Things are going soooo fast with SUP design!! Very fun stuff going on… Here’s a few more things were doing…
Dave Parmenter shaped SUP 10’-6" gun for medium to large waves… Dave originally shaped this board for me then Brian Keaulana was looking for one so I made sure he got this beautiful wood veneer model… I had a hard time giving it up!!! But I know Brian will be put to good use…
Jamie Sterling and one of my quicky 10’ Prototypes… His custom board is still getting done so this is a board to use till its finished… Jamie is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He’s the son of the late Ronnie Burns. Charging Pipe is in his blood because this guy has so many giant barrels under his belt and he loves SUP surfing… It was neat being there the first time he ever did it and watching him progress rapidly… I’m stoked he surfs with us!
My 2 newest creations. I’m so stoked with these and they are the next wave of boards for SUP surfing meant to rip, tear and lacerate! While most everyone else is trying to fine tune 11 and 12 footers we’re trying to see just how radical we can get… The goal of these boards is to be able to pump hard down the line and go straight up and blast, carve big full rail turns, manuever in the barrel, take off later etc, etc, etc… The number one thing they had to do first was paddle good… They do that so now its time to go surf!!! Ahwooooooooo!!! C’mon waves!!!
Nice boards! I saw the old zebra prototype at Ali’i Beach today. I met Big Daddy “T”, Denise and the eight and a half kids. Super nice surfing family. They told me about the 11’ Munoz you gave them for their anniversary and how surprised Big Daddy T was. I told them that was Blane’s typical generosity and his style of living and surfing with aloha. Not only do you build great SUP boards but you are making a very positive difference on this planet.
Sweet boards! Don’t wanna echo Chipper…but…how about just the thickness & center width? I can probably guesstimate the rest from there
Dropped in on Steve Boehne (Infinity) a couple days ago in Dana Pt., he’s doing a whole lot of this stuff. Showed me some of his templates & we talked shaping big boards for an hour or so. Super nice guy…he’s also shaping a lot of tandems, paddleboards (hands) and surf skis (buttboards/goatboats)…his regular longboards aren’t unusual when they’re 3.75-4" thick, so I guess he knows his stuff when it comes to making the blocky shapes work.
CN, anyone over there an Infinity fan? I know some south shore guys love the 10’6" v-clusters and keep 'em in the lockers at Koa…I bet a 150# guy could use one of those boards for SUP… Don’t wanna talk up a competitor, if you’re not into it, please say so. But I think you guys are each on the cutting edge & might want to compare notes at some point. Steve’s very approachable…
Not at all! Steve Boehne is a master of large boards in my eyes… There are a lot of Infinity boards in Hawaii… I totally respect him… My new boards are under 27" wide at the center. I like 4" thick for my weight on 10 footers. My 9-6 is 4-1/8" thick. The rocker and foil is were things get more detailed… Hard to explain all of it but everything blends together to paddle well and surf well… The natural progression of boards from 6 months ago till now are yielding shapes we never thought possible which means we’ll be surfing SUP boards like we never thought possible… Well, to be honest… I knew it was possible but just didn’t know how yet! Hahaha!!! I heard Pancho Sullivan is now getting into it. If he gets really into progressive shapes can you imagine how hard he will turn them leaning on the paddle? I shudder to think what he could do to the whole upper section of a wave!!
A friend of mine has had a number of Dave’s boards and I can say from personal observation that DP is no slouch at blending “outside the box” dimensions into very attractive foils.
…seeing these latest boards , especially the 9’6 one , and reading that Pancho Sullivan is getting into it now ,
makes me wonder …
how small and narrow and gunny of a ’ SUP’ board will it go to soon , I wonder ?
and would a slightly wider , squashtail design be more favoured for manouevres in the pocket one day , do you think ?
What would be say the minimal length widths and thicknesses for say someone of pancho’s size ?
and will rocker and foils change when people start ?perhaps? getting more vertical on these designs ?
[gads I can’t picture where it all could go !! …Will we within a year be seeing Peter Townend 'Big Wednesday ‘-style layback snaps at , say , Sunset , on a 9’ SUP ? airs ? tailslides to reverses ? long , long floaters ? fin first SUP takeoffs ? tandem ?]
Nice boards! I saw the old zebra prototype at Ali’i Beach today. I met Big Daddy “T”, Denise and the eight and a half kids. Super nice surfing family. They told me about the 11’ Munoz you gave them for their anniversary and how surprised Big Daddy T was. I told them that was Blane’s typical generosity and his style of living and surfing with aloha. Not only do you build great SUP boards but you are making a very positive difference on this planet.
Keep up the good work and God bless you.
