Hi,

A year or so ago, I read the following statistic on Volume vrs Weight ratio for SUP Surf boards:

Newbie should ride 2x his weight in Kilos
Intermidiate will on average ride 1.6x his weight in Kilos
Advanced will ride 1.2x his weight in Kilos.

Now, it seems to me that Pros are riding 1x their weight in Kilos.

My own experience had taken me down that road too. I weight 79Kg and have been riding a 7'7 98L board for a year now and I am ready to scale down (specially on the rail thickness). I have tried 90L and feel very confortable on it but I wonder if I could go even lower to 85 or 82L to get the maximum shortboard performance on the wave (check https://f-one.quivers.com/p/1421 )

Someone posted his experience on a 7'4 78L weighting 78Kg, but I wonder how others feel about going this extreme or if there are key points to consider about the shape that affect that ratio.

Thanks for your contribution.

I'm not sure you can get a 250l surf sup :-(

98kgs, 6' tall, 8'10" x 32", 143L

98kg x 6' on 8'11'' x 29" and 117lt in just about any conditions but take the 9'6" x 29" and 145lt out when she's real choppy for the stability

Have ridden the Starboard 8'5" x 29" and 106lt and felt comfortable enough but can't imagine doing it in much chop.

70kg

7'6x26 75L

7'6x25 84L

8'2x26.5 92L

10x28 120L

6'3", 93kg on a 8-4 x 28.5", 110ltr board. Super comfy in pretty much all conditions. It took a little while to get the hang of it after having downsized from an 8'11", but I persevered and am really pleased to have stuck with it.

92 kg 8'7"x29" 110ltrs

mm I'm a pretty little grom so not sure if this really applies but I'm around 64kg and the new shapes is between 60 and 70 litres.

So we got some pretty impressive numbers. I wish someone would take the time to make a thesis with more proper research, however I am now convinced that:

Giving enough practice, you can ride as little volume as 1x your weight + your board's weight in Kilos, however, board's minimum lenght and width is dictated by your height. Sounds about right?

@pohaku, I'm same height and weight as you, what size is gonna be your 80L? I'm looking at the F-One Madeiro pro line, dont know if taking the risk with 7'5x26" 82L or be safe with the 7'7x27" 87L, currently in 7'7x27" 98L.

@RJK I tried the 8'0 Hokua and could barely paddle, but the 8'5 @117L is almost as difficult as my 7'7 @ 98L, for me Naish shapes are just difficult but they rip.

@JeanG, between the 25" @ 84L and the 26" @ 75L boards, which one is your favorite and why?

@ the rest: Seems we have a league of +90Kg here...

Thanks for sharing.

EnzoSV said...@JeanG, between the 25" @ 84L and the 26" @ 75L boards, which one is your favorite and why?

Which board I like more is easy - the 26" @ 75L is my preference, in terms of performance, hands down. It just turns better, turns harder, is super controllable on the wave, and the lightness under foot is noticeable. On the wave, the 75L board is better in every way.

In clean conditions the 75L board is also more stable: The extra width seems to be worth more than the loss of volume. However, once it gets a good bit choppy the extra volume becomes more handy - keeping the nose above the water line and out of the chop becomes more challenging in choppy conditions.

Now the hard part is "why" I like the 75L board more:

They are from different shapers but the differences are subtle. Overall, the shapes are quite similar. Both are traditional high performance shapes with squash tails. Both have single concave all the way down. The 25 @ 84L has chined rails, the other does not. The 25 @ 84L has a heavily domed deck, the 26 @ 75L has only a slight dome. The 26 @ 75L seems to have a bit less rocker. But the biggest difference is probably the fin cluster, haha. It's tighter on the 26 @ 75L than is the other.

Also, the 84L board weighs 12.6lb vs 10.5 for the 75L.

I'm an experienced surfer but noob SUP-er, am 6'5" tall, 245-250 lbs (112 kg) and 58 yrs old. Demoed a bunch of boards, but the one that worked best for me (and I bought) is a Starboard Avanti, 11'2" x 36" x 230 liters. All the other boards I tried were either just over or well under 200 liters.

85 kg Intermediate (I guess)

Depends so much on water conditions for me.

I ride a 8'3" x 32 130 ltr Naish Hokua and in normal Perth conditions which usually has some chop / wind on it I am happy.

In recent Lombok glassy conditions I could of droped down to a Starboard 8'5" Pro wave no problem as the 100 plus lites floats me well enough.

Guess I need more boards !!!!

Phil

JeanG said...
...But the biggest difference is probably the fin cluster, haha. It's tighter on the 26 @ 75L than is the other.

I think you overlooked the fact that the 75L has to have a lot thinner rails, that might be the greatest difference you feel on the wave.

My 7'7x27" is fairly small but at 98L it has 4.4" rails. I have room (a lot) to improve on my technique but when going powerful on the turns, it goes flat, also I need larger fins to get drive off the bottom turn. Basically my quest for less volume is actually a quest for "small" dimensions but thinner rails.

Here are some pics: Small wave - small fins, so spray comes from braking the fins loose. Bigger wave - bigger fins, slower on turns but has better drive and can dig the rail a little better.

Piros said...
Giving enough practice, you can ride as little volume as 1x your weight + your board's weight in Kilos, however, board's minimum lenght and width is dictated by your height. Sounds about right?

Yes and no but thats a good guide , board shape plays a big part . Pulled in nose and tail is harder to stand on than a fat nose and tail of a board the same specs.

After what EnzoSV ,FlyingKiwi, JeanG or yourself and others can say to reply the EnzoSV topic which is how to get thin rail on a minimum buoyancy board.
I take your attention about area of board. I think this is an important parameter.
From now to my own design i will consider weight equal volume and area in cm2 more than length, width and thickness.
Just an idea

EnzoSV, if you accept this idea to consider area of board , i go further in this idea and reckon my fin theory:
Try the same kind of fin's template on the same board: TCredline and AB2 . the first one get flat intrados and lot of drive, the second has 80/20 foil
At same fin's template TCredwhiteline make you surf easy under 6' wave and the AB2 make the board reliable up to 6'wave.
Because the TCredwhiteline give more area making flying on the fin area and the AB2 make working the board planning aera and do bite or dig your rail.

If some body understand what i mean , please translate me properly .

I am 83kg 5'8 on 9'0x30 136l,beginner I've been riding onshore chop to fast track balance motor skills and practice paddling on some of my much smaller windsurf boards ,can anyone comment if this is worth doing,gotta say still getting tipped off regularly in chop but flat water getting pretty easy

I am 66... 100k dry... 108k in wetsuit - 5'11

Today I rode my 8'11 x 31 @ 125 ltr (traditional progressive surf shape)

It was mostly underwater. Sometime paddling for a wave, the entire board would go below water. It surfs amazingly... but I have to take a knee from time to time... just to give my aging body a break from the Bongo Board.

Last month in a 4 mil full suit, I rode a 7'11 x 30 @ 133 liters... Simmons wide body shape.
Easy peezy for stability and catching waves.... but the wide tail was not near as surfy as my 8'11...IMO