Paddlesports (Kayaking, Canoe, Stand-Up Paddle boards)

Soldato
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Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
oh yes! Hit a big rock that I couldn’t see as I was landing at the beach at fell foot. I’ve also took a chunk out of my foot.

Where did you get yours fixed?

It was a guy called Jetson Surfboards in Northwich, however there is a guy in Formby area i think

https://www.moocustom.co.uk/

Only question is whether he'd work on inflatables.

Can you post a picture? I think some people on facebook have managed to glue in a new box themselves which may be possible
 
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It was a guy called Jetson Surfboards in Northwich, however there is a guy in Formby area i think

https://www.moocustom.co.uk/

Only question is whether he'd work on inflatables.

Can you post a picture? I think some people on facebook have managed to glue in a new box themselves which may be possible

I’ll take one later on. I don’t think it needs a new box. Just epoxy about of it down however, maybe it will just keep happening.

touring board purchase incoming!
 
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So, I can’t get a good picture of the damage but, the fin box seems to be fully intact now. Not sure if some epoxy/glue over the top will keep it functional.
 
Man of Honour
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Back from hols lugging 3 isup, 2 wakeboards and wake foil. Cracking time and a lot watersports achieved (also a lot of eating and drinking to balance things out).

Cracked fin box on one meant a lost fin (I had repaired a previously cracked US fin box on my fanatic and it gave out).

My new Naish is fast, really fast and I like it a lot but hadn't unpacked it until arrived there and it has a pretty bad twist. Looking into it with the supplier. Twist front to back which I know is common place on longer iSUP but for a premium brand race board not great.
 
Soldato
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Superb.

I've just sold my Black Project Ray fin. It doesn't seem to fit in my new fin box and whilst i could cut a little bit off to make it fit, i've decided i don't need a £100 fin as i just didn't really notice a benefit vs a £15 fin. I'm also about to buy a bike so there's another hobby to ***** loads of money at :D

Also realised i needed a paddle for over in Spain, my wife has vetoed using my Fanatic board bag as a suitcase for some reason so told me to just buy a paddle over there rather than taking my spare one over. It's harder because there are so few online retailers over there and Decathlon don't do delivery and the nearest one to my parents is in Valencia just over an hour away with no guarantee of stock.

I've ended up with this, it's an Aztron Nylon/Carbon mix at the fairly budget end at around £75
https://www.nootica.com/3-part-aztron-speed-carbon-sup-paddle.html

I had an internal battle, trying to find the balance between not spending a lot on something that wouldn't be used more than a few times a year, yet still getting something i wouldn't hate. Going with a better brand meant i was at £150 even for the very basic Nylon Tuffskin Starboard paddle which is over 1kg.

The blade shape seems reasonable and at 725g it's not "too" heavy. Hopefully it does the job and i don't come home wanting to replace it with something better!
 
Man of Honour
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Fair enough re the fin. I should experiment swapping out the fin in my JP (high end) with my naish (plastic) and doing some timed sprints. I bet nothing in it.

Good luck with the paddle. Looks good spec for the price.
 
Associate
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I am interested giving paddling boarding a go but am wondering what is the best way to start, I have Caversham Lakes nearby that will rent me a board for £20 an hour. Should I just give this a go or would I be better spending a little more to get some lessons?
 
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I guess it depends what you want.

Lessons are useful but for just to get a taste spending £20 and pottering yourself is probably the way to go. I started like that (albeit hiring a board on the beach in Corfu!)

Watch a couple of youtube paddle stroke basics before you go. No need for a lesson

Thank you. I think this is the route I will take. If I find that I am totally useless then maybe I will look into lessons.
 
Soldato
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It's not really even that you can be useless. I think some people have the impression it's a lot harder than it is. I absolutely flew off the board the first time i tried to stand up on holiday (very embarrassing on a beach with lots of people watching!), but after that it's just about trying again. My main tip would be to look ahead and just keep a slight bend to the knee, don't look down. Oh and get a bit of momentum going before standing. It's a lot easier to stand on a moving board than it is on a still one!

For me there are only really 2 reasons for lessons.

1 - To improve your technique, but it's best to have the basics first to enable you to spend the lesson perfecting things rather than learning just about standing up etc.
2 - For specific conditions. For example it might be worth having a sea lesson if you want to go in the sea and don't know anything about tides/currents etc.
 
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So after spending some time talking to the people at SUP inflatables I've just about settled on boards for my son and I. Both Gladiator boards, although they did recommend I look at the Shark boards 5" thick for myself due to my light weight. Anyone have any experience of the Shark boards?

Also I don't fancy pumping up two boards by hand each time we go, any recommendations on electric pumps?
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
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Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
So after spending some time talking to the people at SUP inflatables I've just about settled on boards for my son and I. Both Gladiator boards, although they did recommend I look at the Shark boards 5" thick for myself due to my light weight. Anyone have any experience of the Shark boards?

Also I don't fancy pumping up two boards by hand each time we go, any recommendations on electric pumps?

They're all generally the same pump other than branding as far as i can tell. The main thing to be aware of is that some only go to 15PSI so i'd make sure to get the higher rated 20PSI versions.

I have the HIKS one but don't use it anymore. I found with the Bravo Super pump (comes with the Gladiator Elite range, not sure about the lower ranges), it was considerably faster and quieter than the electric pump.
 
Associate
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comes with the Gladiator Elite range, not sure about the lower ranges

Yeah it comes with the Pro range too. I guess I will see how I get on with the supplied pump then. The board I borrowed to try for my son was an aquaplanet kit and I didn't like the thought of pumping up two boards with that type of pump. It would be all the workout I'd need!
 
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