I'm having my first paddle tomorrow at Ocean Addicts....and know I will love it. I used to kayak before a knee injury laid me up for a while and I sold my kayak. I've been checking out various forums and reviews etc to learn more, but not sure what I should buy. I'm 163cm currently at 83kgs and working my butt off to get to 65kgs and not loving going to the gym. I'll be paddling flat water rivers and lakes and want to be able to push hard for speed regardless of whether it's windy or not. It looks like my budget is more suited to Fanatic than Naish, I dont want to purchase a board and find out the hard way that it's completely not suited to my needs. I want a board that'll I'll fall in love with that will inspire me to get out on the water and work hard. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
No 1 rule = buy second hand to start with. You'll probably not be riding your first board in six months time. You'll progress quickly if you're keen and board requirements (length, width, shape) will change as you zero in on what really suits. I'm on my third secondhand board in nine months! Plenty of good beginner/intermediate boards in the Buy & Sell section above. Good luck
Go you! You'll have more fun and find it just as effective losing the pounds grinding it out on the water than lurking around a gym.
I wouldn't get too hung up on your first board. I suspect there's very few Paddleboard-dedicated human beings that are one board ever owners. Get a half decent flat water board for a cheapie price and plan to trade up when you're more in tune with you paddling I reckon!
I have bought boards from Ocean Addicts before and I reckon if you are really clear about what you want in a board and your goals they will steer you in the right direction.
You might also consider joining the Sunshine Coast Stand Up Paddle Club (they are on Facebook) ... they do timed laps at Lake Kawana every Thursday arvo as well as have clinics, comps and social paddles all over the place. Some of them are seriously fast paddlers but they welcome newbies too. The women paddlers could have some useful advice for you too in terms of their boards and their progress through the sport...
PS... that dam near your place looks like a great paddle spot. I used to go to the Ewen Maddock Dam quite a lot too (especially when the winds were too strong for the local beaches).
There is no "best board"......board design will change.....your paddle surf abilities will change. You can't stick the "best board" sticker on anything really ?
Select to expand quoteGreenambered said..
I'm having my first paddle tomorrow at Ocean Addicts....and know I will love it. I used to kayak before a knee injury laid me up for a while and I sold my kayak. I've been checking out various forums and reviews etc to learn more, but not sure what I should buy. I'm 163cm currently at 83kgs and working my butt off to get to 65kgs and not loving going to the gym. I'll be paddling flat water rivers and lakes and want to be able to push hard for speed regardless of whether it's windy or not. It looks like my budget is more suited to Fanatic than Naish, I dont want to purchase a board and find out the hard way that it's completely not suited to my needs. I want a board that'll I'll fall in love with that will inspire me to get out on the water and work hard. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
To my mind there are two SUP worlds; surf and flat water, and in flat water there are big SUPs that look like big surf boards and there are sleek "racing" boards. I prefer surf and my experience is that you will change boards frequently as you improve. But my perception is that you may not have to change boards as frequently if you paddle flat water and go for the "racing" board design. You need length (12'6 or 14') to go fast, then you decide on width - it affects speed but it really affects stability, especially in your early days. You would be safe with 28" width and when you drop a few kgs and you feel more confident then you will look at a 26" width board and maybe carbon for extra speed. If you demo a board, remember that in the first couple of months of frequent use your leg strength and balance will improve, so if it seems a bit tippy that is OK. (And if you migrate to a fast, tippy board your first board will still be good when conditions are crappy or when a friend wants to learn.)
Thanks all for your great advice. So I reckon I'll do two things - talk to Ocean Addicts about what they'd recommend, and also have a look around for second-hand boards that fit this description that aren't too far away from where I live to go check out - then decide if I want to go new or 2nd hand. When I kayaked I preferred a longer-style, better gliding - so will look for 28inch wide and 14ft long?
Are there any brands to keep away from if I'm going second-hand?
And thanks McGuane - Will also check out the recommendation for Sunshine Coast Stand Up Paddle Board Club and see what info I can glean from there...and who knows, maybe I can start racing one day ;) And Lake Baroon a great spot for kayaking, so figure it'd be good for SUP too...and Ewen Maddock Dam - I love it there, excellent water quality for swimming...Lake Baroon can be a bit dodgy sometimes. Baroon is where I can go a few times a week to keep up regular paddling. Early morning's are really glassy, and anytime the wind's up there's still a few good pockets - particularaly a paddle west to the 'dead tree' section, or to the east, to hook up with Obi Obi creek.
Be careful on your knee sup is not easy as it look I went riding mtb bike but have hard time paddle my sup
Lots a good advice here. Buy secondhand if you can, and don't go too narrow for a first board. 30" wide might even be better than 28 for your first board. Having a board that is too tippy for you turns a pleasurable activity into an ordeal. No-one ever said "this board is too stable", but you often hear "this board is too tippy".
