SurfingSports Standup Paddle Surf & Standup Paddling BLOG

Next SUP Demo 9AM - 12PM Sunday, March 21...Santa Barbara, CA...call or email shop for info...


Nice Spring day in the country today...all greened up for St. Paddy's Day next week...



The Coreopsis was going off...





Surf was a bit bumpy and ragged compared to the perfection of this Winter...but, still had some size on sets...

Labels: Santa Barbara, Spring, SUP

We've done a number of private "white glove" SUP demos / lessons for our rock star, movie star, international radio personality, television commentator, business mogul, etc...clients...no big dealio...we offer the same level of service to our "everyday Joe and Jane" types, as well...

Brian M. drove up from Ventura County for one today...he's a surfin' cowboy...wears Ariat ropers...as do I...fortuitously, designed by another client of ours...



Brian has purchased a couple of Bill Foote SUP's from us...he has the 9'10" and 11' models...problem is, he is an addict...;-)

Brian has counted at least 80 surfboard acquisitions in his head...for the record, I'm well into triple digits...that's part of the reason that I own a board company...;-)

I've had a saying about my WARDOG fin designs, as a pragmatic and analytical recovering engineer/scientist, that you have to leave the science at the water's edge and let the dance take over...the same holds true, I've also discovered, of my involvement in standup paddle board designs...compared to surfboards...there are some counter-intuitive aesthetic parameters that optimize SUP performance...

"Trial and error" R&D is very effective at getting performance enhancements out of a product...it's also expensive...that's why I like to work with longtime, established surfboard and sailboard shapers when designing new shapes...most of the guys we work with have over 20 years of shaping experience...and, several have over 40 years of hand shaping experience...

"Feel" is a huge part of the QUALITATIVE experience when you paddle and/or paddlesurf a SUP...

Brian is also very analytical...but, I've diagnosed a bit of "paralysis by analysis" in his latest quest for the "holy grail" of surfing SUP's...

So I loaded up a portion of my personal SUP quiver and met him at a more private location to let him decide for himself what his next purchase would be...

NOTE: If you would like to do the same and can't drive to Santa Barbara, we have had a number of clients fly into our great airport here in Santa Barbara where we have picked them up and have also provided accommodations...





If you have been paying attention to our extensive blog posts and image galleries, you realize that we no longer carry a number of SUP's and products...times change...products become dated and some of the companies that produce them lose their focus on Q U A L I T Y...attention to detail and striving for excellence...these are standards that I have employed in over 2 decades of watersport product development...

We also feel that if you only offer one brand and are focused solely on it, you are too subjective...how the heck do you know that your brand "kicks ass" if you don't paddle any other paddle or board?

You'll NEVER hear me proclaim "buy this product because it kicks ass...yup, buy it just because I say so"...our QA standards are a little more stringent...I'm a scientist, I don't believe in make believe...therefore, we don't sell it 'round here...;-)

If you haven't noticed, we are not in bed with any one brand...our clients value our objectivity...it helps to keep everyone honest...

We also think that offering SUP boards with click & buy links is kinda ludicrous...it's really only for "value shoppers" that have little regard for quality, resale value, or optimal performance...etc...and, worse...greedy website shisters preying on newbie sensitivities to push their low-end crap for the lowest common denominator...most of these guys don't even standup paddle...
SUP-posers...it's just another in the line of sports that they are trying to exploit and pad their wallets with...chasing their tails...

We want to engage our clients in a discussion about their equipment...we'll solve the "problem" together...you only live once...so you may as well make it count...

A few of Brian's choices in SUP's that he was focused on...choices are a good thang...;-)



The Starboard 9'8" wood Fish...





This is hard work...but, it's F U N!



Let's try the 9'5" x 31" Naish Mana...



Smooth and stable...



Next up the 9'10" Bill Foote that he already owns...good reference point...










Checking out the hydrodynamic perfection of my new 10'6" stinger gun design...
Ooops! Put that science back on da beach!!!



The North Pacific 8'10" x 32" winger swallow quad plus 1...



The 9'10 x 32" North Pacific winger swallow quad plus 1...





Eenie meenie minie mo...lotz o' boardz fo' sho'...;-)



Next up is the Blair 9'7" x 30.5"...








North Pacific custom sweet nectar...just a few of the unique offerings that we've had a hand in designing...



More images in this GALLERY...

Labels: paddlesurf boards, standup paddle boards, SUP

A few snapshots and customer testimonials from THE STOKE FACTORY...

Anna is stoked with her new Starboard 9' Fish...



Ready to roll with the inflatable HandiRack...



Meanwhile...Doug in New Jersey is scoring a new Hobie 10'2" Chuck Patterson Stinger wave ripper...Mango with yellow gold camo pad...SWEEEEET!!!







Here's mine...nice rocker and volume distribution...



Getting ready to install the yellow gold camo pad on a client's Starboard 10'5" Drive in Classic construction...



Same board with a blue pad installed for Philip from Ventura...



Ship 'em in...ship 'em out...seems like everyday is Christmas at the Standup Paddle Sports stoke factory...







