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recommend board for Kanaha

 
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slambo



Joined: 06 Jul 1992
Posts: 92

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:41 am    Post subject: recommend board for Kanaha Reply with quote

Aloha, just moved to Maui and sailing Kanaha last few sessions were pretty windy and bumpy. My rental starboard kode pretty bumpy. I noticed lots of folks on goyas, thommens, & some local shapped boards. I know everyone has their favorites but any recommendations for a good stick for kanaha? My knees are feeling it. I won't be racing just freeriding and looking forward to learn some wave sailing.

Thanks!
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pbiltoft



Joined: 07 May 2008
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Welcome to Maui! I am also relatively new to sailing Kanaha Uppers (6 months). My friend in the Gorge also had a Kode which I found to have a harsh ride tough on the knees. I have been sailing an 85L RRD FreestyleWave at Kanaha and really like the ride. I also have demoed the Goya One which is another good choice. My most recent addition is a vintage Quatro wave board which works well with 4.2 m sails and smaller. I plan to be at Uppers today; if we can arrange to meet I would be pleased to discuss gear with you in more detail.
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beallmd



Joined: 10 May 1998
Posts: 1154

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would take a little different tack here. Maui has medium to high wind (Especially at Kihei where it cranks) and open ocean swell if you go out and even on many windy days inside the impact zone. For this you need the right kind of board rather than a brand of board. The most obvious type would be a freestyle wave in the right size for your weight. As you get better and especially in waves you will need a pretty small sinker wave board. None of the big shots are out at Hookipa on a 100 liter freestyle wave, they are all out on sinker wave boards to have the manueveribilty etc. They also can gybe them in overhead outside swell and short board tack in very light wind inside on a total sinker. I was a ski bum way back and the skis I started on were totally different than what I ended up on. Then I raced for a number of years on completely different skis and now mostly just use powder boards only. You may end up doing a lot of freestyle, or race and all the boards, fins and even sails (compared to racing) are different. Should be a great adventure, I so envy you, if only I could...
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dllee



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

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can stand up for Starboard, or any other company.
Kode IS a FSW, and should be ridden just about 10 liters of float more than your weight. Some guys go their weight, since you have salt water and no wetsuit. Kode is as smooth as any board, being panel V bottom.
Go smaller. At my 150 lbs., average Kode or any FSW is about 75 liters, NO MORE.
So at 90 kilos of weight, you should use a 100 liter FSW, if you're a shortboard beginner out there. An expert would use slightly LESS than your weight.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd make a deal with the rental shops and dealers to try out many prospective boards before choosing one. That's a major PITA in the Gorge, where the wind is much less consistent and moves around, but on Maui you could probably test ride many boards in a few summer days. If you're accustomed to the appropriate volumes, you can tell pretty quickly how each board rides, carves, jibes, handles too much and not enough power, planes up, etc. Some boards will impress or disappoint you quickly, helping you narrow your options in just a few reaches. $100 spent doing that sounds like a good deal when considering a $2,000 purchase related to your whole purpose for moving there.

Mike \m/
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jeff_bennett64



Joined: 13 Jul 2000
Posts: 74
Location: Maui

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gotta agree with isobars here: try before you buy.

Most shops will apply at least some amount of your demo/rental fees to your board purchase. You can demo Quatro & Goya free from the FWD shop in Haiku. You can demo Thommens free from me or Peter Thommen. If you see a board for sale on the fence, the owner is often willing to let you try it to see if it suits you.

Having the right volume for the conditions is key too. A smaller board, or even a smaller fin on the same board, can help tame the chop.

Karen Bennett
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MauiMakani



Joined: 07 Aug 1995
Posts: 28

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would definitely take Karen up on her offer to try a Thommen, or better yet, hook up with Peter Thommen himself in the uppers parking lot, and talk to the master. He should have some boards for you to try.
Having sailed Kanaha for about 160 days a year for the past 25 years, I would agree that short wide boards like the Kode are a very rough ride there. Personally I prefer longer narrower outlines like the Thommens, and previous magazine reviews have commented on the fact that Peter's boards were designed at Kanaha, and have a fast smooth ride there.
Assuming that you are an averaged sized guy, I have found that a board somewhere around the mid 80s will give you the most versatility for the 4.0 to 5.7 conditions that are most common. That size is big enough to do some basic freestyle, but still small enough to be fun in the waves.
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slambo



Joined: 06 Jul 1992
Posts: 92

PostPosted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks everyone & the nice offers. I am in Oahu this weekend but Eddie @ Kailua let me sail his rig yesterday and that was nice. Lite wind though c/w Maui. I would like to try some boards but def go w/ local knowledge. I am aro 90Kg and tend to sail ovrpwd back home but so far going smaller is better.

I do have a job which is good but I hope I can get out some weekdays afternoon and weekends.

Aloha!
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