Hi...
70 year old with bad ankles, little balance, and flat feet here.
I have a balance problem side to side when I SUP.
Do you guys think a wider semi wave shape like a Fanatic Allwave 9' at 32" wide is more or less stable than the wider nosed longer but narrower shapes they offer? Around 155 liters, me at 78 kilos.
Demo. Stability can be a bit individual. I like longer narrow boards due to less row effect and better surfing but lots don't. Stance effects it too. If you stand with your feet wide apart you will be less stable than having them close together and slightly offset (one slightly in front of the other).
32 wide is more stable initially but you can get use to it over time, make sure you bend your knees and loosen your hips up before you paddle so you move with the ocean more easily. Loose balance bend down more until you get your sea legs.
Ive found boards with the same length and width; the ones with wider nose and tail (measured at 12") will be a lot more stable.
I also believe that the thickness and shape of the rails plays a huge role. A thick board with round rails will be more corky (higher centre of gravity) and will roll more easily than a thinner board with thinner, submerged rails.
just sell what ever you got and buy a whopper [starboard ] you will never look back .carbon if ya can afford .
I have xl whopper the avanti and its stable. Like a pontoon. 36 wide and 12 foot long. its like riding on a table. I second Kev 7 suggestion and the wider they are the heavier so def go the carbon.
Thanks for the answers.
I'm long retired and barely able to afford gas and food, so only used gear for me.
Currently paddle my windsurf boards from 68-100 cm width.
The 2 prospects I mentioned reside 700 and 3,000 miles away, and there are no demos within 350 miles.
Gerry Lopez - Surf Music 9'0 x 34 @ 160lt, stable as, thin rails.
Don't know if later model's were carbon
Lee most of the manafacturers will demo all their boards, at big race events and around summer. Also some shops will hire out boards to demo, there are many boards that will help with width stablisation, look at big boy boards, blue planet, whopper, jp surf, jimmy lewis, tom carrol range,
Thanks..
I cannot afford new, and my 2 choices are about half the price of new, and no dealership with demos within 300 miles.
I was asking for opinions on longer parallel railed boards vs shorter wider but more eggshaped outline. I guess the former paddles faster, while the latter turns better, especially in waves.
Thanks again for the thoughts and ideas.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
Hi...
70 year old with bad ankles, little balance, and flat feet here.
I have a balance problem side to side when I SUP.
Do you guys think a wider semi wave shape like a Fanatic Allwave 9' at 32" wide is more or less stable than the wider nosed longer but narrower shapes they offer? Around 155 liters, me at 78 kilos.
Lee,
Where do you look when you paddle? In unstable water conditions, it helps me to NOT look down; rather, to focus my eyes ahead by 20 meters, or at the horizon. Quite amazing what a difference it makes, but not my natural inclination.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
Hi...
70 year old with bad ankles, little balance, and flat feet here.
I have a balance problem side to side when I SUP.
Do you guys think a wider semi wave shape like a Fanatic Allwave 9' at 32" wide is more or less stable than the wider nosed longer but narrower shapes they offer? Around 155 liters, me at 78 kilos.
Lee,
Where do you look when you paddle? In unstable water conditions, it helps me to NOT look down; rather, to focus my eyes ahead by 20 meters, or at the horizon. Quite amazing what a difference it makes, but not my natural inclination.
A hatchet type FCS fin can assist with sideways stability at bit, side chop is not a problem with a 10 inch.
Good tips. I cannot stand up longer than 2 hours due to structural weakness in my left ankle. Led to overuse of right ankle 11 years later so good ankle can go out. That's on land. I cannot run longer than half block.
Lee you can improve the time standing up, over time, also wearing shoes can help, booties. When I started it took me over a month to stand more than 2km on flat but your body will gain supporting muscles over time. When its flat or mushy find a flat water spot and practice standing up and moving around the board. Changing feet positioning, Even moving into a side on stance and stroking for a wave. You can even do it in a shallow spot at a lake and not even pop up but just walk onto your board if your worried about your knees. The surf is so much harder than flat water.
As a 70 year old with more damage than Evel K.; width was was the single most determing factor in stability.
Well, I'm way behind Evel, although did compete in over 200 motocross races and 12 road races. Still got my 9 screws total in the legs, but they trouble less than the ankles.
Feel for ya mate! Run over by a semi. Right foot kinda smaller. Beautiful RE TT destroyed - prehistoric times 69!
Still need a little extra width!
The most important dimension for stability is width.
The second most important (and usually related to the first) is the surface area that is in contact with the water.
So if you want stability, get a wide board that is also wide in the nose and tail.
Longer boards, for a given width, are also more stable, because they have more surface area in contact with the water.
My advice would be not to make it any harder than it needs to be. Get the biggest board you can carry.
Hope this helps.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
Thanks..
I cannot afford new, and my 2 choices are about half the price of new, and no dealership with demos within 300 miles.
I was asking for opinions on longer parallel railed boards vs shorter wider but more eggshaped outline. I guess the former paddles faster, while the latter turns better, especially in waves.
Thanks again for the thoughts and ideas.
Hey mate
suggest demo first always
the outline plays a big part also rocker etc i have a nalu 10.6 @ 30m wide and Smik hipster 8'10 32 wide you would think the 32 wide
board would be more stable in chop but thats not the case due to outline and rocker the outline is wide at nose and pulled in the tail to provide the manoeuvrability and the rocker has deep double concave boards 140ltrs im only 83 so this board is a bit more tippy for me then the nalu 10.6 @ 30wide with more long board outline so dont rely just on width check outline too.