Lots of people drop into our store to buy their paddleboard direct from our paddleboard warehouse...we have well over 100 of the best standup paddleboards in stock, and more on the way daily...

Labels: Hobie SUP, paddle boards direct, paddleboard warehouse, PADDLESURF SANTA BARBARA, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, Starboard Standup Paddleboards, SUP

We've paddled the new Naish Glide the last several days...click image below for gallery...



When Harold Iggy shaped this puppy, he definitely got the "glide" part right...it cuts right through the lurpy chop like a hot knife through butter...really smooth...stable...fast...comfy...not to mention extremely sexy...;-)

Come on down to Santa Barbara's West Beach this morning to demo...we'll be there until noon with the Naish Glide and a couple of vans full of the latest SUP's on the market...



Nice lines from the wood nose block...to the wood fin...sweeeeet!





You get quite a value ($1849) built into this 12' board...performance...aesthetics...durability...quality...

In addition to the handle that's perfectly placed...you also get a factory installed integrated pad...it also has a reinforced deck in the area that you standup paddle the most...and has a mast foot option that will accommodate a sail rig...

Harold Iggy grew up in Hawaii, surfing Oahu s infamous north and south
shores. He became a pioneer in professional shaping in the late 60s,
spending time in both California and Oahu creating boards for various
companies including Velzy surfboards. In the 70s, Harold set up shop on the
north shore of Oahu, shaping his own brand of boards. The 80s marked his
introduction to the Naish clan, and a long lasting professional and personal
relationship began.

In 1968, surfing motivated Rick Naish to move his family from
California to Hawaii. Rick soon became an integral part of the 60s
surf scene, making Makaha and Waimea his home breaks. In the
early 80s, he joined forces with Harold Iggy. The resulting
collaboration of these two surf legends has created some of the
most innovative board designs on the market.

Head Shaper:

Harold Iggy



Behind the Brand: Naish Hawaii was founded in 1979 in Kailua, Hawaii. Rick Naish first came to Oahu's North Shore to surf in 1956 together with the likes of Pat Curren and Butch Van Arsdalen. After several more trips from La Jolla to surf in Hawaii, Rick then moved his family there in 1968. While living in Kailua, Naish got into Hobie Cat sailing (multiple state champion and 1972 National champion) until the sport of windsurfing came along. Rick, his wife Carol, and sons Robby and Randy soon became the first family of the sport. Rick began shaping in 1976, the same year his son Robby won his first windsurfing title. The Naish brand became the world's most sought after windsurfing label, as Robby would go on to win 23 titles (Kelly who?). More than three decades after winning his first title, Robby continues to be a driving force in both windsurfing and kiteboarding. The Naish brand has continued to grow over the years, and now includes windsurfing, kiteboarding, surfing, and SUP product lines, all designed in Hawaii. Since 1981, the designer cementing much of that legacy has been Harold Iggy, a man who sits down near the trunk of the shaper's tree, next to peers like Dewey Weber and Dale Velzy. At 67, Iggy is still windsurfing, riding SUP, or surfing every day.

About his Most Popular Models: Iggy says the trend of SUP boards going shorter has had a dramatic effect on design. "Our 9'3" basically resembles a blown up shortboard, which is creating a whole new progressive direction for SUP surfing." While that's undoubtedly an area he and his team love exploring, their longboard-style SUP boards remain the most popular. "The 11'6" longboard works for beginners and advanced, in everything from no surf to medium surf." As for his racing boards, Iggy and his racers like Dave Kalama are pumped on their new non-rudder 14' class boards, and their Unlimited class.

Taking the Pulse: "Variety keeps things interesting," says Iggy. "If you look in my shaping room right now there is a 7'4" windsurfer, a 9'0" gun windsurfer, two performance longboards, and a 17' SUP race board. It's all fun and exciting. There isn't one thing that is more fun than the others, although the SUP in general has a lot of guys pretty excited at the moment."

Shop Talk
What's the most important thing to remember when ordering an SUP board?

"Don't go too progressive and order something that's too small when considering an SUP. A bigger board is better a lot of the time, especially for guys that don't ride all that often or that well…but even for good guys."

What are the three most important boards in your personal quiver?

"The first would be my 7' hybrid surfboard, which is fun in almost anything. That would be followed by my 9'6" SUP and my 12' Glide SUP, which is a flat-water board. That way I would have something for every kind of condition."

Labels: 2009 Naish, Naish Glide, Santa Barbara standup paddle sports, SUP

Highly respected North Shore shaper Bill Foote (1971), personally delivered a couple dozen of his extremely popular 11' x 28" and 11' x 30" SUP's to our shop
yesterday...

















In addition to having over 80 SUP's currently in stock, and 90 more on the way in the next couple of weeks...of course, paddles are never in short supply
at our shop...even, the extremely popular new Werner Carve and Advantage ($219)...details here...





If you prefer a lighter paddle, then we have the carbon Werner "Spanker" ($299) and the carbon QuickBlade "Kanaha" ($320)...

Labels: Bill Foote SUP's, Santa Barbara standup paddle, standup paddle boards, SUP