having a Naish and covering it with a full deck pad.
I reckon the Naish and the Starboard sport tech boards are by far the best looking SUPs around. The Naish has the wood with bright yellow rails and the Starboard has the wood with the bright red rails... mmm I want them.
But back to the topic... me having an 11'2 Id say that this board is the way to go.
It has the full deck pad. It glides and floats very well on flat water being 190L. Although I am a feather weight at 65kgs. Ive had both my kids on the nose of it and it still paddles well. It picks up waves that are ankle high to rolling swells. It surfs just like a longboard.
BUT the thing I have been noticing lately is that it does lack in rocker. I wish it had more. Ive been taking it out in head high waves and when it gets sucky and steep, the nose just wants to bury itself at the bottom of the wave, unless you really stomp back on the tail, which tends to make you lose alot of your speed before the bottom turn. To avoid this you really have to take off on an angle to the wave to dig and trim the inside rail into the face of the wave
Enough blab from me...
Good luck choosing
There is a JL 11' x 30" all around which has a wide square tail, is this the board you tried? If it is, it has the reputation of being a good stable board to start out on. You can always put rail savers on to stop the chipping.
The Starboard 11' 2" would certainly be worth looking at, the all over deck pad is a great option for a family board, the price is excellent and there are plenty of people on this forum who will swear to its surfing capabilities.
The Naish has great construction, lightweight and robust, my 11' 6" has taken quite a beating. I think the 10' 6" is too narrow for a family board. The 11' 6" is a good family board, great for tandem, ok to start out in the surf, but might be too big for you as you improve.
Choppy water is much harder to paddle on than flat water so don't get too small to start. Have fun, I am sure there are a number of good choices.
Steve
cant go past the laird hammilton range,
unlike the naish and SB wich are both great boards too, its alot thinner and built for the waves, its also lighter, so easier for the kids to drag around, and the sizes vary, the 10'6 is 27" (i think)wide wich is pleanty and perfect for waves, and the tail also is thinner there for less volume, and that makes it easy to get those tight turns on the waves.
the naish 11'6 is also great but its a bit slow, but you could probaly improve this with different fins, etc.
the SB i havent used one but the look nice
Thanks for all the good info, the sb 11'2 sounds a popular choice, and the full deck grip would be usefull to us. What sort of money would I expect to pay for the sb 11'2? and does that come with a paddle?
I had a look at the mistral and the naish but honestly after a while they all blend in together, way to much choice for me.
I don't know how much the starboard 11'2'' goes for new but they don't come with a paddle.
I bought a cheapie for $50 which gets me on the water and has been fine. I've never paddled a carbon one so don't really know what i'm missing.
With the starboard range how much real difference/ advantage or other is there between the sport tech and the tufskin?
Sport tech is a few hundred grams lighter, only 2/3 deckpad and $250 extra.
Tufskin is more robust, full deckpad and best choice for family.
Alot of shapers use litres to when designing the boards.
I know that most boards around the 9'6 range have about 140 litres
the use of litres is a measurment of the boards volume by means of the amount
of water it displaces when fully submerged in water.one litre of volume is capable of floating one kilo of mass, so this can be used to give an indication of the boards suitability for use with your weight.As greenroom says 190L floats him
at 65k very well,I weigh 65k(prob 70K with wetsuit) and own a 125L which floats well, Ive even stood on a 100L but most of the board was under water.
Dont know where im going with this now 
but thought id just try to help.
Dont really know about this litre stuff sounds a bit crazy, sounds like some rainwater tank your trying to fill with water keep it simple like surfing it might be a 6 4" x 18" x 2 1/4 . Which would not float a 100kg person a surfer would know this by looking at it. A 100kg person might want a 6 4" x 19.5 x 2 1/2. Litres sounds weird, like how many litres of beer did you consume last night.
keep it simple like surfing it might be a 6 4" x 18" x 2 1/4 . Which would not float a 100kg person a surfer would know this by looking at it. A 100kg person might want a 6 4" x 19.5 x 2 1/2. Litres sounds weird, like how many litres of beer did you consume last night.
Us cool windsurfing dudes know all about liters.. 
...It's the first thing that's relevant to board size..and even more important than length and width.
Check out my mate JP's site.. .. http://www.jp-australia.com/2008/index.php?id=38 ..Hey Brooko..Play the little vid while you're at it..
I think when boards started going wider the length thing became irrelivent..and liters is the only real way to measure a boards size.(in terms of floatation)
DJ
keep it simple like surfing it might be a 6 4" x 18" x 2 1/4 . Which would not float a 100kg person a surfer would know this by looking at it. A 100kg person might want a 6 4" x 19.5 x 2 1/2. Litres sounds weird, like how many litres of beer did you consume last night.
Interesting the difference a little volume makes. I have paddled the 9' and the 9'8" Starboards. I weigh 100kg and when I tried to paddle the 9' (135 litres) I found it unstable fore and aft as well as sideways and kept falling in. When I paddled the 9'8" (155 litres) l was a little wobbly to start but I felt good enough to take it into the surf and had a great time on it even though I fell in a lot more than I would have on my 230 litre Naish 11'6".
Steve
