This is my first SUP. Showed up on local craigslist - the people are moving to Hawaii. The price seemed very accommodating.
After I got there, they realized that they had already packed the fin in the shipping POD. They will ship it in a month or so when they unpack the POD.
Meanwhile, I don’t have a fin. I plan to experiment a bit on the small city lake after work this evening. Should be interesting. May not go very far without a fin.
Or, maybe like paddling my Bell Flashfire solo canoe?
What is your weight ? And what is the boards width ?
A ten footer is a fairly short board, and won’t be too stable.
We have seen quite a few people who have bought ten foot boards at Wally World and they have not been happy paddlers
Also without a fin, you’ll have to switch every stroke or you’ll end up going around in a circle.
With all that said if it works out for you, you’ll find out that that the exercise you get from one is tremendous as well as fun and in clear water the undersea viewing is much better than in a canoe or kayak
Mine is the teal color bottom. 32" wide.
https://www.pauhanasurfco.com/products/100-oahu
I’m 5’6" and about 165, so the size should be about right.
I’ll have first hand experience trying it without a fin in about 45 minutes. I might feel like a whirling dervish!
I’m pretty sure that I won’t be impressed with my speed - even compared with my 13’ solo canoes.
I definitely need a fin, maybe a different type of board. As well.
I never even got off of my knees.
It was breezy, the water was mucky and there were a lot of dead trout in the water.
When you gave your weight, I was going to come back and warn you, but figured since you already had the board you might as well find out for yourself.
Get a 12 foot board with as small a fin as you can get.
Also get the type fin that pops in and out with out a wrench
Our boards came with 10" fins which are fine, but not for shallow water.
I changed them out to 7" which was the smallest I could find on line.
Then I cut the 10" ones down to 5" and now we can paddle in a inch of water if we move forward on the board, and still have not noticed any difference on turning.
We can also paddle right up to the shore and step off onto the sand.
On a Demo day, I tried a 14 foot long racing board and liked the speed I could get out of it but as much as I now lust for one will never get one since we primarily just enjoy the nature watching and exercise.
Ours are now resting for the summer down in the Florida Keys, but I keep watching on Craigs list for a couple to use here on some of the local NC lakes and rivers.
Thanks for that info Jack.
I’m well within the published limit of 250lbs for this board, but sure seemed squirrelly. From what I’ve read, having a fin or fins should do a lot to calm the board down and seem more stable.
My available cash is really low, and used SUPs are very rare around here, I was surprised when this entire set popped up for less than I’ve paid for some of my carbon paddles.
Speaking of paddles., I’m not satisfied with either of the SUP paddles that have, so I’ll be on the search for a full carbon adjustable paddle, if I decide to pursue this sport.
I suspect that you’re right about a 12’ to 14’ being a better size for me. I prefer my solo canoes and kayaks in the 13’ to 15’ range…
I need to try this board with a fin before completely giving up on it.
Tonight I’ll go out in my familiar and trusted Curtis Lady Bug solo canoe and cover much more water than I did last night on my knees on the SUP.
@Yanoer said:
Thanks for that info Jack.I’m well within the published limit of 250lbs for this board, but sure seemed squirrelly. From what I’ve read, having a fin or fins should do a lot to calm the board down and seem more stable.
My available cash is really low, and used SUPs are very rare around here, I was surprised when this entire set popped up for less than I’ve paid for some of my carbon paddles.
Speaking of paddles., I’m not satisfied with either of the SUP paddles that have, so I’ll be on the search for a full carbon adjustable paddle, if I decide to pursue this sport.
I suspect that you’re right about a 12’ to 14’ being a better size for me. I prefer my solo canoes and kayaks in the 13’ to 15’ range…
I need to try this board with a fin before completely giving up on it.
Tonight I’ll go out in my familiar and trusted Curtis Lady Bug solo canoe and cover much more water than I did last night on my knees on the SUP.
Two Points:
Thanks for the additional info, Jack.
I’ll be on the lookout for someone with a longer board to trade with, or I’ll just sell it outright and use the cash to buy another.
What paddles do you and Nancy prefer? I’m really not impressed with either the paddle that came with the board or with the Aquabound that I bought on steep discount last fall.
I honestly don’t know the names of them. They are a thousand miles from where we are right now. Each of ours is a different brand
Like yourself we didn’t like the paddles we started with and bought much lighter higher end ones (naturally more money too), but we can paddle with them all day long and never tire.
The SUP board you bought at 10’ and 32 inches is listed at 225 L volume. At 5’6 and 165 lbs it should be very stable. As a point of reference I paddle a 9’ board with 120 L volume and I weigh 185 lbs. My younger friends paddle much lower volume boards. Your board has well over 100 L more volume than you need for for stability. It’s an aircraft carrier. Your problem is you don’t know how to stand up and paddle it yet. The fins don’t give you any stability whatsoever. It’s advertised as a beginner nose rider surf board, all-around, so it’s not going to be fast to paddle like a 12 or 14 ft board. Before you get rid of it I would suggest you watch some videos on how to stand up, and how to use the paddle for bracing and get some experience paddling it. I don’t know if you live on a coast but if you are just going to putz around on lakes and rivers it should be fine. Fine to learn how to surf. I’m a little eccentric but I paddle my 9’ surf SUP board on long distance paddles for exercise. You can see the kind of fins your board takes on their website, and you could easily buy some plastic fins on amazon for about $30 and have them in a day or two. If you are going to surf, use the potentially better fins that came with it when they ship them back.
https://kenalu.com/pages/choose-your-paddle
The smaller Mana would be a great first paddle. But you can switch out blades on their setups.
Thanks for the suggestions SeaDart and Johnnysmoke.
I’ll give it another try when it warms back up and I find cleaner water to fall in.
Around here, falling in the water could result in banging my head on a rock or log or getting stuck in the mud. It’s much wiser not to fall in the water.
It’s a much shorter distance to fall out of a canoe or kayak.
I’m in central IL and will likely only paddle it on very small lakes.
Those paddles are a bit out of my price range for a year or two, unless I find a used deal.
The manufacturer said not to leave it on the vehicle in full sun very long or it might induce delamination of the board because of the foam core expansion. This is a care requirement that may result in me getting a different type of construction, since I usually paddle my solo canoes and kayaks after work after they have been on my car roof all day in full sun. I don’t want to have to baby my gear that much. I did get a board bag/cover with it, but bags are a pain and flap around if on during transport and interfere with security measures.
If you’re shopping for a paddle, I’d recommend a smaller blade size, and something adjustable, so you can begin to dial in the length that works best for you.
Yeah, I prefer my ZRE canoe paddles 8.25” or narrower and use an Epic Relaxed Tour kayak paddle, so I speculated that I’d also prefer a smaller bladed SUP paddle, as well.