Surfboards and Weight of the rider

user124 · Since 02 Aug 2012 390 Posts Portland Obsessed

So what do you all think about strapped vs strapless? Twisted Evil

Ho-Toe · Wed Nov 23, 16 6:23 am **Volume**

An additional thought, not so much performance as safety: for me, kiting in waves in the ocean, I think it's important to have enough volume (and if you wanna get nitpicky, low enough density) that my board is buoyant enough for me to lay on it and paddle ashore if I have to self-rescue... Stuff happens!

Matt V · Wed Nov 23, 16 9:03 am

Yup, volume could be valuable here. I have played with the LF KiteFish (1" thick) a bit in fresh water on calm days. It seems to do the job of letting me float with any effort. Or at least it is better than treading water. The thing I really like about it is that it runs away at a medium speed in the wind. A TT barely moves, the KiteFish drifts down wind just good enough, but a high volume surfboard runs away pretty fast in the wind.

But given that, I still would want more float once I caught up to the board.

But as a safety thing, don't rely on the board alone for your ride back to shore. A beginner kiter who was working for the Coast Guard told me something that kind of calms the mind and may help you too. - "just about anyone can swim a mile on their back". So if you loose the board and the kite, this is how you will most likely get in if you are out side of the reasonable fast swim distance. Just take your time. And please try it first.

That reminds me that I need to get to the pool to brush up on my swimming skills.

cathy o. · Since 11 Aug 2014 83 Posts

Additional thought about kiting in the Gorge... so not on waves. I can go up or down a kite size depending on if I ride a TT or my directional. It goes like this: it's blasting 28-40 I can rig my bigger kite and ride my TT or rig smaller and ride my directional. Same thought for wanting a 'floatier' board for lighter winds. And in some cases, for instance at Rooster when it's 40+ I will only go out on my TT because I feel like I can 'sink it' when or if I need to.

Is this 'volume' related? I also have it in my head that a board with less volume is easier to get on it's rail, to turn. This comes from borrowing bigger boards from my guy friends.

Love all the techy info in this thread! Though, most of it I don't really compute : )

Matt V · Wed Nov 23, 16 9:49 am

I would argue that it is not volume related. Others will slip volume in there but nearly everyone will agree that surface area/bottom contour is the deciding factor. I actually would be dumbfounded to think that anyone would believe that volume was good in the gorge in 28-40mph winds. But there should be one or two of those out there.

And you are correct that you can go up a kite size with a directional.....if it has more surface area that is not negated by rocker more than a TT you are comparing it to.

Case in point, my slingshot Coupes (Surfboard) in multiple fin configurations could use a kite size smaller than my 144cm TT Cabrinha Custom. But the TT Custom had tons of rocker for a TT and the Coupe surfboard was kind of mid rockered with hard rails. Then my light wind low rockered Cabrinha Plasma TT (146cmx44cm) could use a size even smaller than my coupes.

Then my North "Whip" (Surfboard) could use 2 kite sizes bigger.

Then a Slingshot "Alien Twister" (Surfboard) could use 2 kite sizes smaller than the North "Whip".

The point is that TT's can need more or less kite depending on the boards area , length, shape, bottom contour (concave), rocker, and fins.

A surfboard does the same but in addition to the boards area, length, shape, bottom contour (concave/v), rocker, and fins, you also have rail shape (hard to soft as you move forward).

On top of all this, and others will certainly disagree, is that trying an unfamiliar board can exaggerate some of the strengths and weaknesses of that board.

If you try a friends board that is better at gong upwind than yours, you will feel like it goes upwind too much and may be uncontrollable to you when going donwind. Or if the board turns too quickly, it may feel too skittish to you. Either way, if you are like me and like to try different boards but stick with what you have developed a feel for, you will feel something vastly different in every board. If you use many different boards, your brain may just compensate for the differences and allow you to ride somewhat unimpaired by unfamiliarity.

scottnorby · Thu Nov 24, 16 11:55 am

Interesting measuring chart that Lost/Mayhem (one of the largest surfboard manufacturers in the world---san clemente, CA--Matt Biolos )

http://lostsurfboards.net/volume-calculator/

1surfer · Sun Nov 27, 16 12:22 pm **Size and shape**

I ride surfboards without straps. I am about 240 bs right now. I do a lot of riding in Hawaii and have a bunch of different size and shapes of kiting surfboards.

One thing that I have noticed in a big way is that they all ride very differently depending on the conditions. We do kite other islands than Maui.

