Q. for Ian; Wave board for big guys

[HanekomDJ]

Ian,
I am a 100 kg rider that try to get into wave sailing. I bought in 2008 a Acid 86 as a wave board for myself and was hoping to progress with it by now. I really struggle to get the A86 going, mainly I believe due to its very thin tail and rails that does not give me any support for my weight and also the board tends to stick to the water, even in strong wind. I modified a old Carve 101 with a centre strap and this works "reasonable", but obviously I am limited to the design of the board. I compare C101 with a 2010 Kode 103 and112, but did not find it any better, actually I did not liked the very wide style and very short nose of the Kodes. The width just feel to much.

I am relooking at something between 90 - 100 L, but not sure what is my best option. Quad 92 looks attractive, but I am concerned how easy I will get it going with the short fins. Kode 94 I haven't tried yet, but it look promising with more volume in the tail, but at 62.5, still wide for wave board (same with Q92). Evo's I tried once before, but do not really have much experience with it. Also, I am a back foot sailor, and may find it difficult to change to the Evo. Probably the best wave board I have used before is an old Acid88. Any advice for me from the 2010/2011 series? My main sailing spots is Lancelin and Corronation Beach.

[dave]

if you are serious about getting into the wave's, then get a custom board made. there are a couple of really good local board makers in perth and gero that can make for you exactly what you need. look on the seabreeze.com.au wave forum. there is a discusion on 100ltr plus wave boards. Riders, Nude, Stone boards.... can't go wrong. stonger that production and as a bonus you probably wont feel like the marketing hype of the industry is making you want to change your board next season as the next model is soooo much better!!!!

[Ola_H]

Custom is for sure an option for a 100l plus wave board. The best Starboard option would be to try and fins the EVO 100 from a few years back. It was specifically designed as a wave board for larger people and I know many heavier people that love it. If you liked the old Acid 88, I actually think the EVO could be pretty good. Many aspects from that older generation Acids carried over to the EVO concept. And at your weight I don't think you should be too scared of going for widths in the 62-63 liter range. A quad 92 might be nice too and it's quite easy to power them up with some more fin area since you have both the back fins and front fins to play with.