Mahalo,
D
Thanks Uncle D! That was very kind of you to write this. When I first bought my house, Terrence lived next door. I was completely renovating the place and Terrence insisted on doing the entire electrical and bringing it up to code… I bought all the wires, fixtures etc but Terrence wouldn’t take any money for the labor. When they built their house, I was working at a lumber company so I made sure they saved plenty on material etc… This was a few years ago…
Lately, Terrence wanted a board badly to get back surfing after a 15 year lay off, but because he has 10-1/2 mouths to feed he can’t be plopping down money on toys… His wife came to me wanting to buy a board for their anniversary as a surprise to him… There was no way I would have them BUY a board! My red 11’ Munoz was perfect!!! It is in great shape, great floatation for him and he liked red… They polished it up and put on all the kids names and the Big Daddy T stickers.
One day right before their anniversary I threw it in my van and drove up to their house while they were stalling him before work. He was checking out my van and I opened the back door and the board was laying deck down so he couldn’t see the stickers. It was all planned so his daughter was hiding with the video camera and the rest of the family were outside with us. As soon as he saw the board he forgot about the van and started talking about how much he wanted to go back surfing again… He was saying how nice that red board looks… I told him pick it up and see how light they are nowadays… He pulled it out and was holding it then flipped it over drooling over it the whole time… At first he didn’t notice what the stickers said then eventually while we were all starting to giggle he read them… He just starred at it for a moment trying to figure out why would I have his kids names and his nickname on my board!! Hahahahaha!!! When he figured it out, his jaw dropped and he was speechless!! It was a very cool moment! One of the coolest of my life! The look of pure stoke was PRICELESS!!! We all started laughing and hooting it up!! He was STOKED!!! Anyway, that’s the story behind the Big Daddy T board… Aloha
how small and narrow and gunny of a ’ SUP’ board will it go to soon , I wonder ?
Howzit Chipster!
I think 25" is the minimum for a lightweight person but when it gets bumpy paddling is going to be rough so 26+ will be the norm… As far as gunny, I just made one for a guy that is 10-4", 27" wide, 14-1/2" tail and 15" nose. That’s pretty gunny for a SUP board. It all depends how good of a paddler with balance a person is. I feel the overall foil, thickness distribution, rocker etc can make thinner boards paddle good to… That is the beauty of the APS3000. You can easily monitor foam volume and view things so you can adjust in large or tiny increments…
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and would a slightly wider , squashtail design be more favoured for manouevres in the pocket one day , do you think ?
In small waves yes. These tails are under 17" because the waves are getting a lot jucier around this time of year… Next summer I’m going back to wider tails for town surf…
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What would be say the minimal length widths and thicknesses for say someone of pancho’s size ?
I’m not making Pancho’s boards but if I were, I’d start him off around 4-1/8" thick and a 10-6" at 27 wide till he got the hang of it. If he had it wired I think a 9-6 to 9-2 would be minimal… Anything smaller than that then the paddling speed gets affected to much and you lose glide to get into waves… But he will rip like crazy on a 9-6 for sure!! Jeff Bushman will be doing his boards…
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will rocker and foils change when people start ?perhaps? getting more vertical on these designs ?
Its gonna start with these 2 new boards I just made! Hahahaha!!! Rob Machado will be here in a few days and he’s bringing his quiver including stand up… Were going to be hooking up to do some sessions and progress even more… Should be fun…
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airs ? tailslides to reverses ? long , long floaters ? fin first SUP takeoffs ? tandem ?]
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! No to Tandem for me anyway… Hahahahahaha!!! Its all heading to mind blowing sh*t!!! Well, the suns coming up and I got 2 new boards burning a hole in my pocket! Too bad the waves are tiny… Oh well, I’m going to go paddle them around…
What kind of glass are you using and how much are you putting on? How dense is your foam?
Mahalo
1 lb foam with 6-6-4 + patch top and 6 bottoms… Still light and strong… Double up the bottom if you want bullet proof…
I rode the 9-6 this morning in tiny to small waves and it rips!!! The most surprising thing is how stable it is and it paddles very fast… It also pokes thru the whitewater better because there is less nose to catch… Sooo easy to turn on rail… I can’t wait for bigger waves to try it on… I’m very stoked with the way it feels…
Is the sole reason for using an oar so that you can get into waves earlier ?
I so, then going shorter would reduce that advantage due to a lower paddle speed wouldn’t it ?
Also, surely if you want to do shortboard moves then it would be better to use a thinner board which prone paddles? . . …thick boards are harder to control !
I know that you have told me not to appear on your threads but these are genuine questions and I assume that you have the answers. . .
