Let’s cut to the chase. Yes. There’s a simple logic to this. If your paddle is lighter you’ll do less work lifting it out of the water and swinging it back to the front of the board (recovery). If the blade is more efficient because of the hydrodynamic design and structure, then that efficiency will Continue Reading
Probably not like you visualize. We’ve done a lot of work trying to understand paddles here at Ke Nalu Labs. We, meaning me and Sam. Sam’s contribution is accompanying me to Nichol’s Slough, running around looking for food and dead things. My contribution is putting sensors all over paddles, hooking them up to a data Continue Reading
My bullet is awesome when the swells are big. But when the water goes flat it just pushes water. The reason is simple, it has a planing bow, aimed at stability and speed once the board slots into a swell. But here I am in the Columbia River, paddling in a mixed bag. I want Continue Reading
Sandwich Island Composites continues to make some of the most innovative, beautiful and fastest boards in the SUP racing world. The new Bullet is a perfect example. The shape is optimized for speed and swell-catching ability. In the growing group of lunatics that regularly paddle the world famous Maliko run in it’s most challenging conditions, Continue Reading
Carles Carrera is a fanatic SUP fan and a motorcycle engineer/designer. He also likes to take care of his toys. When he knocked a chip out of one of his new boards he immediately started looking at options, and didn’t like what he saw. The end result is a fine solution for any of us Continue Reading
I have no patience for people who say “Oh, I’m no good with technology” as if it were a talent, or an inherited characteristic. Using technology is something you learn, and being over 40 is no excuse for acting like it’s beyond you. Our Xtreme Geezer technology series will deal with high-tech devices that can Continue Reading
Sandwich Island Composites builds the F-series of downwind and flatwater racing boards, probably the winningest boards in Stand Up Paddle Surfboard racing. Until now these boards were individually built by hand at the SIC company on Maui. While several construction methods are used in the F-series, the mainstay of series is the hollow carbon fiber Continue Reading
Inspired by Tim (Strand Leper on the Standupzone) I modified a mule to fit my F18. Dropped bicycle and trailer (in a little bag about the size of two books) off at Wailea Beach (Four Seasons Maui) and drove back to the Kehei Pier for a light wind downwinder. Paddled hard the whole way, partly Continue Reading
I always love dropping by the Ding King/S.I.C. Not only is it one of the coolest buildings around, but there’s always something interesting going on. I’ve been watching Mark and the gang build a set of Stand Up Paddle catamarans for the last few months. Here’s the first one, ready for it’s trial run. These Continue Reading
A bit of business–Camelback(tm) is a trade name of the leader in hydration packs. We’re using the name genertically because most people refer to hydration packs as Camelbaks. We’ll get to the Camelback part in a little bit, but first a little recap of current PFD requirements for SUP. If the U.S. Coast Guard has Continue Reading
We chose an odd day for our showcase–a Tuesday–but we were running out of time and Maui Canoe and Kayak Club had a race scheduled for the weekend that included Stand Up Paddle boards. We assumed most paddlers and some of the boards we wanted to test would be committed for the weekend. Alan (shapeshifter) Continue Reading
One good thing came out of my losing my favorite QB paddle (I left it on the beach at Kanaha in one of my classic ADD moves) is I got two more that i really love. I bought one of the 8″ QB’s and I absolutely love the thing. It’s remarkable how good this paddle Continue Reading
Leave it to Jimmy to do it his own way. While everyone else is making very stiff carbon fibre shafts, Jimmy decided to add flex. Jimmy went through a lot of prototypes and a couple of different manufacturers to get a shaft with smooth flex along its length that is also extremely strong. The result Continue Reading
I’ve had these shots for quite a while, but I lost the notebook where I wrote down the owner/builder’s name. I met him at Thousand Peaks a month or so ago and was immediately struck by how beautiful his paddle was. the pictures don’t do it’s complexity or quality any justice. The back of the Continue Reading
Lightning Bolt is Maui’s original surf shop. It was started in 1972 by Gerry Lopez and Jack Shipley. Lightning bolt boards are seen everywhere in the surf movies of the 70′s with surfers like Gerry Lopez and Rory Russell ruling Pipeline on Lightning Bolt boards, and the revolutionary Australian surfers like Rabbit Bartholomew, Peter Townend, Continue Reading
The folks at Maxfield Provisions provided us with some outstanding quality gear for the Cape Cod Bay Challenge. Shawn was an amazing guy to work with….so much enthusiasm for what he does….a true commitment to quality and a stoke level that goes off the charts. Very infectious too….I always had a big smile after each Continue Reading
I received this news release from Werner Paddles yesterday and asked for pictures. They look pretty interesting, the shapes are unusual, I wish the picture showed the shape from the side and back as well, but here’s what I have: For Release: Trade: August 25, 2008 Werner Expands Stand Up Paddle Offerings Werner Paddles has Continue Reading
I was browsing through my email trying to find the addresses of the people I owe rash guards to (they’re coming, honest, the only bad news is that it turned out we only have XL and XXL left. If that’s way to big maybe you can use it as a board cover) and I came Continue Reading
Board Name: Starboard 9/30 Extremist Manufacturer: Starboard Length: 9′ Width: 30″ Volume: ? Weight: ? Weight Range: Beg. 50-140 lbs., Adv. 60-190 lbs. Skill: Beginner to Expert From the website: The fish-tail style shorter boards are the most exciting and progressive shapes in the range. They are still stable paddlers due to their 30″ width Continue Reading
A custom wood paddle is a special thing. It’s Paul Newman showing up in the bar with a Balabushka. It sets a certain expectation, creates a certain frisson. Of course on the downside, you’d better be able to play a little fricken pool. Whether it’s a Gillespie, an Ernie Johnson Big Stick, a Kinimaka, or Continue Reading
Paddles can be very tough on your SUP board rails, when you’re learning you whack the board with the paddle pretty frequently, and once you are catching waves a little paddle flailing when you’re losing balance can result in a nasty and very hard smack to the board. It’s possible to hit a board so Continue Reading
Who says you can’t surf an 18 foot open water race board? Some of the stylish riders at the Showcase. You can view this gallery two ways–click on any picture to see it full size, then you can browse a picture at a time, of click on slideshow.
I guess 10’6″ isn’t little to some folks, but when you weigh 245 and your skills are modest, it’s dinky. Here’s video…
Pretty fancy woodburning. I think this is a little more sophisticated than the woodburning set I had when I was in cub scouts.