Why would you? Well sometimes it's a bit too lumpy or windy for SUP or you might just want to use a different set of muscles. In my case I'm heading out on a bit of road trip and wondering how it would be to bring one board for ALL occasions. I love both standup and prone surfing. I've prone surfed (is that how you refer to it) my McTavish 9'6 and found it doable but a bit too big. Has anyone tried prone surfing a Starboard Pocket rocket, or pro 9'1 for instance. Interested in any feedback on prone surfing different boards.
A friend who is reasonably large prone surfs the old 10' bonga perkins all the time. That board is quite narrow though.
To those who say out in the lineup "Is that a stand up paddle board?" his reply is "Can you see a bl**dy paddle?" lol
ive been using my sup to teach my neices how to surf, i dont know if id want to surf one as a short board though, even my smallest sup, an 8.10 starboard wp is much harder to throw around without a paddle than my 7.2 fish. sups tend to need you to pivot off the paddle to get quick responses. On a short board i move my weight fractionally and the board goes where i want it too. On a sup without a paddle i have to plant all 100kg plus of my weight over the tail to get it to marginally deviate off course. Maybe a really small sup with tapered deck and skinny rails like a cabrihna pro.
The bonga has low stepped rails and a thin tail which helps. For a 10' board it's a prick to SUP if there's any bump but it's unreal down the line on a clean face. I think the 9'6 would be fun in hollow down the line 4'-6'
I have prone surfed the 12 Munoz paddle board often, its great in big surf for paddling in its 12 x 26 x 4 I think and great fun. You would need to dust off your drop knee cutback, cross stepping and practice a hand jibe or 2 but hey a little style goes a long way.
Great for testing your balance in flat water too, best I have been able to paddle it was 3km with out falling off.
Phill
I have prone surfed my 7'8 Hokua but even that was pretty hard to turn and surf properly without the paddle and I weight 90kg. Had a bit of fun but ended up with horrendous chaffing inside my thighs from the width of the SUP board while sitting waiting for sets. I wouldnt bother again.
Tried once on my Sea Lion 7'6", fun... until I realized that my knees and nails were bleeding due to the pad with aggressive diamond ridges...
So I guess it is doable, but will depend on the kind of grip you have, which could be too aggressive for you or your wetsuit...
i konw a guy who surf a 10'6 nsp, he tried is as a stand up, but had a bad back or something like that, hea had straps put in the front so he could rool the board, he goes pretty good on it in most conditions
Jarryd
When there's no swell and the offshore is too strong in Perth, I head up to point packed to prone surf my sup. super fun times. nothing wrong with it at all. but one i was at one of the south cott reefs and went out with a paddle until the onshore kicked in. it was only light, but enough to unsettle me. i went in threw the paddle up the sand and went back out prone. a longboarder commented that ill have a lot more fun without the paddle. dunno bout that... wave count went down, but its all about having the most fun each session at thats what i did. if its suitable conditions (small, windy/bad wind) for prone rather than stand up, dont let anyone hold you back.