Select to expand quoteTheGoodDr said..
Art in Motion
Photo courtesy Dave Lane
Ya wouldn't want to be receiving the pointy end in your face eh! :-0
Cool pic Doc.
I don't think you should go too big on these things. My Minion is 7'4" x 27 1/2 103 litres. I am 75 kg or thereabouts. Due to being too busy at work lately, I have only had about 5 surfs on the board, in varying conditions and wave sizes - so am still becoming acquainted with it. I like it. But it does surf very differently to thrusters, which until now I have surfed my whole (long) life.
I'm heading over to the wilds of the Southern Eyre Peninsula for a week of surfing/camping before Chrissie, so hope to get the board dialled-in by then. I will do a report back, if people are still interested.
I am already thinking shorter and narrower. I may try to jump on Chris Clark's 7'0 x 26 91 litres board sometime and see how I go. I agree with the Good Dr that anything over about 7'8" to 7'10" is a lot of board on these shapes. You will be surprised at how (relatively) stable they are for the dimensions.
Select to expand quoteRosscoe said..
Cool pic Doc.
I don't think you should go too big on these things. My Minion is 7'4" x 27 1/2 103 litres. I am 75 kg or thereabouts. Due to being too busy at work lately, I have only had about 5 surfs on the board, in varying conditions and wave sizes - so am still becoming acquainted with it. I like it. But it does surf very differently to thrusters, which until now I have surfed my whole (long) life.
I'm heading over to the wilds of the Southern Eyre Peninsula for a week of surfing/camping before Chrissie, so hope to get the board dialled-in by then. I will do a report back, if people are still interested.
I am already thinking shorter and narrower. I may try to jump on Chris Clark's 7'0 x 26 91 litres board sometime and see how I go. I agree with the Good Dr that anything over about 7'8" to 7'10" is a lot of board on these shapes. You will be surprised at how (relatively) stable they are for the dimensions.
Rosscoe,
What was the motivation in going that "big" in the first place. I would have thought at your weight and obvious surfing experience that you would have gone
95 litres and under.
Ozzie
Select to expand quoteRosscoe said..
I don't think you should go too big on these things.
Yup. On all wide-tailed boards, you will tend to ride with the rear foot on the leash plug most of the time, and it will be difficult to maintain a natural "shortboard stance" with the front foot around the handle if the board is long.
For me a 8' Simmons seems huge (I am short), but a 8' "world cup" shape feels OK stance-wise.
Just got my hands on one of Simon's old boards, 7' and around 95 litres. The photo's really don't do these boards justice, they look so much better in the flesh. Can't wait to get it wet
Select to expand quoterobbo1111 said..
Just got my hands on one of Simon's old boards, 7' and around 95 litres. The photo's really don't do these boards justice, they look so much better in the flesh. Can't wait to get it wet
Good buy Robbo - that's a great board (and even better now that it has grip and not wax)...
Hey Guys here is a little video I took comparing my 8'3" X32 and my new minion 7'10" X 29. I will post more vids and comments after I have given it a thorough workout. But first impressions are WOW, WOW, WOW.
Paddles easy
Catches waves easy
And Freakin Flys on a wave!
Select to expand quotedjansen said..
Hey Guys here is a little video I took comparing my 8'3" X32 and my new minion 7'10" X 29. I will post more vids and comments after I have given it a thorough workout. But first impressions are WOW, WOW, WOW.
Paddles easy
Catches waves easy
And Freakin Flys on a wave!
enjoy
Love the Minion at the Alley. It has the speed for the sections and a brilliant nose-rider.
Spent a week there in winter......sup heaven.
Had a sneaky early session with guru shaper Simon, to ourselves. He carves On his mini-minion
Djansen... brilliant way to put the numbers in perspective.... thanks for that!!!
number like 27" wide don't ever enter my consideration.... but having been on an LE32 with comfort to spare... this comp makes the thought of 27" more tangible.
Select to expand quotedjansen said..
