2015 Starboard 9' 'Nut'

The 9' Nut has been my main board for the last 6 weeks and so far I have had over 15 surfs on this board .
The Surf has not been that great yet I have ridden this board in varying conditions from 2' to 4' on beach breaks and reef breaks, I generally only surf in off-shore conditions.
The board is 132 litres and has a narrower nose pod than the 9'5 Nut which is 140 litres in volume.
As I am pushing 80 kgs and have had a fair number of surfs on both of these boards the 9' Nut is definitely my preferred board of the two. The 9'5 Nut will suit heavier riders in the 90-95 kg's plus weight range.
Yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to surf Bells Bowl with not that many crew out considering it was the first morning post the Bells WSL comp.
Conditions were very clean with a barely existent side shore, 3'+ of swell on an outgoing tide and amazingly only a handful of crew out at the bowl at 7 am. It would not have excited me that much as a prone paddling surfer yet excited the hell out of me as a SUP surfer.
I have previously lived in Torquay and surfed Bells and Winky well into the triple digits as a prone paddling surfer.
There is often lots of people watching at Bells and when you are the only SUP rider this can create a pre first wave anxiety that many of you may relate to.
As the set waves were breaking faster with better form than my usual East Coast haunts I also questioned my equipment choice heightening my pre first wave anxiety.
My first wave felt unreal, a true bowl wave, the Nut surfs so well off the tail and my concerns of the nose width alongside the silly Bells anxiety vanished immediately after my first take off. With each consecutive wave my lines felt akin to lines I would take on my short board at this wave with adjusted SUP top turns and a more aggressive bottom turn to get the SUP back in front of the pocket.
The Nut has a subtle swing weight from the nose pod that seems to assist rail change fluidity and the building of momentum.
These two attributes seem to be heightened with the side cut rail design, trying to explain the feeling of speed generating with this board is difficult. If you have ever watched a plastic snake skate board generate speed from a stationary position, almost describes this whilst also sounding quite ridiculous.
This board really needs to be demo-ed in at least 3' surf to feel the potential or ability of this design.
Its is a strange sensation to surf a board that feels big until you are flying down the line, riding off the tail feeling like you are on a much shorter board. Obviously the main intention of this design.
Drawn-out carve lines work well at Bells and this board is great at these.
If I was at a shallow, down the line reef break or sandbar point this is not my board of choice.
As the waves at my home breaks are ground swell driven, deep water beach breaks and generally quite fat,'The Nut' is a perfect board for these conditions.
I believe this design is a great alternative board choice for SUP riders that may struggle on the sub 8'6 low volume boards or for when conditions are not good enough for your good wave board.
Attached is a post surf pic from yesterday at the 'Bowl'.
Happy board riding what ever your surf craft.
Jack

Thanks for the report (missed it when you first posted).

+1 for your wife!

Hi Kami

Yes the board generates speed well.
I never look at my feet positioning whilst surfing however looking again at this pic. just now my front foot is positioned a few inches back from the narrowest part of the board so technically I am only surfing the lower half of the board being true to the theory of this design.

Happy board riding whatever your surf craft

Regards
Jack

Hi Sollies
The 9'5 nut nose rides really well.
I nose ride the 9'5 on the smaller waste high sections at my local reef break.
It feels like these small fast sections would be very difficult to generate speed on and make if I was on a shorter board.
The 9' Nut nose section is a lot smaller and does not nose ride as well as the 9'5.
The 9' nut has recently been out on loan, revisiting the 9'5 last week I was stoked on how well it rode and really noticed the difference on the two sizes.
Before last week the 9'5 was destined for demo's only, now it is my preferred nut for smaller conditions due to the nose ride ability and ease of catching waves.
I rode the 9'5 three times last week and was more stoked on the board after each surf which surprised me as I had previously deemed the board as too big for my size and frame after riding the 9'.
Happy board riding

Jack