First time post. I am on the Sunny Coast and regulary paddle/surf the Cotton Tree and Maroochy area. Started with a Atlantis Halo 10'6 going round Goat Is and Chambers Is. Progressed to surf around the groins and front of Maroochy surf club within 12 months and felt very comfortable. Able to catch good waves with that board and glide around the river. Now onto a Naish Hokua 9'5 GTW from Ocean Addicts and starting over again. Got a few little waves at the front of the surf club today but feel like a beginner again. Fast board. My advice is to start on something that is stable, then jump out onto the waves around the river mouth if you want, then upgrade.
ok, so first paddle went really well, gorgeous day out. Knee was ok, though god my feet hurt after about 30mims, which was surprising as I stand at a standup desk 8+ hours a day ;) Took a break paddled sitting down for awhile, swam then got back into it, standing up the second time was more enjoyable. Checked out a Naish Tourer at Ocean Addicts afterwards, might give one a demo next Sun, but a bit pricey for me. Will check out similar secondhand, plus Atlantis as suggested here...and see how I go looks like 30" will be the go. Thanks guys again for your great advice 
Select to expand quoteGreenambered said..
though god my feet hurt after about 30mims,
Yup, thats normal. You should try to move your feet a bit around (or just move your weight around, roll them on the side, go on your toes / heels, ...) to help the blood circulate. This is something you do not experience at your desk because you are moving your feet, and the pad diamond/ridges tend to block the blood flow more than a smooth shoe sole.
Thanks colas - will try that next time. I guess I was planting my feet pretty solid and not moving them about in case I fell off;)
I hop you got my answer in any case you mast know the pressure on the body in good paddle is hard the balance and theus of core mussels is not easy and go away from waves in wave you put allot of pressure on the back leg
Select to expand quoteGreenambered said..
ok, so first paddle went really well, gorgeous day out. Knee was ok, though god my feet hurt after about 30mims, which was surprising as I stand at a standup desk 8+ hours a day ;) Took a break paddled sitting down for awhile, swam then got back into it, standing up the second time was more enjoyable. Checked out a Naish Tourer at Ocean Addicts afterwards, might give one a demo next Sun, but a bit pricey for me. Will check out similar secondhand, plus Atlantis as suggested here...and see how I go looks like 30" will be the go. Thanks guys again for your great advice
Good on you Greenambered. Yes. Colas is right about the feet thing. You will quickly get used to it. And you will quickly adapt to balancing too. Don't get too caught up on 30 wide... you may sacrifice a bit of speed and you will find the right shape and length board can still be pretty stable at anything over 27 or so... especially in flatwater. (That's my view anyway, based on my own river and ocean paddling on a couple of 27.5 wide boards in the past).
BTW, you can be added just as a Facebook follower to the local club. You'll get to see heaps of great pics from the weekend just gone and get a heads up sometimes when they are selling stuff. It's a good source of info. (Full membership is $60 or so, but FB following is free...)
And I see an interesting looking 14' Hobie for sale in the Seabreeze classifieds by one of the women club members. She may be worth contacting. There's also a 12'6 Fanatic in these classifieds that is 30 wide (and which is listed $200 cheaper elsewhere 
...). It's at Bli Bli. And there's a JP Cruiser in the wave and cruising section that would be fun on the flats too...
They are all quite different (but all have their good points) ... you can see how it can get easy to get bogged down with too much info and too many possibilities... but if you buy a good used board at a good price, you will find it has good resale or trade in value down the track. So changing your mind, or advancing to the next board is not such a major deal...
Greenambered all excellent advice above. I have been paddling for about a year now, I mostly paddle on the lake. Its so normal to last 30 minutes or so, I only lasted 30 minutes on my barge, starboard avanti. After a week you will last around 45 minutes then a month about hour and a year well easy one and a half hours as you learn to move your feet in different positions, apart, together, forward, back.
I also suggest a dip which seems to refresh the feet quickly.
Unfortunately, this does not equate to the ocean as I can barely last 40 minutes on the open water and around 25 minutes at the beach the backwash and crosswaves is ridiculous.
The fun curve is so high at your level. Just hop off when you feel tired and rest for 15 minutes, I like to make the beach, swim or just lie on the board. You can also go to your knees for a rest.
After having the new board for a year things are starting to wear pretty quickly as I use the same board for all my supping. More dings, scrapes, deck grip is starting to come up, so yes a second hand or a more foam type of board like the odyssues I would recommend too. I had to buy new as I was so heavy.
Enjoy the small improvements and you will be paddling like a pro in no time.
Also the inflatibles are now so good, look at the swiss isups with automatic inflation and some of the bigger stable boards like the imagine fishing etc.