Hey Guys here is a little video I took comparing my 8'3" X32 and my new minion 7'10" X 29. I will post more vids and comments after I have given it a thorough workout. But first impressions are WOW, WOW, WOW.
Paddles easy
Catches waves easy
And Freakin Flys on a wave!
enjoy
Just out of interest, what does that minion weigh?
Hi guys
Would it be right to say the fins on the Minion are right out on the rail compared to other quad set ups? The back of the fin looks about an inch off the rail on both front and back fins.
Would make sense to loosen it up with a relatively wide tail - does it make it surf more skatey?
website
In terms of choice what are you guys choosing with respect to LWCI- Lightweight Carbon Innegra or VBSC- Vacuum Bagged Sandwich Construction? The latter is heavier than the former according to data from the Minion site.
Cheers Ozzie
website
Ghost4Man
Vacuum Bagged Sandwich Construction for me. I am hard on decks and it is very strong, not showing any harm after months. The Minions are already small and light so I am happy to take the weight. Also not particularly keen on overly light boards anyway.
Carbon innegra for me.. I love lighter boards.
They noseride ok, but not enough length to really sit up on the nose properly, not enough oars on the wave to hang on. You can nose ride them, but it's not quite the same as a longer board.
djansen - Hey thanks for taking the time to shoot and post the video. Very cool to see the comparison. 
It looks like those Minions have a lot of tail rocker, eh?
What are the bottom contours like on the Minion going from nose to tail? I don't see a bevel at the rail like most of the smaller sups. Does it have bevels?
haven't really noticed the bevels been way to busy surfing it will check it out and get n get back to you
Anyone who knows these boards well, care to suggest a size for me?
66 yo, 100 kg + wetsuit, Surfing nasty cold New England winters with lots of wind, bounce and size.
I can handle myself in surf, but I am not looking to cat balance for long sessions, I have more struggles than you 40 year olds
I am very comfortable on 8'10 x 31 @145L... in a fuller shape like an Allwave... pointier shapes, I need longer or wider
I'd like to go narrower for surfability and think this shape may help me... but unsure what numbers I should be looking at.
I don't need short as much as narrower.
Does 8'8 x 29 @ 135 make sense?.... thoughts?
Select to expand quotesupthecreek said..
Anyone who knows these boards well, care to suggest a size for me?
66 yo, 100 kg + wetsuit, Surfing nasty cold New England winters with lots of wind, bounce and size.
I can handle myself in surf, but I am not looking to cat balance for long sessions, I have more struggles than you 40 year olds
I am very comfortable on 8'10 x 31 @145L... in a fuller shape like an Allwave... pointier shapes, I need longer or wider
I'd like to go narrower for surfability and think this shape may help me... but unsure what numbers I should be looking at.
I don't need short as much as narrower.
Does 8'8 x 29 @ 135 make sense?.... thoughts?
A Minion for you would be approx 7'8 x 29 @135L rather than 8'8. The thing about the Minion is that you need to forget about 'I need longer or wider' conventional thinking of length v width. Volume distribution is still important but you can ride at least 1' shorter and 1" narrower than your normal board and still have reasonable stability and volume.
Select to expand quoteStev0 said..supthecreek said..
Anyone who knows these boards well, care to suggest a size for me?
66 yo, 100 kg + wetsuit, Surfing nasty cold New England winters with lots of wind, bounce and size.
I can handle myself in surf, but I am not looking to cat balance for long sessions, I have more struggles than you 40 year olds
I am very comfortable on 8'10 x 31 @145L... in a fuller shape like an Allwave... pointier shapes, I need longer or wider
I'd like to go narrower for surfability and think this shape may help me... but unsure what numbers I should be looking at.
I don't need short as much as narrower.
Does 8'8 x 29 @ 135 make sense?.... thoughts?
A Minion for you would be approx 7'8 x 29 @135L rather than 8'8. The thing about the Minion is that you need to forget about 'I need longer or wider' conventional thinking of length v width. Volume distribution is still important but you can ride at least 1' shorter and 1" narrower than your normal board and still have reasonable stability and volume.
