Select to expand quotewindara said..
Sounds like your getting used to your new board Tang! Still haven't got mine but hopefully this week. Make sure u have that gopro strapped to your neck. Wanna see the nose of your minion poking out the end of some Maldive barrels!! Have fun
Cheers windara, getting there. I'll look forward to your take on these boards when I get back.
There won't be no go-pro on my board, either. I'll get one when I'm good enough on it to be worth watching. Don't hold your breath on that.
MSW forecasts aren't looking great, but when they said it was 2-3ft last year it was overhead........
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..
Casso what are the dimensions for the board in the latest series of photos?
Obviously these boards really hold the rail well and like to be thrown around. I guess a reduction in weight compared
to conventional sized sups does help a lot. There is no doubt that they are getting smaller and lighter with each
development.
This one is 7'2" x 26 7/8" x 3 15/16" x 92L.
Some of them are a bit thicker (over 4") but I like mine as thin as I can go - to give me a lower centre of gravity and a thinner rail that can be buried easier. The speed these boards generate also makes carving turns a lot easier.
Select to expand quoteSurf4Sanity said..
Ripping Casso. Every new shot I see you are going harder.
Thanks Slats. Every surf I have on it, it seems to be performing better and better. And I thought I had it wired after the first surf!
Select to expand quoteCasso said..ghost4man said..
Casso what are the dimensions for the board in the latest series of photos?
Obviously these boards really hold the rail well and like to be thrown around. I guess a reduction in weight compared
to conventional sized sups does help a lot. There is no doubt that they are getting smaller and lighter with each
development.
This one is 7'2" x 26 7/8" x 3 15/16" x 92L.
Some of them are a bit thicker (over 4") but I like mine as thin as I can go - to give me a lower centre of gravity and a thinner rail that can be buried easier. The speed these boards generate also makes carving turns a lot easier.
I love the way these shortSUP magnified the natural wave speed, too 
This one (interestingly) shows the flow of water over the bottom concave and beveled rails:
Photo: Paul Chappo
Again - heaps of speed to burn going into (and through) this cutty.
Select to expand quoteCasso said..ghost4man said..
Casso what are the dimensions for the board in the latest series of photos?
Obviously these boards really hold the rail well and like to be thrown around. I guess a reduction in weight compared
to conventional sized sups does help a lot. There is no doubt that they are getting smaller and lighter with each
development.
This one is 7'2" x 26 7/8" x 3 15/16" x 92L.
Some of them are a bit thicker (over 4") but I like mine as thin as I can go - to give me a lower centre of gravity and a thinner rail that can be buried easier. The speed these boards generate also makes carving turns a lot easier.
Casso,
Just to pick your brain on this one, but after 5 years of supping and knowing the guys at ESS Erina I have probably ridden most of the boards around either on the lake or outside. Now during this time I have found that when I am outside and it is a little choppy requiring extra attention to stability I seem to get "thrown" off the thicker boards a lot easier than the thinner makes. Effectively speaking they just seem corkier if I can use that term. Now I know that it is perhaps unfair to make the comparison, but I have ridden boards with almost identical length and width along with a difference in the thickness and found the end result to be quite glaring so much so that I have come to the conclusion at least for me that the thinner boards just seem to have a more dampened response just being a little bit lower in the water rather than sitting higher on the water. I know that the parallel shape obviously helps in a functional sense having more surface area under your feet but I am willing to bet that the thinner you go the more stable it becomes. Obviously there is a limiting point here but I get the sense that this design lends itself to some positive outcomes in that regard. I wonder how you would go keeping the width as it is and pushing it in terms of thickness especially for guys my weight of 73kg although I still remain quite tall. Clearly there are advantages to a thinner rail as you pointed out.
I'll throw my 2 bobs worth in here. Even the the original shortboard Vanguard has a more chunky rail and it works so it's not so important to drop thickness on the sup version to get the really low profile rail. We tried it and the boards sink badly and they are torture to paddle on. The chunky rails work and thats what is letting to get super short and narrow. Roll that rail down too much and you drown. Obviously the lighter you are the more you can pull the rail over but if you go too far it just sinks. I'm talking the mid 80 kegs club but for you light weights just keep pushing the boundary until you find the sweet spot. A boxer rail respond really well to balance corrections. IMHO
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..
