Having dabbled in the small sup world (well small for me) for a short period and then retreating the relative safety of volume I have noticed a few things that may have led to my departure - aside from my ability and patience - nose templates and width forward of centre.
The small SUP I had was a thing of beauty IMO - Carbon 8'6 x 29.75(114) and I am between 85-87kg's, on the face of the wave was simply the best board I had surfed but I struggled in less then ideal conditions forcing me back to a bigger board. Found it really twitchy and tippy, at the time I never considered the nose to be on the lighter/pointier side but since seeing other SUP's in the same size with a bit more volume have noticed the nose shapes are a little more generous.
Have the guys in my weight category on similar size boards found this to be true in regards to the nose shape and a bit more volume through the forward of centre making life a lot easier?
Select to expand quoteSouwester said..
Having dabbled in the small sup world (well small for me) for a short period and then retreating the relative safety of volume I have noticed a few things that may have led to my departure - aside from my ability and patience - nose templates and width forward of centre.
The small SUP I had was a thing of beauty IMO - Carbon 8'6 x 29.75(114) and I am between 85-87kg's, on the face of the wave was simply the best board I had surfed but I struggled in less then ideal conditions forcing me back to a bigger board. Found it really twitchy and tippy, at the time I never considered the nose to be on the lighter/pointier side but since seeing other SUP's in the same size with a bit more volume have noticed the nose shapes are a little more generous.
Have the guys in my weight category on similar size boards found this to be true in regards to the nose shape and a bit more volume through the forward of centre making life a lot easier?
Like squaring the circle....getting the maximum width where your weight stands when paddling and getting the max-width pull back from the centre to get the board loose and fun to ride but tippy to stand on are the meanest choices while designing SUPboard.
As it's more efficient to paddle from the front part of the board, shaper or designer pull the max-width forward to find some more area nose and therefore the volume, as you notice it.
So keep your board, don't give up to improve your paddling ability
Put it this way, I have a 7'2 x 28 x 105 hypernut and also a 8'3 x 28.5 x 105l jimmy lewis suoertech and was gobsmacked to find them both around the same stability (possibly better in the hypernut). wide nose, wide tail, makes a massive difference
Select to expand quoteKami said..Souwester said..
Having dabbled in the small sup world (well small for me) for a short period and then retreating the relative safety of volume I have noticed a few things that may have led to my departure - aside from my ability and patience - nose templates and width forward of centre.
The small SUP I had was a thing of beauty IMO - Carbon 8'6 x 29.75(114) and I am between 85-87kg's, on the face of the wave was simply the best board I had surfed but I struggled in less then ideal conditions forcing me back to a bigger board. Found it really twitchy and tippy, at the time I never considered the nose to be on the lighter/pointier side but since seeing other SUP's in the same size with a bit more volume have noticed the nose shapes are a little more generous.
Have the guys in my weight category on similar size boards found this to be true in regards to the nose shape and a bit more volume through the forward of centre making life a lot easier?
Like squaring the circle....getting the maximum width where your weight stands when paddling and getting the max-width pull back from the centre to get the board loose and fun to ride but tippy to stand on are the meanest choices while designing SUPboard.
As it's more efficient to paddle from the front part of the board, shaper or designer pull the max-width forward to find some more area nose and therefore the volume, as you notice it.
So keep your board, don't give up to improve your paddling ability
Too late!!
in saying that I have no regrets, I got a great trade in with same brand and love the new board as it is just more user friendly for me.
I just realized that the board was just too much of a step down for me and now I am seeing there is light at the end of the tunnel with smaller board if/when I decide to expand the quiver (currently only have the capacity for one board) I will not be shy of going smaller will just keep an eye on the nose area and a few of the design tweaks.
Select to expand quoteSouwester said..Kami said..Souwester said..
Having dabbled in the small sup world (well small for me) for a short period and then retreating the relative safety of volume I have noticed a few things that may have led to my departure - aside from my ability and patience - nose templates and width forward of centre.
The small SUP I had was a thing of beauty IMO - Carbon 8'6 x 29.75(114) and I am between 85-87kg's, on the face of the wave was simply the best board I had surfed but I struggled in less then ideal conditions forcing me back to a bigger board. Found it really twitchy and tippy, at the time I never considered the nose to be on the lighter/pointier side but since seeing other SUP's in the same size with a bit more volume have noticed the nose shapes are a little more generous.
Have the guys in my weight category on similar size boards found this to be true in regards to the nose shape and a bit more volume through the forward of centre making life a lot easier?
Like squaring the circle....getting the maximum width where your weight stands when paddling and getting the max-width pull back from the centre to get the board loose and fun to ride but tippy to stand on are the meanest choices while designing SUPboard.
As it's more efficient to paddle from the front part of the board, shaper or designer pull the max-width forward to find some more area nose and therefore the volume, as you notice it.
So keep your board, don't give up to improve your paddling ability
Too late!!
in saying that I have no regrets, I got a great trade in with same brand and love the new board as it is just more user friendly for me.
I just realized that the board was just too much of a step down for me and now I am seeing there is light at the end of the tunnel with smaller board if/when I decide to expand the quiver (currently only have the capacity for one board) I will not be shy of going smaller will just keep an eye on the nose area and a few of the design tweaks.
You are right, Sup life has been created to be easy 
