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Need warmer water to learn SUP in the PacNW
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 10:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i gave several varieties of sit-in and sit-on kayaks a lot of thought a few years back. I've forgotten why I abandoned the idea, probably due to reported hassles with the wind, current, etc. I've heard they do exist on the Columbia, but the fact that I've never seen one there implies ... FWIW ... they may not be that practical there.
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beaglebuddy



Joined: 10 Feb 2012
Posts: 1120

PostPosted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Little people can just jump on a SUP and paddle away no problem first time, I'm 6'5" 220 lbs and it was a bit of a struggle, I had to be on perfectly flat water in the beginning but it's like riding a bike once you get it you never forget.
The boards are very sensitive to weight, my wife @120 lbs just stood up on the board and paddled away, the board was floating up on top of the water but when I try her board nearly the whole deck is underwater. They say women get it really quick because they don't fight it, they just go with it.
A lot of people complain of sore feet and arches when beginning so you may need to use some old tennis shoes.
You will discover that wind is not your friend on a SUP unless you are going straight downwind but then that's a one way trip and you'll need a ride back somehow.
Use a really long paddle, most people have it cut too short. You should be just able to curl your fingers over the top of the handle when it's standing upright next to you. A small paddle blade is also desirable unless you are Laird.
If you are going to surf it a footstrap on the back or more specifically a kiteboard heel strap makes a great handle as the boards are too big to duck dive under a wave, holding onto the leash is dangerous but the handle works perfectly. A SUP stretched out on the end of it's leash swinging wildly in the surf has taken out many a surfer.
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

beaglebuddy:

I'm 6'4" and 215, still no problem. My board (photo) is 11'9" x 32" + 196 liters. Hopping on your tiny wife's board was the problem. As I advised Isobars, 32" wide and 150+ liters.

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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

beaglebuddy wrote:
Little people can just jump on a SUP and paddle away no problem first time ...

The boards are very sensitive to weight ...

sore feet and arches when beginning so you may need to use some old tennis shoes ...

wind is not your friend on a SUP unless you are going straight downwind but then that's a one way trip and you'll need a ride back somehow ...

Use a really long paddle, most people have it cut too short. You should be just able to curl your fingers over the top of the handle when it's standing upright next to you. A small paddle blade is also desirable unless you are Laird ..

If you are going to surf it a footstrap on the back or more specifically a kiteboard heel strap makes a great handle as the boards are too big to duck dive under a wave, holding onto the leash is dangerous but the handle works perfectly.

Yeah, little people + big boards + balance = stability. I, OTOH, can't even walk in flat-bottomed, knee-deep, choppy water without falling over unless my eyes are locked on some fixed object, the nearer the better, for visual reference. One more reason I chose extra width over extra length, and I probably should have gone for the 155 liter version. This should be interesting.

I got feet, but not arches. Thanks for that tip; I'll put extra emphasis on the booties or even wear some wrestling shoes or minimalist running shoes. Since I'm not worried about leaving a foot in a strap, booties are fine.

Drifting (or rapidly disappearing) downwind will be a problem, maybe a showstopper, when seeking swell. There's virtually no current where I usually sail. OTOH, I can drive a bit further and find tons of current (Maryhill - Rufus). Stand up, you go east; sitting down, you go west. Maybe I could learn to hold one spot with judicious arm and body wind exposure. Can you say, "Jibe mark"?

HAH! Just had a thought: Paddle sitting down on the board if the water gets too rough or the wind too strong! I sometimes WS that way, and if it works for sit-on kayaks, maybe it would here. HEY! What if I flew a kite from this thing? I could call it a ... ummm ... I know ... a KITEBOARD!

Naaaah. Then I'd have to wear boardies over my wetsuit, and Lord knows how stupid THAT would look.

I'm a mesomorph like Laird, but he has 6 inches (IN HEIGHT!), 50 pounds, and 20 years (not to mention conditioning and skill) advantage on me. I've consulted many references including Laird's and bought a paddle. I went with a largish but slightly narrow blade (Werner Bent Fuse) so power/resistance varies more gradually with blade depth of each stroke.

About the handle ... my more immediate problem is how I'm going to carry this thing to the water even at my local spot with a sail attached, given no footstraps. That's going to take some experimentation. SeaLion sources recommend carrying everything on your head, but that has at least four strikes I can think of.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

spennie wrote:
I advised Isobars, 32" wide and 150+ liters.

i can only hope my bias towards WSability over SUPability didn't make me go too small at 135L/29.5" for 180#. At least the fish tail design and more parallel rails will add some roll stability over a normally shaped board of similar displacement and max width.

All the tradeoffs, both hypothetical and very real, help me appreciate even more the agony people go through picking and buying new (read:expensive) boards sight unseen by mail order from WSing wastelands.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hard to carry without footstraps, but you can grab the tail of the board, or the fin, or the leash, place the foot of the sail on your head, and lift the whole menagerie up and walk if the wind is not to gusty strong. It's a long reach back to the tail, but it's doable.
130 is going to be a challenge SUP for your size.
I finally went out on the JPYoungGun, but I only weigh 150, for a SUP session around 2 miles total, enough for my ankles to shake from the constant balancing.
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can sit & paddle, but personally I find that awkward. If you need to go upwind paddling try kneeling, move slightly forward so the nose isn't up in the wind, choke up (down) on your paddle and DIG! You can seriously haul ass this way. When paddle surfing, I use the kneeling position when I'm trying to scratch out between sets in a hurry. It's also very stable.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Strikes against head carries, for me, include balance, crumbling C6, sail damage, low hanging trees, and a lawn sometimes completely COVERED with kite and WSing gear. It would be a disaster. I'd just anchor the board in waist-deep water except that kids would be climbing all over it. My best options are ingenuity or two trips. I normally carry a rigged sail in one hand anyway; maybe I could carry the unhooked board in the other.

A couple of minutes on one foot on a BOSU, even hanging on to the wall, and my lower legs get weak and wobbly. I gotta ramp it up.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

spennie wrote:
You can sit & paddle, but personally I find that awkward. If you need to go upwind paddling try kneeling

I certainly plan to try that. That's one reason the surgeon used a hamstring graft rather than a patellar graft: I told him hell, yes, I might want to kneel again some day. Now I know why.

So many hopes, so much advice, so much to learn. May as well have switched to kiting.
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

N O O O O O O O O O O ! ! !
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