Casso,
Just to pick your brain on this one, but after 5 years of supping and knowing the guys at ESS Erina I have probably ridden most of the boards around either on the lake or outside. Now during this time I have found that when I am outside and it is a little choppy requiring extra attention to stability I seem to get "thrown" off the thicker boards a lot easier than the thinner makes. Effectively speaking they just seem corkier if I can use that term. Now I know that it is perhaps unfair to make the comparison, but I have ridden boards with almost identical length and width along with a difference in the thickness and found the end result to be quite glaring so much so that I have come to the conclusion at least for me that the thinner boards just seem to have a more dampened response just being a little bit lower in the water rather than sitting higher on the water. I know that the parallel shape obviously helps in a functional sense having more surface area under your feet but I am willing to bet that the thinner you go the more stable it becomes. Obviously there is a limiting point here but I get the sense that this design lends itself to some positive outcomes in that regard. I wonder how you would go keeping the width as it is and pushing it in terms of thickness especially for guys my weight of 73kg although I still remain quite tall. Clearly there are advantages to a thinner rail as you pointed out.
You are on the right track there Ozzie, I think stability is ultimately about the waterline of the board when you are standing on it - in neutral. If the chop can wash over the deck and not slap up against the rail becuase it is sitting lower in the water then that's going to be more stable on bumpy days. You don't want it to sink too much though, as it will want to pop out from under your feet to get to the surface (and be too hard to paddle).
How would these boards go in larger wider shapes I am currently riding the JP 9'2X30 surf (I'm 6'4 100kgs) and would like something that compliments this board, something that shreds in smaller waves and is very stable for the bumpier days, would a minion shape 8x30 work well or would making the board wider kind of be missing the point. could I go narrower and still feel a similar all round paddle ability as my current board
I reckon for your weight and height and that you currently ride a 9'2 x 30 that around 8'2 x 28 1/2 would be the dims for you
Select to expand quoteJacobMatan said..
How would these boards go in larger wider shapes I am currently riding the JP 9'2X30 surf (I'm 6'4 100kgs) and would like something that compliments this board, something that shreds in smaller waves and is very stable for the bumpier days, would a minion shape 8x30 work well or would making the board wider kind of be missing the point. could I go narrower and still feel a similar all round paddle ability as my current board
Jacob I could be wrong but I think Simon, who shapes these boards is approximately 92kg himself and can ride the 92L Minion version which is the 7'2 so I am guessing you could go sub 8 foot and perhaps 28. Obviously this is all contingent to overall stability and ability but there is no reason to think that you could go much shorter than what you are currently riding. This is from Daniel Thomson, the Australian shaper who designed Vanguard: “You can definitely go without a nose,” explains Thomson. “The top 6 inches of the board do nothing in terms of performance. My aim is to break down a board into its most functional elements and get rid of its least functional elements. The diamond nose profile is really functional because it has so little swing weight. If you think of a pendulum, when it swings, there is a moment of delay before it changes direction because of the weight. The weight at the nose of your board acts similarly, and when you cut down that weight, the board transitions between turns more quickly and efficiently. The board also fits in a tighter pocket, which allows for some different lines.” I dont know what the sentiment is from the guys here but the way that I am interpreting his comments is that he has looked at the traditional boards and reasons that the front part of the board, namely the nose, is where you can chop off resulting in a much shorter board. So imagine the board that you have and simply cutting off the front 6 inches. Now imagine incorporating parallel or straight lines into the design and you can then cut the board down in size even more. Theoretically this should mean that you have a much greater planing surface underneath your feet. This I am guessing is why these boards seemingly require less effort to get on a wave because of this extra planing. This is my understanding and I apologise if that is missing the point but that is certainly how I am reading it. One of the first things that I picked up on in Casso's initial post which started the thread was his sense of how early the board started to plane during the lifting stage of catching a wave. So just imagine when you look over your shoulder and the wave starts to come in. Its at this point depending upon where you positioned that you will start paddling. As the crest reaches you, you will go from the trough to being lifted to the crest of the wave and its here where your maximum paddle acceleration will take place to get on the wave. If you can feel the board underneath your feet start to plane via forward momentum then you are onto a winner. I hope that that description translates well otherwise I am sure that Casso and Piros can interject with something more accurate.
Hi Jacob
I think you can go well under 8 ft as a 100kg rider, just depends on how adventurous you are feeling, keep short but addd some extra width to build in volume would work fine. i have a 7'8" x 29" vanguard style which comes in at around 130-135 litres and is super stable with my 92kg plus 3/2 steamer.
