The other day I was heading back from my daily paddle and to my surprise..saw another SUP'er..(I looked up looking for a blue moon)....His name was Johnathon.

He was on the Starboard 11'2" Ultimate Blend (nice looking board)..but the first thing that I had noticed is that he had a wooden paddle..I was dieing to try one so I asked for a go and he said sure.

It was too short for me but I was surprised at how light it was..It didn't wobble or flutter..and had a nice spring to it..Here's a couple of pics.

It was an Aussie made SUP paddle from these guys in Queensland.. http://www.xylobladz.com/home.html

Johnathon (hope I have the spelling right) was a real nice guy and I hope to catch up with him more...I told him about this forum so maybe he'll log on one day.

DJ

I think he said about $350.

DJ

Hi David, nice to meet you yesterday - thanks for the post. From memory the XYLO paddle was a bit cheaper, maybe $320 including freight to Melbourne, they were great to deal with. Took about two weeks to custom make which is pretty impressive.
Loving this calm winter weather for paddling, what a change in perspective from my old windsurfing mentality! Paddled out to Fawkner Beacon last week, I've done it a few times now but this was the first time I'd met anyone out there. The maintenance guys were a bit surprised and asked where I'd come from - not sure if they meant beach or planet!
Jonathan

Only about 68kg Pete. I also have a 12'6" but the Ultimate Blend is so much easier to get on and off the roof of my van I'm tending to use it more and more - been surprised at how well it glides too. I have put a 25cm fin on to help it track a little better.

Hey Jonathon, sound like I found my twin
I too have the 11'2 and weigh the same
Have you surfed yours much?
What do you reckon?
Make sure you drag DJ into some surf. Hes losing the plot Just kidding DJ

Hi Greenroom, haven't surfed the 11'2" yet, only the 12'6" in Waratah Bay and a bit at Gnaraloo and Gero. I'm very happy on a windsurf wave board in just about any surf but I'm a crap surfer so have a huge learning curve ahead. If anyone is doing trips to the surf around Melbourne I'd love to tag along.

Scotty...I'm sure JonathanC will answer himself but I do remember him saying that he ordered it slightly under size..I'm guessin' 8 1/2" blade.

The blade size didn't feel too small when I paddled it..I even tried to overpower it and make it cavitate but it was fine.

DJ