I fancy getting a windSUP to teach my kids to sail on as well as to paddle for fun on flat water mostly. Don't want to spend a fortune so anyone got recomendations?
I have a starboard freeride SUP. 12'2 long 30 inches wide. Sails really well with a center fin installed, and paddles well on flat water.
Only needs puff of wind to get moving with a 6.5m. It will catch a small boat wake whilst paddling, so has good speed
Not cheap new, but may find one second hand. The only down side is they are a bit fragile if not treated well.
Bic make the most versatile product with their 11.6 foot SUP with mast track and centerboard. Virtually indestructable New about $1500, hard to find second hand.
I have a Starboard 11'2 and a Starboard 9'8 super fish. Both are great for flat water sailing - the superfish has footstraps and can be surf-sailed. Both surf well for their size and paddle well. My third board is a Fanatic prowave 8'5. surf-sails quite well (not fast like a sailboard), doesn't flat water paddle or sail that well... but sup surfing is great!
Depends how old your kids are.
We are finding the littler kids find it very hard to control the SUP boards when learning
Smaller boards or boards with centreboards are much better suited for kids learning.
The Naish 10'10" Nalu sup board works well (see vid) but lately I've been sailing my Naish 11'2" Quest and it's a very similar shape to the 10'10" Nalu.
If it's mostly for kids to learn on the 9'8" Quest might be a better option being smaller/shorter and lighter.
BIC 11'6 is unbeatable for a family board, it's not perfect at anything but is pretty good for general purpose use. Plastic construction that can take the hits and scrapes, a big kick down centreboard that can be removed and replaced with an insert when you want a clear deck for SUP, a mast track instead of a threaded insert for the mast base. Around $1500 brand new and I've never seen one available second hand. Best fun sailing ever.
Jp windsup with dagerboard 10 9 i think Current model. Its great. But say $2000.
I can plane it with a kid on front or can plane when towing a kid on ski rope on a waveboard behind I would purchase another. We have a heap of sups that we sail on and this is my wifes and kids favoutite. Its long enough to track up wind.
You need dagerboard specific windsurfer board that can sup. not a sup that can windsurf. These only work well in waves or a heap of wind when you know how to sail.
sister has a nash sup say 11 foot that can sail it is great if you can windsurf. It would be hard to learn without dagerboard and i dont teach friends on a sup
purchase a one design old plastic board with dagerboard . Its heavy but great cost say $200 300 if you can find one. or you can purchase new in sydney i think. But this is not a good sup very narow. Go to anakonda for the sup if you dont have 2k. Blow up sup is good
"You need daggerboard specific windsurfer board that can sup. not a sup that can windsurf"
40knots is giving you the best piece of windSUP purchasing advice you can get. You'll be sailing this thing in 5kn conditions with a small sail, a serious centreboard (not a bolt on fin) is a must have with a WindSUP for light wind, flat water use. Starboard, BIC and JP all have models available with this, be prepared to pay a premium for the centreboard and don't buy one without it, you'll be dissappointed.
Starboard freeride holds ground perfectly fine for beginners with it's bolt in centre fin plus there is no centreboard handle on the deck to step on. Due to the shape having inherent bite & the fact it accelerates with the smallest gust i'd pit it against anything short of a raceboard/295 upwind. Downsides to this board for beginners is it isnt as durable compared to some constructions & maybe not quite as stable as the more basic fat learner board style windsups but they will get that woop feeling of windsurfing the first time it accelerates on a puff.
& as a flatwater sup it would eclipse all those centreboard sups with it being capable of mixing it with race sup/downwind in open water (without all the hassle race sups present). The best parallel I can describe of it's ability is with kayaking, the freeride is like a tk1 kayak, race sups being k1's & race skis... & those centreboard windsups are like sit on top kayaks. Something that actually glides when you paddle it is far more enjoyable.
I found with my kids put them on sup paddling first, they find sup not too bad, then you've knocked down that mind hurdle everyone thinks concerning balancing on the board with the sail & they immediately saw the logic that it's actually easier balance due to the sail countering you.
The biggest positive of the freeride is it is a board an advanced sailor can own & enjoy themselves as both sup & lightwind board not just a learner board sitting in the shed waiting that maybe one day someone will ask you to teach them.
I purchased a AHD Sealion a couple of years ago looking for a SUP that I would actually plane, short enough for the kids to able to turn around, have a centre fin (only on the largest model 150L) and a foam deck. My Son (9yrs) is a fairly competent flat water paddler now, but I haven't been able to get him interested in windsurfing as yet. (Although is keen to have lessons with other kids at Balmoral summer camp (maybe its me!). One of things that I have just changed is putting little surf ski thruster fins in the back and taking out the twin 20cm fins as the kids find it hard to turn the board around with a small rig. The board will plane but you have to be pretty powered up and Suping it is great in flat water or on small waves but hard work in bigger waves as you have to move your back foot to the inside to get it turn having really parallel rails.
i have a fanatic stubie SUP - not sailboard.
however it has screw in fitting for sailboard rig. Only small board 8 2 and 106 litres.
anyone tried it - i think it is more for surf type windsup with light rig,