The past couple of years I have really been noticing how differently they all ride depending on factors like wind direction, swell direction, chop size and direction, amount of current, backwash factor, fin arrangement and type of fin, etc. Pretty sure that there are no less than a zillion combinations that would all feel very differently.

Not to mention size shape and volume of the board including all of the above combinations.

My go to kite is a Reo 8 and I definitely have a favorite board for Kanaha and kite beach one Maui. That is not the best board for the other places that I kite in Hawaii, even with the same kite.

We recently kited in a place that was new to us and I found that my favorite board for that spot was NOT a board that I like to ride elsewhere in Hawaii. Very surprising discovery. It was my least favorite board until I rode it in that spot. Now its all I want to ride at that spot that happens to be my favorite spot now.

There are many factors to consider. Its really all about what feels good, where and when. It just takes the willingness to experiment and see what feels best for that particular set of conditions.

I do know that I like front and rear pads on all my boards or my back gets sore.

I will say that I like the Slingshot boards because they are strong. One thing I do well is break surfboards in half. Never been able to break a Slingy... Yet. They are a bit heavy but I accept that in exchange for strength.

ONE BOARD IS NEVER ENOUGH. ( Neither is two ... )

1surfer · Sun Nov 27, 16 12:36 pm **The age old question.**

ldhr · Since 21 Jul 2009 1471 Posts Hood River XTreme Poster

1surfer · Mon Nov 28, 16 11:50 am **Re: Size and shape**

scottnorby · Wed Nov 30, 16 7:36 am

I agree.
I spent many years living and riding only a 12 and a 10 meter in waves on the Oregon coast --- just switched boards for every condition. Rarely ever a twin tip.
Rarely ever straps unless it was maxed out and could lose your board.

I think a person should examine the type of waves they will be riding.
Windswell short interval waves are much easier to ride with a certain board-- while an ocean groundswell is an entirely different terrain.

Factoring in the wave energy is important and takes time to learn.

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2025 Posts Windward

I did a google search for kitesurfboards under 5'.
And came up with some fat and wide surfboard looking a lot like my 5'8" Doc Lausch
"New Toy" which I like a lot, it floats me for smaller kite which I like a lot.

But after getting my 4'10" VADER, I may have ridden the New Toy maybe 3 time this summer.
The profile on the bottom and the wide rails provide good floatation almost as good as my Doc Laush under power , I doubt if I would every paddle surf it. But I do keep a short leash on it and wear a helmet on bigger days. I doubt if I could stand up it, but at least I can get to shore.
Were I sail my biggest kite is 10.0.
I doubt if I could over fin it, I'm using 4 3/8" quads, and it just turns on dime.
For my conditions, small kite, wind swell and ocean swell, it's in the water all the time less bounce on chop, easy on the knees.

cheap and good
I might get another one for straps( probably not) Laughing

sfbomber · Since 27 Jun 2012 112 Posts Stoked

Felix Pivec recommends a surfboard 5 L in volume smaller than your paddle surfboard for kiting. The volume of your paddle surfboard being based on your skill level, fitness level, age, weight, body type, and wave conditions. I assume you are familiar with the firewire volume calculator.
http://www.firewiresurfboards.com/volume-calculator-board-selector/
Some riders like to kitesurf with the same surfboard that they paddle surf with. Surfing is all about freedom, all about choice. In the spirit of Joel Tudor, I’d recommend trying everything. Surfboard design stem from shapers trying to achieve a goal for a particular wave condition. On the question of volume, in my experience, volume affects planing speed. I would break that into two different categories: 1. The speed to get up and riding on your board (water start). 2. The cruising speed (on the wave). Scenario 1 needs kite power. Scenario 2 does not need kite power. When would I like a board with more volume? In under powered or variable wind conditions (i.e. gusty). I lean towards a board with more volume if I suspect the wind will die. I agree with the surface area comments having a dramatic effect on the ride. Wider boards typically have lower planing speeds (scenario 1). In choppy conditions, I prefer thinner boards (alaia). In turbulant conditions, I prefer a finless board. A wider board will feel more stable (fish, easy jibes), whereas a narrower board will ride faster (semi-gun). Once you are in scenario 2, excess board can feel like body fat. If you can get by with less, it just feels more optimal. There are so many choices out there: finless, single fin, twin fin, thruster, quad, skate, skim, hydrofoil, longboard, sup, etc. Try them all, and find your stoke.
I like how this setup removes volume from the planing equation:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QfFRvd7H6I[/youtube]

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2025 Posts Windward