Down winders, 12-6 board and lightweight rider

Hey all,

Is it possible to do downwinders and catch runners on a 12-6 board if you are a lightweight? I'm just curious because since getting my 12-6 Isup river race at Christmas i've become obsessed with suping and would really like to give a dw a go

I've read that you shouldn't really bother unless you have a 14' or bigger board, but I'm a lightweight at a bit over 60 kgs and wondered if that would make it possible for me to do one even though I have a smaller board

Regards

Ant

Of course you can , the longer boarsds will be faster but you can still get out and get amoungst it.. I paddled around Hamilton Island (16km) in the Whitsundays on an inflatable SHUBU 10-2 no worries.

At 60kg just make sure you wear a legrope in case a gust of wind blows you away ..

Rob

Thanks guys, I'll have to give it a go next time the wind gets up. Be good to get up to Melbourne sometime for an event as well...

Yep, it is an inflatable, this one:

I got it for mucking about in the class I/II rapids down my way but I've found I'm having a lot of fun with it in the flat water sections as well

And don't worry, I'll wear my leash and maybe a diving weight belt when the wind gets up

The 12' Glide and the 12'6" Surfrace are the only short boards that I know of that are good for DW'ers.. For me it's all about getting planning and surfing the runners.

I've heard the Coreban 12'6" is also good.. IMO .. 14' is as short as you'd want to go for real down-winding.

DJ

simple rule, run what you brung.

You can have fun on anything, so don't worry about it being right or wrong, just get out there and enjoy yourself.

I see you are still full of it! I have not been on the forum for some time now but it looks like not too much has changed.

There are plenty of 12'6" boards out there now that are great downwinders. Take those blinkers off...

It is an acquired skill to catch runnners. It will be easier on a longer board but it's still something you have to work at.

Initially you will get more surges than actual runs. You will accelerate a bit, glide along, then slip off the back of the wave in front. When you finally manage to catch and surf a runner your face will split with a big idiot grin far out of proportion to the size of the wave.

I managed to catch a few runners on a 12' PSH Gun which is not really a downwinding kind of board.

So, yes you can downwind on a 12'6" board. No it will not be automatic runner catching heaven. Yes you will get better with practice.

So mikeman... What are they?.. I'm sure there's others that would also like to know.

I've done lots of down-winders and paddled lots of boards and my comment was being honest and based on my own experience.. I never said that there weren't any others out there.. (in fact I'm sure there are but I've not paddled them) ..and I know there are plenty of good flat water boards (eg.. boards like the Starboard Pin and other flat water race boards) that can be used on a down-winder and in some conditions do very well.. Also some wave boards like the 12'6" Starboard Cruiser and even the 12' PSH gun do very well.. but 'IMHO' they're boards that I would not class as a good down-winding boards.. For me I like boards that jump onto the plane to catch a runner.. are fast.. can be surfed.. have lots of glide.. and handle the pearling issues that down-winding has.

I'm not claiming to be a 'know-it-all' or expert here.. and I know that what's a 'good down-winding board' might vary from person to person.. But you coming on here and throwing insults like that and not even adding anything to the discussion is just plane rude and nasty.. Agree.. Disagree.. Join the discussion.. or go away.

DJ

Thanks hilly.. Have you paddled them on a real down-winder to know for sure or are you going by what others have said.. or just guessing?

I've only paddled one of those on your list and I would not choose it as a good DW board.. There are two or three others on that list that I will get to try soon.

You also said that you can down wind any board and have good fun and that's sorta true but we've had guys join us on 9-10' wave boards and IMO it's really not much fun comared with the fun that you'd have on a doard that works better for DW'ing..

DJ

DJ remember he is a light weight and that makes heaps of difference. I have paddled a few of them and seen lightweight riders disappear a head of me on them.

Engine real important IMO

There are some very nice boards coming out at the moment

Thanks mikeman but it wasn't a claiming anything.. I was just giving my own thoughts on this that's why I used the words.. 'that I know of' ..If I had not said that you would have good reason to be mad at me.. Either way I don't think we need insults here.. Agree, disagree and say why.. and we can all be happy..

DJ

We might need state forums to separate the cane toads and the mexicians

Did I here someone say quiver

SIC 12 6, 14 and a 17 6 please. Think that would cover it all

LOL Woo Hoo, that's what I need

Unfortunately since I just got my 12-6 River Runner I don't think that I'll be able to convince my beloved to let me get another one for a while...hang on, she is liking it too, maybe I can talk her into buying HER new board

Regarding the state issue, it's pretty hard to get ANY boards in tassie, especially if they are not surf sup's which I'm not really interested in at the moment. One of the main surf shops sells NSP's, and I think that there are a couple of places up North but they still deal with surf sup's.

When I am ready it will be either one of the 12 6's off the list you guys have recommended, probably the Fanatic as I've liked what I've seen and heard about it. I wouldn't mind a 14ft board but they do seem pretty massive and I'm not even sure if I could transport it safely. We have a Camry Sedan with roof racks, and I don't think I can justify buying a new car just to carry the board It's only usually gonna be a five minute drive/10 minute walk to the river though....

Unfortunately it's pretty unlikely that I'll get to the 'north island' any time soon to demo any but we'll see