Narrow = fast and good in solid surf

If you are a beginner width is your friend but it comes at a cost. Wide (32+) boards are great in small surf but a handfull when at speed on overhead waves. Wide (30) DW/flatwater boards are slow compared to narrow boards.

If you want to ride small waves and cruise dw or on the flats stick to wide boards. As your skills develop you may want to step it up in the surf or racing then look at narrower boards.

My dw board is 14 X 29 not the fastest but a hoot. I am 105kg bit over after Bali breakies and cocktails :) surf is 9 7 X 29 3/4.

A 12 6 about 30 wide will be a good start. 14 better IMO especially dw.

paulford said...

So ive demo'd a couple of 10 footers now, and it seems that only a 34" wide board gives me the stability to get moving without constantly falling off(i tried a 30" wide and it was hellish to stay upright on). I enjoyed the SB whopper i demo'd this morning and sure it looks like its the one to get me going on. Looking towards the future id like to try DW'ing on a 12'6 or similiar. But with a narrower hull will i lack stability?. I know they have more volume due to the hull design, which makes me think ill be alright in that respect. At around 95-7kgs i guess im gonna tip any boat as a beginner.

Thanks.

The short answer is...it depends.

...a longer board will likely be more stable for a given width, but it depends a bit on how much volume and how it's distributed, rail shape, hull form etc. At 97 you're not that heavy. At around 125kegs I have a 17x26 3/4 (320 litres), 14x29 (298 litres) and a 14x30 (305 litres) and get on fine with all of them depending on conditions, but I can't stand up on a 10 x 34" whopper (168 litres).

The new 12'6" Glide is plenty stable at over 6-7" thick and at least 30" wide.. It goes great on DW'ers.. It would be a great second board to go with the Whopper.

DJ

Hey , thus is a gr8 topic . I loooove my whopper and it's 34" width. I've started on 11'. The 10' the 9'6" all narrow cause it's supposed to b better. I surf the whopper overhead and micro. I can stand up in a gale or glass no prob, it surfs like along board . it's got excellent glide.
I absolutely love the 34" width and stability . Sure I will change up when there is a 34" wide x 10' option.

Downside it's heavy . If it hits you it's nasty . I would kill for a carbon fiber version .

I reckon it's a design problem . Manufs. Are still trying to make stand ups like short surf boards. Surf boards are restricted by shoulder width of prone surfers. SUP paddlers can go 40" wide no prob. We Need stability cause we standing up ! It's different. We need performance and width it's a design thing. Try harder SUP designers . Don't tells to practice harder to deal crap design flaws . Life is too short and waves too few to be tea bagging in and out the water .

I surf my old whopper at bells impossos in Vicco. Ad balangaan , medewi & Balkan in Bali.

I love that board . Got me back into surfing
Rocko (barwon heads & bali)

Try the coreban EZ 10 34, or at your weight you should be fine on a 10'0"Naish mana 10' x 32" 120L

Added thickness also makes a difference, not just width. A cool design is this 9'10" board by Tower called the "Tower Fit" (www.towerpaddleboards.com/wood-paddle-boards)-It is 31.75" wide and 5.5" thick and has 200.5 liters of volume. Most boards that are around 30" wide are only about 4" thick. You wouldn't believe what that extra added thickness does for stability! My friend is 90kg and loves it!

At 110kgs I first struggled on a 11'6 x 29"?, but now ride a 9'8" x 30" custom (badly, but easily) and find it very stable, actually more stable than the 11'6" in many conditions. One thing I was told by the shaper was that to add stability, not so much to do with adding width, but carrying the rail width forward.