Hi all
I've been enjoying a hire NSP 11 as a beginner this week. It's very stable, nice and tough for family abuse and not too bad in small surf (albeit I still need a lot of practice in the surf).
It is pretty heavy though and a little sluggish to paddle in flat water.
I am considering either getting the nsp or starboard Widepoint 10.6 as a beginner board, both second hand. My only concern is that the starboard may not be as stable or standup to family abuse like the nsp.
I would welcome your suggestions.
Cheers
Steve
Hi Steve and welcome to Seabreeze
. I started on a NSP 11 ft around 3 years ago. They are low priced but still are of a good construction, bullet proof, quite good flat water paddlers and have good stabilty. In the surf they are difficult to turn quickly on the face of a wave, though they get through white water well and catch waves easily. They tend to surf like a Long board and you need to move around a lot. I found they still were'nt very manouverable but good cruisers.
The Starby Wide points are more expensive dependant on the construction type you choose, but all types are of excellent quality, again they are bullet proof, reasonable to good flat water paddlers, excellent stabilty in flat water and in surf. It is their abilty to manouver well in the surf that is their greatest asset. If you have never surfed then it's not an issue at the moment, as it will take some time on flat water to get used to the feel and learn the basics of handling a board. This board will still then be a better board for surfing than the NSP in my opinion.
There are many other types of boards that fit your requirements and plenty are on the Buy and Sell page here. Many of the ex owners are pretty anal so the boards tend to be in excellent condition. ( Mine usually have big chips out of them
). The Starboard would be my suggestion if you plan on doing a fair bit of surfing. If you are under a 100kg you might even want to check out a 9'5" Widepoint. The reason for the stabilty is their extra width and resulting extra volume. Construction materials change the weight and performance (Carbon Fibre for instance) of the board, the lighter the more expensive generally.The reason for their surfabilty is their design and shape. I hope this helps and that you enjoy the sport as much as I have!
PS. Check some of the video sites like Vimeo and Youtube for helpful hints and if not from a surfing background the rules of surfing in crowded breaks.
Steve, I like you are only fairly new to SUP but come from a bit of a surfing background. My first SUP was a new carbon 10.5 WP (yes it was dearer than standard AST construction) and it was excellent to learn on, super stable and a good all round board for either small surf or flat water. The good thing about it is that although it is a pretty big board (176L) you can still throw it around a bit when you get more confidence if you down size the standard centre fin and are willing to get the back foot over the fins. Ive since downsized to a 9 foot Naish but I still find the WP fun on the small days. With its 32" width its still pretty stable in winds even up to the 20 knot mark and apart from a couple of rail scuffs from being a newbie paddler it still doesnt even have a slight deck compression. The good thing is that I handed it down to my missus and for the first time in her life is actually catching waves too from a complete beginner a month ago.
thanks for your feedback.
I just need to check out the Starby a bit more and then make my decision.
Many thanks.
Steve
Thanks to everyone's help and advice on the forum. I ended up getting a local ex-demo NSP 11 from my local dealer, along with a trident carbon paddle (with glass blade).
I was on a strict budget so thought this was my best option.
I am very happy with the board it is very stable , fun to use, glides well in flat water and is stable in swell and chop and my confidence is growing daily.
I am even starting to learn how to surf small waves with it. It's no performance board and it takes a little effort to turn, but for where I am in my skill level very I am very happy. Perhaps I will upgrade the board in a few years and religate this to the family board.
(By the way, I also love the blue graphics of the 2010/11 version).
Bottom line is that I am out on the board a number of times a week, having fun and growing in confidence and skill.
cheers
Steve
