My version of the Franken-SUP

[Jim.od3]

I repurposed an old 12'/230 Liter Mistral Competition for use as a SUP over the weekend. Not much of a job. Just removed the footstraps, sanded off the non-skid, and glued on a deck traction pad from NSI. Still could be used as a windsurfer. So I guess it's a WindSUP.

I took it out last weekend at Viento. Went upwind to that Island that's about a half-mile West. Then rode it back downwind. I didn't use the centerboard because of all the weeds. I fell off a couple of times. It was a bit wobbly, as others had predicted. But this was my first time paddle boarding in choppy waters. All in all, I think it worked pretty well. I am working toward making the downwind run from Viento to HR.

-Jim

[biffmalibu]

I have an older version of the Competition, the one without the adjustable mast track. It works fine for SUP.

I want to read a report of a Viento downwinder via SUP with one of these:
http://www.inventist.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=9&Itemid=117

Northwave has a demo of rollup sail you can take out for free. I tried it and it works great for downwind or even across the wind. Not so sure about upwind. I like to sit on my board rather than stand, and it's nice to sit there and get pushed downwind. Wheeee!

[jksurf]

I think we are on the brink of some big innovations in the SUP world. I did my first downriver in Class 2-3 and had my a** handed to me. Now I'm thinking about how the board design could be improved. What about foot straps? A spring loaded retracting fin?