Deck Traction Part 2. Padded Decks

In part 1 we covered waxing and to veteran surfers, accustomed to the culture of waxing their board, its no problem. Newcomers see the padded-traction decks as the most sensible solution.

Many of the factory-made boards are supplied with padded traction decks. Some pads wrap around the rails, some are applied on the deck only with bare rails, and a new method recesses the pad into the deck.

The padded decks that wrap around the rails are very user friendly. They make the rails easy to grab and are easy on your body if you're whacked by your board. They protect the rails from your paddle too, but if your blade is sharp you can cut or chafe the pads. You can even dent the padded rails with your car-rack straps or setting the board down on its rails. If he rails get rough it causes drag and your board will be slower and won't turn as smoothly in the waves. Damaged rail pads can be patched and sanded smooth but prevention is better. Use an edgeguard on you paddle edge and carry the board in a boardbag to protect the soft rails.

Boards with with pads attached to the entire center of the deck leave the rails bare and smooth. They are not as user friendly as padded rails but higher performance and more carefree. The edge of the attached pad can drag a little, if your rail is buried deep, catch on things or trip you. The pad can also delaminate, but it's easily repaired with glue.

A new and unique application is the recessed deck pads as seen on the '08 Laird models. The rails are bare and the pad is applied in a recess that's carved into the deck. The pads edge is not exposed to snag or drag, giving the board clean and smooth lines.

One advantage of all factory-installed padded decks is that they can be up to $500 less expensive than their full-gloss counterparts. The savings come from deleting the labor of painting, glossing and polishing the deck. Many of these boards have matte finish white bottoms which makes invisible repairs easy with white Ding-stick or Marine -tex

The higest performance deck pads are applied custom to a gloss deck board. This way there is a huge variety of brands and types of pads available which can be personalized exactly to the riders demands and color preference. Various textures, sizes and shapes of pads can really make a performance difference. Also, you can combine pads and waxed areas or XM film. XM is a clear un-padded traction application that can also be used on the entire deck if you like. Keep in mind that all this personalization comes with a price. Custom deck traction can easily cost $50-$200 depending on what you choose to do. When you consider what it costs for the highest performance bicycle its OK!

http://www.standuppaddleflatwater.com/

Clean Water Classic surfing contest adds Standup

All:
Buenos Dias'! I have news from the Clean Water Classic organizers this morning. Upon my urging they have added a SUSP demonstration heat at this years CWC. The dates I have been able to find out about this contest are May 16 - 18 in Westport, Washington. I do not know what day the demonstration SUSP heat is as of yet. I am planning to go as they have a Masters Long Board Division. Westport is on the SW - Central part of the Washington Coast and has a beach break just to the south of the jetty leading into the port. Breaks very much like South Beach in Newport. It is about a 5 1/2 - 6 hour drive and every year I have been to the contest it has been foggy with rain. Waves have been overhead to waist high for the contest. The really good news is the water is about 10 - 15 degrees warmer than the Oregon Coast so a 3/2 is perfect and no booties or gloves! They have a few campgrounds in the port which is pretty much like camping in a parkling lot - all gravel, no trees and one bathroom/shower/laundry complex and there is one up scale campground that is like a leisure world. There is no camping at the contest site and you have to drive into it. Any how, I'll keep you all posted!
Peter

For more in check out the website http://www.cleanwaterclassic.com/Home.html
A Utube video of Westport
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_GvFin8eyQ

Jack Gillen Shares His Stoke - Open Ocean SUP

I searched the beaches and surf shops for several days in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii for a standup paddling experience. Finally, I had a chance meeting with Jack Gillen at Honokahou, HI and my dream came true. I introduced myself and said I'd been searching for a way to try SUP. "Do you mind if I try it." "Sure" Jack said, "take it out for awhile in the bay." Thanks Jack for my first SUP experience!

Little did I know that a year later Jack would be at my home and telling stories to our local SUP group. We had a potluck dinner and get-together to honor Jack's visit.

Jack is an excellent story teller and has an explosive enthusiasm for SUP. He personally owns 32 SUP boards, scattered throughout the Islands, and a whole quiver of paddles. His SUP crusade has taken him on some amazing voyages where he's met many interesting people in the SUP world. We also discovered that Jack has many interesting and creative ideas, most of which involve getting other people out to experience the super-fun aspects of the sport and reap the benefits of physical conditioning. He uses himself as an example, "if a normal guy like me can do this so can you" says Jack, "you don't have to be a waterman like Laird Hamilton."

For many standup paddlers, the most fun is the open water down-winder with swells. Sure, the breaking waves are a climax of fun but limited. Limited because accessible surf breaks are rare, dependent on conditions, crowded and (in Kona) breaking on dangerous rocky shores. "The open ocean has no crowds and no rocks"says Jack. He likes catching swell after swell and the meditative part of getting in the zone on a long paddle. Other rewards Jack mentions are physical conditioning and the occasional religious experience!