By the way can you tell us how fast those boards paddle, compared with prone paddled longboards, or in mph ?( I want to compare the paddle speed of a short SUP with the paddle speed of my prone paddled 17 footer, to get an idea of what you are doing on the wave catching front )
First off, the only reason I’ll reply to this is this looks like genuine curiosity and legitimate questions without underlying BS to prove who’s better than who… I commend you for a genuine post knowing our history…
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Is the sole reason for using an oar so that you can get into waves earlier ?
Actually the ability to stand while paddling is the true allure of it all. Being able to get a great workout, see all the sea creatures while you paddle, see farther out to sea etc… Its pretty cool being 3’ higher up and that little bit makes a huge sight vantage… Catching waves earlier is a true benefit but the whole experience is addicting… I don’t arm paddle anymore because I’m totally addicted to SUP surfing. I like the range of surfing it opens up… I like to paddle and surf up and down the coast getting waves back and forth… A typical surf could cover 5 or 6 different spots that are spread out over a mile… Very fun…
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I so, then going shorter would reduce that advantage due to a lower paddle speed wouldn’t it ?
The kicker for me is I really like to surf with a lot of tight shortboard type turns and carves… When the waves get big and hollow I like to take of when its really steep if needed and ride in the tube etc… The bigger boards that have incredible glide and paddle speed to get in super early just don’t appeal to me once into the wave. In a quest for a board that can rip I went as far down as 8’-8" and yes, that board paddled to slower AND it wandered around to much while paddling… I found out that for my personal use the 9’-4" to 9’-6" lengths work well… Decent paddle speed and good surfability… I prefer 10’ boards for bigger surf that is jacking and thick…
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Also, surely if you want to do shortboard moves then it would be better to use a thinner board which prone paddles? . . …thick boards are harder to control !
If I wanted to prone paddle I’d just jump on my shortboards. This would cut out all my long distance surfs up and down the coast and take away the whole fun part of standing and paddling… My wave count would go down etc and the trade off is not worth it just to hack the sh*t out of a lip. On a good day I’ve caught over 60 waves in a 3 hour session away from crowds while SUPing… Yes, thicker boards are so much harder to turn but, these boards turn enough to have a lot of fun. In fact, this last 9-6 turns pretty damn tight! I can’t wait to unleash it in real waves… The bottom line is, what is the thinnest, narrowest, shortest boards we can make that you can still stand and paddle on… For me at 175 lbs the numbers are around 9-6, 26 to 27" wide, 3-3/4 to 4-1/8" thick, with a variety of outlines, foils and rockers to suit the waves I like to surf… These boards willl NEVER surf as radical as a 6’-2" shortboard but we will get very radical never the less…
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By the way can you tell us how fast those boards paddle, compared with prone paddled longboards, or in mph ?( I want to compare the paddle speed of a short SUP with the paddle speed of my prone paddled 17 footer, to get an idea of what you are doing on the wave catching front )
I never actually measured speed as you know and I don’t care to. The only gauge is how fast compared to other surfers paddling… I think my 9-6 paddles at a casual pace around the same as a 12’ board arm paddler does at a brisk pace… So as I’m paddling out casually I slowly pull away from others because they cannot keep that pace over a long distance… If I stroke hard then I can pull away slowly from a full power paddling person… I’d say prone paddling a 17 footer should be faster… I mean, 17’ is the length of our open ocean distance paddlers here…
Anyway, I have to take my family to an outing… Talk later…
Roy- the most powerful paddling position is sitting. This is especially true when injuries to one’s lower back and shoulder joints from SUP are considered. Word to the wise
Roy- the most powerful paddling position is sitting. This is especially true when injuries to one’s lower back and shoulder joints from SUP are considered. Word to the wise
I used to paddle kayaks and one man canoes. My lower back AND shoulders used to hurt after paddling while sitting… Problem went away with stand up. Ended up selling my boats… You’re right about the power although I felt kneeling was even more powerful which never hurt my back… Take it from someone who has had many injuries including 2 back surgeries…
The current crop of record breaking paddleboard guys seem to favour knee paddling over prone-I’ve just blanked on the Aussie lifeguard guys name, but last few years he’s won the Catalina, the Moloka’i etc more often than not, and he’s known for knee paddling. Of course what those guys do is more endurance vs. speed and they have the benefit of racetracking open ocean swells on 19 foot boards, but they can thow down some acceleration when it counts. The stand up guys entered this years Moloka’i race too- I believe Dave Parmenter aquitted himself pretty well, and I know for sure he was (standup) paddling rings around me at Makaha last year!
Sitting would be better for getting through whitewater too wouldn’t it ?
I find that the less water hitting a smaller mass is a good thing when punching through surf. Everytime Im laying down stroking out I get hosed, but standing I cruise righ out. Its more fun over the biggggg ones too, sometimes you get thrown off the back… good times…
