windsurfing SUP

[jingebritsen]

The shear volume of those that have not gotten the full story about the Kona 11'5 is mind boggling. It keeps showing on threads like these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIvGXLznh2w

That's a day when the wind was crappy onshore, and squally. Wind ranged from 4-11 early, then picked up to 8-13. Notice how much I can get upwind, thus thru the break. Try that with anything else other than the Kona One, or the RRD and you are toast. I make it out thru beach breaks way bigger in similar wind speeds and directions.

Without reefs, side off winds, and widely spaced waves, the surf board style SUP's suffer on the windsurfing side of their app's. We are windsurfers, right?

[laci]

One aspect of the Kona boards that I would appreciate feedback on from jingebritsen or any other Kona expert is the handling effects from the steptail found on all Konas.

My limited time on the Minitanker (I bought it earlier this spring but I have been in the Gorge all summer, while the MT is in SoCal) revealed that jibing a steptail board is very different than any other board I have ever ridden. The steptail, and the forward placement of the fin necessitated by the steptail, add a weird dynamic to carving jibes. My first time riding the board I thought that I had made a huge mistake in buying it without demoing it first. The next few times I rode it I started adapting my turns to see what worked, and the last time I rode it I was much happier than the first time. But it still feels awkward. Is this true for all steptail boards?

Basically I think that the steptail aids in planeing and low speed shlogging, but when the board starts to carve into a turn while on a plane, the sudden immersion of that extra foot and a half of rail adds a sudden change in the arc of the turn which does not happen with regular boards. Maybe with the larger Konas this isn't as noticeable but with the Minitanker it's a significant effect. What's up with that?

[jingebritsen]

Push a little harder yet and feel the slide. Do so on a wave and get slides while cutting back front side and back. I've only been able to achieve backside sliding cutbacks with my Kona 11'5 after getting more and more aggressive as I've built up experience. Great fun today in the H. Bill leftovers swell. Spent the balance of the week selling stuff at Surf Expo.... So many things getting in the way of windsurfing, argh.