New Stand up Paddle Board

This week I decided to get a new stand up paddle board

The one I already have is great for surfing and recently I have become more confident on it and I am finally able to paddle into proper waves, surf it like a short board and pull off and paddle back out without falling off.
Its a Naish Quad Fish and surfs better than some of my longboards

Its dimensions are 9’6″ x 29 1/4″ x 4 3/8″

Due to it’s high performance nature it is not as good in choppy conditions or for paddling on flat water. I knew that when I bought it but was convinced by the guys at Wind Surf and Snow that since I was an experience longboarder that it would be only a matter of getting my balance.
I’ m glad I took their advice and got one that actually surfs.

However, I wanted a larger one one to use on the lake or for at the beach after nippers when the nor-easter gets up or for reeeeeaaalllly small waves.
Having recently acquired a new longboard ( see blog March 15th) earlier this year from Bennett’s (along with a few unplanned purchases that I will document in my next blog ), I noticed they had their own line of SUPs at a really attractive price, so after deliberating for almost a year, on Friday I decided to get one.

It is 11′ x 30″ x 4 5/8″, has a single box fin with FCS style side fins, not too much rocker but not a flat as a down winder (race board) which would be better for ocean or lake paddling but not usable in the surf.

So I decided to take it out for a surf while Jenny was there with the camera taking shots of the kids at Nippers, there was a club championship and Emma was waiting to start her Iron Man event.
Not too much heavier than the 9’6″ but more of a hand full with a cross wind due to its area
 Immediately I noticed how stable it was paddling through the lumpy rippy shore brake
 Due to the more flat rocker profile there was less fore-aft movement when charging through breaking waves 

 Catching waves was a snack due to its size – momentum/glide was better than the 9’6″ too
Obviously doesn’t pivot as well as the 9’6″ but surfs pretty good for its size
Only thing I noticed was that it wanted to pearl (nosedive) a bit if you were too close to the nose
 A great machine for the slop and for micro days or just paddling on flat water

Looking forward to getting it on the lake for some flat water fun too