Your weight??...Don't be shy.....ooops.just went back to page one....11-12 stone..what's that..about 70-75kg.

IMO..your weight is the single most important thing in picking the right board..along with what you want to use it for..eg Waves or flat water..or both.

After reading your last post I still reckon the 11'6" Naish is the way to go.

Jeeez..If you're embarrassed at being 44 I should be bright red..

DJ

Hi Roger,
I have had my Naish 11'6" planning with a 6.6 on flat water. It took quite a bit of power to get it up on the plane, the hull is not designed for it, there is no flat section like on a sailboard hull. Once on the plane it was fun, not very fast, but it gybes and tacks well with its tucked rails.

Steve

I was using the standard Naish fin (see photo). It is bigger than it looks, it has a lot of area and it is quite thick and very stiff. I have put my surf fin alongside for comparison. I thought this fin worked well for sailing, it was enough to get my 100kgs up wind, while staying loose which is what this board is all about. I am not sure about bigger sails, they may end up burying the front of the board and with no footstraps you don't want to get overpowered. I don't use my board for sailing any more, I covered up the mast track when I put my deck pad on and only use it for SUP now.

I like my 11'6" for surfing, athough now that I am improving, I am looking at changing to something which surfs better. It doesn't seem to like small mushy waves, but from waist high to overhead it works well.

Steve

Hey Instigator - me too!

I think that elitist, snobbish and opinionated people should stay away from sport as it deters most people from getting involved.

I have re read the thread and I cannot see anywhere a reference to anyone wanting to use SUPs to drop in so I have no idea where that came from. Go to the Naish site and watch the video of Robbie explaining where he sees SUP going - it may be enlightening.

The problem with getting confident on shortboards, and now even longboards, is people with the same attitude as you - "yeah learn, but not at my break". You have to learn in the water alongside people who have your attitude. This is precisely why I stopped surfing and moved over to windsurfing years ago - the aggro just was not worth it. I really hope this is a temporary aberration, and you are much nicer than this post suggests.

Re damage - no more so than a shortboard released at speed. It just requires SUPers to be careful and responsible, and I would venture that, as Leech points out, many seem to be more mature and sensible than some young guns!

But thanks for your support!