To prove his "average person can do this" point, Jack decided to SUP every major channel crossing in the Hawaiian Islands. The story of each crossing kept us glued to our seats and gave me one conclusion. Jack is no average person! Can you imagine a 24 hour paddle trip, meaning you paddle all night? Sure, it was a full moon, but the moon set and he was dropping-in on huge swells in pitch dark for hours. On another crossing the wind shifted and blew him to leeward of the island destination. Luckily, once in the lee, the wind was sheltered enough to make up-wind headway to an exhausted landing. Jack has also competed in the Maui to Molokai and Molokai to Oahu races, encouraging us to race in our local events. He always ends a story with a safety precaution, don't try this on your own. Use caution with physical preparation, an experienced guide and a rescue boat. For training Jack advocates a blend of Tai chi, calisthenics and his own concoction of health/nutrition regimes. Not to mention, paddle, paddle, paddle.

So, Jack, we're all coming over to the Islands to do this with you! What could be better than to indulge in paddling, physical conditioning and open ocean adventure!

standuppaddlebend.com Contact Jack: canoe@hawaii.rr.com 808-756-7073

PHOTO 1: Jack took this photo of me paddling in front of the Honokahou State Park, Kona.
PHOTO 2: Jack sharing the stoke with the Bend, OR paddle group. Thanks Jack!

Beginner Tips - Turning and Spinning

Initially you’ll be turning the board slowly by stroking away from the board, but this is the slow way around. This is fine for calm flat water, but too slow for surf or wind driven waves.

The faster way to turn is to put weight on the back of the board and stroke forwards with the paddle on one side of the board to pivot the board. Put one leg in front of the other and start practicing this turn by putting weight on your back leg. This works even better if you take a step backwards. If you're not turning easily, step farther back. Depending upon the design of your board, if you step too far back it'll sink so much that you may fall off. You need to lean on the paddle a bit to optimize these moves. Once you can spin the board 360 degrees you’re ready for choppy conditions and surf.

Check out this How To Pivot Turn Video.

Jack Gillen and Tod Woldridge Connect for Island SUP

Jack Gillen from Kona, HI visited our SUP Flatwater group last month and gave a great talk sharing his stories about island to island SUP. Tod Woldridge (a member of our Bend, Oregon SUP group) connected with Jack for a great afternoon of paddling and surfing at Honokahou Harbor. Note the bend in Jack's bamboo paddle shaft!

Kids On-Board Safety Tips

Paddling as a family develops great friendships and healthy kids. Kids love the freedom of paddling. When we first hit the beach my daughter and her friends first priority is getting out on the Standup board. They put on their life jackets and make sure they have enough money for ice-cream cone trips to the lodge across the lake, then they're off playing for hours. They even bring the dog!

Here are a few safety ideas before you give your kids the paddles:

• Soft-top or padded decks are best for families. The surface is softer and not slippery for wet feet or dog claws.
• Choose a lake or body of water with a speed restriction so they won't be in danger of being hit by a jet-ski or fast boat.
• Put life jackets on them.
• Make sure one of the kids keeps the leash on at all time. When they jump in the board can shoot away from them. The leash keeps the board closer to at least one of the kids.
  
• Teach them paddle safety. If they drop the paddle and the board goes away from them, swim to the board first. Don't try swimming with the paddle.
• If the water temp is at all on the cool side, put wet suits on them. Their little bodies lose heat quickly. A wet suit will keep them in the water for hours.
• Keep them fed, hydrated and sun-protected.

http://www.standuppaddlebend.com/

Recent Articles by Gerry Lopez and Dave Chun

Our local friends and industry SUP dignitaries Gerry and Dave have some great articles up on the internet magazines and blogs recently. I'd like to point this out with some links so they don't fade into the archives.

Gerry's is a very personal and wonderful story about his fire for surfing and how it was kindled, burned, smoldered and flamed again with standup paddle surfing. Find it at: http://kialoapaddles.blogspot.com/ Thanks Gerry for writing this and providing a preview for your book that's coming out in March. Now all we ask is for you to make us some SUP boards!

Dave has been interviewed and filmed so much lately that I don't know where to start. You'll need to navigate a bit to find all these articles, (two four-part interviews). Start with http://www.supsurfmag.com/ then go to page three of "articles." Part four of Dave Chuns interview on paddles will come up and at the bottom of the page will be listed the first three articles as well. Next, go to http://standuppaddlesurf.net/ click on articles for December and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. Click on Entries(rss) and the whole list will come up. Scroll down till you find the four interview articles with Dave Chun.

These articles are super informative and Dave is very generous with his knowledge on paddle design, materials, paddling technique, and the industry. It shows why we all love our Kialoa paddles!

http://standuppaddlebend.com/