Stand Up Paddleboards

Stand up paddleboards have really gained popularity in the past few years. It's not that they're dominating the line ups, but they came from out of nowhere to the point where I frequently see at least one guy out on a SUB (stand up paddleboard) on smaller days at many beaches in California.

Most stand up boards are huge, typically about 11ft to 12ft. Some open ocean cruisers are 15ft. High performance boards might be 9.5ft, with some fish designs shorter than that. Low rockers and thick (approx 4inch) designs are typical to create the buoyancy/stability needed to stand up on the thing when not even moving. Average sized surfers usually start out on the 11ft model but lighter surfers can go a little smaller.

The advantage with stand-up paddleboards is the ease of cruising up and down a beach, catching waves, and paddling right back out with ease. No pop ups or prone paddling involved. Since the maneuverability is less than that of other surfboard, forgiving small waves are the perfect match. These things are so big they will catch the tiniest wave (see video). You don't want one of these monsters hitting you or anybody else in the friggin head because you wiped out on a big steep drop.

There is an additional element of cross training that comes with SUP surfing. Since humans are made to stand upright stand up; stand up paddling leads to less muscular imbalance than regular surfing. The position of standing parallel on the board also works the legs more and the pivoting and leaning work the abs. All this leads to better conditioning for regular surfing.

Surftech offers some good entry level stand up paddleboards and there are several shapers in California offering designs like Ron House (with Quick Blade), Joe Blair, Infinity, and Peason Arrow. There is even an inflatable version made by ULI...it may not offer much performance but can you imagine traveling with a full sized version?

SUPs also require, of course, a paddle. Paddle lengths are typically 10 to 11 inches longer than a surfers height. Typical blade size is about 7 inches by 19 inches. Popular California companies that make paddles include Quick Blade and Infinty. Perhaps they're actually manufactured in China; like everything...I'm just saying the companies are in CA.

Here some popular shapers of SUPs in California:

• Infinity - This Dana Point company offers everything from a 9ft quad to the 14ft Ocean Down Winder model. Many shapes are available as Surftech models.
• Joe Blair - This shaper is really bringing the SUB lengths down with a 8'9 model that he says will float 220lb surfers just fine.
• Ron House - Ron has a design released by Quick Blade that is a standard 12.2ft long and 27 inches wide. This SUB is available in several colors and comes with a 1/4in deck pad.
• Pearson Arrow - Bob makes a “Laird Hamilton” model of many sizes.

I saw this guy in Santa Cruz on a very flat day.

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