Supthecreek, I would recommend a 7'10" x 29 x 4 3/8" @ 119 litres.
I ride 7'8" x 28 1/4" x 4 1/4" @ 115 litres and I am 92 kg, and just a bit younger than yourself. I have ridden the 7'10" and found it significantly more stable than my board with not much loss in maneouvreability. You would be very surprised at how stable they are.
I differ a bit from StevO regarding volume........I believe that with these smaller, narrower boards you gain stability from having your feet level with the waterline, effectively most of the board submerged. At 135 litres I feel this effect would be lost and the board would be corkier and tippier because of the extra float. IMO
Thanks for the replies, I figured I was aiming too long, but it's hard to compute without being able to demo one.
Anyone got a vid of a big ol' boy riding one? 
Select to expand quotesupthecreek said..
Thanks for the replies, I figured I was aiming too long, but it's hard to compute without being able to demo one.
Anyone got a vid of a big ol' boy riding one?
Check this one out at 3:30, a big boy ripping on his 7'8". He's around 105kg
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/SA-SUP-Surf-Championships-2014-2/?SearchTerms=SA
Select to expand quoteTheGoodDr said..
I differ a bit from StevO regarding volume........I believe that with these smaller, narrower boards you gain stability from having your feet level with the waterline, effectively most of the board submerged. At 135 litres I feel this effect would be lost and the board would be corkier and tippier because of the extra float. IMO
I agree with you but what I was trying to say was that the volume of a 104L Minion is about the same as a conventional SUP i.e my Fanatic 8'5 ProWave @109L 'feels' about the same as my 7'4 Minion @104L in terms of displacement @ 85kg. As I have chopped down boards in length and volume I also think boards that sit at the waterline seem to be less corky as chop washes over the deck and they are less inclined to need that 'secondary stability'. In fact when it is glassy I find them tippier for some weird reason!?
Select to expand quoteStev0 said..TheGoodDr said..
I differ a bit from StevO regarding volume........I believe that with these smaller, narrower boards you gain stability from having your feet level with the waterline, effectively most of the board submerged. At 135 litres I feel this effect would be lost and the board would be corkier and tippier because of the extra float. IMO
I agree with you but what I was trying to say was that the volume of a 104L Minion is about the same as a conventional SUP i.e my Fanatic 8'5 ProWave @109L 'feels' about the same as my 7'4 Minion @104L in terms of displacement @ 85kg. As I have chopped down boards in length and volume I also think boards that sit at the waterline seem to be less corky as chop washes over the deck and they are less inclined to need that 'secondary stability'. In fact when it is glassy I find them tippier for some weird reason!?
Yep, with you there.....prefer a little wind chop regarding stability
Select to expand quoteStev0 said..TheGoodDr said..
I differ a bit from StevO regarding volume........I believe that with these smaller, narrower boards you gain stability from having your feet level with the waterline, effectively most of the board submerged. At 135 litres I feel this effect would be lost and the board would be corkier and tippier because of the extra float. IMO
I agree with you but what I was trying to say was that the volume of a 104L Minion is about the same as a conventional SUP i.e my Fanatic 8'5 ProWave @109L 'feels' about the same as my 7'4 Minion @104L in terms of displacement @ 85kg. As I have chopped down boards in length and volume I also think boards that sit at the waterline seem to be less corky as chop washes over the deck and they are less inclined to need that 'secondary stability'. In fact when it is glassy I find them tippier for some weird reason!?
Thats actually a given. If you get a 104L Minion and a 104L traditional style board then the water displacement has to be the same. It has nothing to do with distribution or anything like that but an oft forgotten about law which we all rely upon and that is Archimedes Law of buoyancy. In order for the Minion to be this short in length it has to compensate in other areas which is where the volume distribution comes into play but in terms of what happens when you get on the board the same laws apply.
Ozzie