With this board design you tend to surf them right off the tail, which means you have most of the board projecting out in front of you, i think you want to chop this down as much as possible. I don't think going wide with this design is a problem at all. These boards look like they wouldn't go rail to rail but once they are planing they come alive and transition easily. You just need to make sure you don't have too much fin area so you can jam the tail with your back foot.
Of course your shaper will be the best guide to this, but well the fun of the forum is being able to get out 2c in. Good luck let us know how it all goes.
Suddenly we have a heap of info on these boards on seabreeze which i reckon is great.
Cheers Chris
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..
This I am guessing is why these boards seemingly require less effort to get on a wave because of this extra planing.
yes, plus the parallel rails induce less row, allowing to apply more power to the paddle, and the wide tail is more lifted by the "bump" of the wave.
I agree 100% with you in that these designs should be ridden shorter than your normal boards. If you ride them the same length, you actually add swing weight in the nose compared to a pointed nose design...
Select to expand quotesupgman said..
Jeez marcus that thing is a tooth pick at 75 litres! I am 5'6" at 65 kegs and I thought going sub 7' was impossible on a Minion. Would be great to get your feedback mate if you could spare the time re stability in chop And general surfing performance. I've left a message on FB for the Deep guys to get the ball rolling.
Picked up the new board and had the first surf this morning. The dimensions are 6'10 x 25 3/4 75liters. At 65kilos the board floats me no worries and it is pretty much identical in stability as my JP 7'4x27. I used it in 2 foot (in the sets!) with a cross shore wind that started off below 10 knots and grew to about 18 by the time I was done. The board feels so small under the arm that I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to stand on it but it was fine.
Cant add much to whats already been said about surfing performance, fast pretty much sums it up. I know i cant wait to surf small ****ty waves that usually wouldn't motivate me to put a wetty on!!
Anyway hope this helps supgman.
sorry if that was confusing supgman. I wrote that on my dads computer and was logged in as him.
Select to expand quotetoadpaddling said..
I know i cant wait to surf small ****ty waves that usually wouldn't motivate me to put a wetty on!!
Yeah, how cool is that - the crapiest, little, gutless waves now look (and are) so fun.
Yeah mate I thought someone had hi-jacked your avatar for a second there!
Cheers for the feedback.
Select to expand quotewindara said..
My new 7'10 x 29
That actually has a nice plane shape. Just needs a nose and a tail
Select to expand quotesupgman said..
How many litres Windara?
115 L. At my weight the back half of the board is pretty level with the water with the tail just submerged. Only just paddled it in flat water so far and its nice and straight and feels very stable. Very happy so far
Thanks mate. Is the width at the tail less than the width at the nose? It looks slightly more pulled in. Cool design by the way.
Select to expand quotesupgman said..
Thanks mate. Is the width at the tail less than the width at the nose? It looks slightly more pulled in. Cool design by the way.
yeh the tail is 15" and the nose is 21". They build a great board!
Select to expand quotewindara said..supgman said..
Thanks mate. Is the width at the tail less than the width at the nose? It looks slightly more pulled in. Cool design by the way.
yeh the tail is 15" and the nose is 21". They build a great board!
Hi mate,
What was the thinking behind this? Did you specifically request this. Am just wondering if by doing this its getting a little away from the parallel design. Obviously time will tell. Will be interesting to get feedback in terms of stability when you go outside.
I totally left the dimensions in Simons hands after a lengthy discussion. Will put up some comments after I get it in the surf.
Select to expand quoteghost4man said..windara said..supgman said..
Thanks mate. Is the width at the tail less than the width at the nose? It looks slightly more pulled in. Cool design by the way.
yeh the tail is 15" and the nose is 21". They build a great board!
Hi mate,
What was the thinking behind this? Did you specifically request this. Am just wondering if by doing this its getting a little away from the parallel design. Obviously time will tell. Will be interesting to get feedback in terms of stability when you go outside.
Hi, using smaller and unstable board comparing to my own weight, i can say stability is up how you get used to it. I mean: paddling on that kind of board make you fit and also rise up your level of surfing.
My 7'8"x28 1/4"x4 1/4" 110l already feels too big for my 6'4" and 85kgs. Go smaller and smaller again! 
Select to expand quoteTang said..
My 7'8"x28 1/4"x4 1/4" 110l already feels too big for my 6'4" and 85kgs. Go smaller and smaller again!
Hows the waves over there Tang? Had my first surf today. Quite different to what I have been riding. Feels a little stiffer so I might take the numbster out and try the C-Drives. Got a couple of waves across a hollow section and it has nice speed!
