Nice pics tang

sure shows how manoeuvrable these things are

Way to go mate..enjoy the stoke..what did you end up getting?

Just 40 posts to go!!

We can take this bad boy to 500 for
Sure!!!

Could this be the greatest board review thread ever???

JacobMatan said..
Just 40 posts to go!!

We can take this bad boy to 500 for
Sure!!!

Could this be the greatest board review thread ever???

In fact how many Minions' have been bought from punters reading this thread?…I wasn't even in the market for a new board and was enjoying my 8'5 Fanatic ProWave but the more I learnt about the Minion and the design concept the more it made sense to me and then I had the opportunity to buy one 7'4 of only two available in NZ - so went for it! (My fiancé has seen it in the garage but she didn't say anything which was lucky because she'd freak if she knew I had purchased 'another board'! - luckily my garage is chock full of windsurfing, surfing and SUP boards so she doesn't notice any new additions!)

azzalanche said..
Hey Mick,

Should pop down to Stonker in Baines crescent. He's just in the process of shaping a couple of these bad boys (obviously not minion, but of similar idea to these minion/vanguard shapes). I'm going to put an order in shortly for one around 7'10. Pretty pumped

Hey Azza, thanks for the heads up. I will definitely go in and have a chat with Alex. I'm keen to get one as well. Didn't realize he was making them.

One more pic......

Is there a reason for the shape of the nose?I guess it is conditioning ,but my preference is a more rounded style.Must say not a big fan of the ultra pointy (and dangerous) shortboard nose either.So maybe it is just about being old and cranky

Rosscoe said..



New arrival in Vic. Looks like we are going to get some waves this weekend.

I let you know my thoughts after I get it wet.

That looks unreal Rosscoe - even got the Casso racing stripes!

Rosscoe said..
Yep Casso, I took the idea from your design. Do I pay you some royalties? Lol.

Yep, every set wave when I'm next surfing with you!

Its based on the principles of the 'Vanguard' Modern Planning Hull design, originally by Daniel Thomson, that is appearing in surfboards , SUPs and kite boards nowadays. Theres a lot of information in the earlier posts of this thread or try googling Vanguard Surfboard

Stev0 said..

waxer said..

Stev0 said..

waxer said..
So maybe it is just about being old and cranky

Yup. Just forget everything you thought you knew about SUP shapes and open your mind.

So you don't know why the nose is shaped like that either

Dude, I'm not a noseist and I take every nose at face value. One day we will surf beaches where not the nose of your board will matter but the performance of your ride…or words to that affect.

A little unnerving the first time you see it, but quickly see past that

Sadly don't have as good english to explain my thoughts about square nose but here i go .
If you struggle with i will talk to you next with my paddle

So here i go:

Don't focus on the square nose, just imagine your board as you step on a skateboard , feet on both truck : one on back the other on front one as you stand in surfing stance on your surfboard ( YES, these minions are surfboard, IMO)
This way you feel the board gliding from both foot not as pointed nose do, which are gliding from the back foot on the tail for the most of it.
Parallel rails avoid row effect so make a fast entry to take off early for it's size .
Square proportion of the outline magnified stability, might shorten size more and more getting use of it
And a lot more to say about.

Demo, i hope no hacking MINION DEEP OCEAN topic :

stehar said..
How do they paddle over distances of up to a kilometre - nice long beaches here with headland parking mainly and then need to paddle to breaks along the beach

Parallel rails boards paddle much easier than rounded outline ones, because they dont tend to veer right or left when the board rolls. Plus you can maximize the water line (and the speed) as you do not need to keep the nose above water, as a pointed nose will engage on one side when hitting water.

So yes, it is slow, but not so hard. My advice is to pull long, slow stroke: Short boards have a low max speed, so you do not want to struggle needlessly bumping into the "speed wall", no need to try to go fast. But as they do not have glide and stop when you cease to apply thrust, you want to maximize push time and minimize paddle-in-the-air time. So: long steady pulls, and quick travel back of the blade to the front.

Some training helps, of course. I do 5km sessions in summer on my 6'10" with my daughters on their 8'+ as a handicap

Hey guys love the posts and the info being supplied for these boards. I know a few of you guys have touch on this before. But i was wondering what are some of the weights of your boards. Do you find them Light? Heavier or about the same as a normal production board of the same volume? cheers in advance

Some great reports about this board.

Hey Colas your detailed reviews about boards and SUP in general are top class

I dream of the day they come to Chile.Itll probably need a local shaper to make me one but ive no idea of the dimensions.

I luv this board