VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

I'm thinking about getting a Fanatic SUP, maybe a 10'6", for the Oregon coast trip. Does anyone have any experience with Fanatic SUPS or maybe recommend something else. I really want to have the windsurf option though.

Michael

great plan - covers your options on light to no wind days.
i've heard Fanatics are great. you might find a review if you check a site like standupzone. that size is kinda large for surf but not a bad compromise if you are a beginner and/or paddle flat water or want to fish or something. or if you are a big guy. if you are an aggressive beginner you can certainly go smaller. SUP sailing is tons of fun, Fanatic is a cool brand that puts mast plugs in all the boards. JP does too if im not mistaken. for the Starboards you have to get "AST Silver" don't worry about a daggerboard just rail it over a bit and you can crank upwind. are you going to have a chance to try any boards before the trip?

Thanks for the reply Dave. I may try it out while I stop off in Hood River, where I'm going to buy it but no waves there. I did use a 10'8" KAI SURFBOARDS SUP while I was in Maui and had a blast on that, but only in small surf.

just for a reference point, i weigh 175, i tried a stack of boards out in maui a few years back, and decided on a 9'8" as my sweet spot board.. since then i have gone in two directions, with a big 12'6 for cruising around and a 8'5" for surfing/sailing. to make do with a single board, you want to try to assess where you are going to use it the most.

I picked up the 2012, maybe its the 2011 Fanatic SUP, 9'6" (30" wide) in the gorge late last summer. It has a mast base mount. I've paddled it around lots in flat water, as has everyone in my family. When I purchased it I hedged my bets that I could manage it in really small surf on the Orgeon coast (imagine the days when everyone else goes and does something else), and I'll be a newbie in SUP in waves when the day comes that my schedule lets me get into the waves. I've had some tell me I should be okay with this size of board as I've had a number of experiences trying a new sport for the first time and being okay and then progressing to a decent level. I've also had some tell me they tried this small of a board for waves and they all sold it and moved to something bigger (read width of 32"). We'll see, again, my hope is I can manage it in waves while I'm early in the training curve.

9'6" x 30 should be great, that was the nice wood one as i recall?! i bet you get the hang of it quick due to your windsurfer balance. should have noted too i surfed a 6'2" for 12 years prior to getting the sup, so i wasn't really learning to surf from zero. Then again last summer i let a curious guy jump on my 12'6" and he couldn't get up off his knees! so you just never know.

I was thinking the 9'6" too would be a better choice probably than the 10'6". You will likely out grow the 10'6" in a couple of days.

If you tour all the time then yes the 10'6", but otherwise I'd go smaller.

Like DWD I have a 12'6" and a 8'4".

Hi,

How come I weigh the same (or more) than DWD but am a foot shorter?

You will find that a 30" wide SUP is fine in flat water if you have decent balance. Waves it is a bit trickier. You will fall in lots at first.

I had a smaller 9'8"x30" SUP but went the other direction for learning waves. I now have the wood version of the Starboard Whopper (10'0x34"), really easy to handle in chop/waves and is a board that you can always stay on your feet on, but it does turn a bit slow.

Also, SUPs are very stable once you put a sail on them.

PS - here is some SUP porn......post pics of your SUP

heres my 9'8



ps hey KC you got more wetsuits to sell yet? i need a 16 or a XS. he outgrew the hurley suit already.

I might have an old O'Neil wetsuit available for free, just have to make sure my youngest has in fact out grown it, will check and confirm this weekend.

Yes, my SUP is the 2011 model, wood. Looks great even better when I'm falling off of it as it shows the bottom!

Hey guys, thanks for all the info. I think I'll keep my eye out for something smaller. Keep the pictures coming!

next

The craigslist 'support canadian sup' guy with the Chinese boards? i can't speak to the boards but- to sail one you would certainly have to do your own mast plug install. so forget about warranty and following that, your mast will end up whacking the deck/nose of a board not designed for that, which could be trouble. depending on who built it.

Hey dwd bring that suit to the lake this weekend might be good for Luke next year. Already got him one for this season!

Hey dwd,

No suits right now, though I just bot two $300 3/2's super stretchy for my boys from Steep and Cheap for only $70 each....Men's XS I believe. Fits 5'4 - 5'6" and 120 - 135 lbs. They will probably outgrow them by the end of this season?

K