Archive for September, 2007

Stand up paddle grip review

I just put on the C4 grip on my stand up paddle. My paddle is 78″ long and the blade is 8.5″. I have another one that’s 80″ long which I use for downwind paddles and when I let my friends use my other boards. I think I installed it wrong but it still works. I don’t know if I like the grip diameter being so big but it does make the paddle easier on my hands and add a lot of extra grip. I like that it’s a bright color which makes it easy to spot in the water if I drop it. The downside is that when it gets dirty it looks really dirty.

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icon for podpress  C4 stand up paddle grip [0:25m]: Download
icon for podpress  C4 stand up paddle grip [0:25m]: Download

Save your rails on your stand up paddle surfboard with video

When I first started stand up paddle surfing I would hit the rails of the stand up board A LOT. I still hit it and have even taken chunks out of the rails. The carbon fiber stand up paddles are strong and easily dent and ding the epoxy boards. My friend’s board looks like a shark ate the rail. It is wasted almost the entire length of the rail. I gotta get a picture to post but I don’t think he’ll like that.

The first solution was to tape up the edge of the stand up paddle with electric tape. That works reasonably well but a hard hit and the gel coat comes off the rail. Then I tried ‘rim rubber’ which is made for kayak paddles. It looks like door jam material and you use Aqua Seal glue to make it stick. It looks and works great on kayak paddles because they are relatively flat on the blade. Continue reading ‘Save your rails on your stand up paddle surfboard with video’

icon for podpress  Save your rails on your stand up paddle surfboard [1:54m]: Download
icon for podpress  Save your rails on your stand up paddle surfboard [1:54m]: Download

Stand up paddle surf Dreaming

Been dreaming of stand up paddle surfing. Thinking of stand up paddle surfing. Wishing I could stand up paddle surf. Finally cracked and grabbed my 9′6″ Chambers this morning for a quick paddle at Old Man’s. It was gale force winds, but I had to get wet. No one in the water anywhere so waves were all mine. Managed a couple fun rides and got my fix.

I’m dreaming of a new board. Custom Chambers? 9′2″ Chambers production board? Hand shaped Jimmy Lewis? 10′ C-4 boardworks? It is amazing the selection of boards we have available today. I remember not too long ago when I had to use a Surftech Munoz because there was nothing else around.

F-16 High Tech Stand Up Paddle Board for distance runs and downwinders

My buddy Jeff Chang at Wet Feet Hawaii www.WetFeetHawaii.com turned me onto the F-16 stand up paddle board for distance runs. I guess they do up to 30 mile paddles on this bad boy. I can’t wait to get him to let me try his out. Jeff got me so excited yesterday when he was telling me about it. He said that it was like riding a continuous wave the whole paddle run. It’s because you can actually ride open ocean swells and any little bump during your ride as long as the wind is fairly strong.
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Stand Up Paddle Surfers make a stand in Glenwood Canyon

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Desiree Powell had never seen people surfing down the Colorado River.

Not kayaks or rafts or boogie boards. Surfboards.

Dave Parmenter stand up paddle surfs white water rapids in Colorado


She was at work, driving fish to Sylvan Lake for stocking when she spotted the four surfers somewhere not far east of the No Name tunnels. Continue reading ‘Stand Up Paddle Surfers make a stand in Glenwood Canyon’

The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 2 with Video

I asked Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman to let me film him talking about the stand up paddle to share the fundamental information with everyone. I got a lot out of his explanations and hope it can help others.

C4 Waterman Stealth Stand Up Paddle and Paddle Grip

Click here for stand up paddle video 2:
Continue reading ‘The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 2 with Video’

icon for podpress  The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 2 [1:46m]: Download
icon for podpress  The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 2 [1:46m]: Download

Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards with Video Preview by Todd Bradley

I got the sneak peek at the new C4 Waterman stand up paddle surfboards for 2008. They are the 10′ x 28″ Brian Keaulana Wing Swallow Hawaii Performance Stand Up Paddle Surfboard, the 9′ x 27″ Bat Tail Hotdog Board and the 9′6″ x 27″ Swallow Hawaii Performance Fun Board.

Click here for the video of Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman explaining the new stand up paddle boards:
Continue reading ‘Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards with Video Preview by Todd Bradley’

icon for podpress  Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards [9:53m]: Download
icon for podpress  Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards [9:53m]: Download

Hanging Five

Woke up to calm(er) winds this morning and decided to catch the tail end of the S swell before hopping on a plane later today. Grabbed the 9′6″ Chambers and jumped in around 7 a.m. by publics. Paddled over to Queens and immediately knew it was gonna be fun. Only one other SUP out and a hoard of other prone bodies in the lineup. The tide was coming in pretty fast and the waves were getting a bit mushy. Perfect. Was able to paddle in smoothly from the outside, stroke into the flat section and lined myself up for the nice walled up section over the inside reef. I decided to work on hanging five today and managed a couple long noserides. It is pretty nice to have the paddle to control my speed… slow down to stick the tail into the whitewater and paddle to speed up without having to backstep. Lots of aloha in the water and many fun waves all around. Should be good for the next couple of days I think. Have fun!

The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 1 with Video

I asked Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman to let me film him talking about the stand up paddle to share the fundamental information with everyone. I got a lot out of his explanations and hope it can help others.

C4 Waterman Stealth Stand Up Paddle and Paddle Grip

Click here for the stand up paddle video part 1:
Continue reading ‘The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 1 with Video’

icon for podpress  The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 1 [8:10m]: Download
icon for podpress  The stand up paddle explained in detail by Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman Part 1 [8:10m]: Download

Stand Up Paddle Board Vent Plugs

Aloha you all… Evan gave me access to the site and here I am writing my first post. A quick stand up paddle history about me. I first stood up with a paddle about two years ago on Maui when I was visiting a couple of friends. They plopped me onto a couple monster 12 foot boards and I was hooked. I left Maui with a repaired paddle (broken windsurf mast and universal) looking for a board. A buddy in Honolulu had an old beat up Munoz Surftech that he loaned me. I was in for a surprise the first time I paddled out at Kaimana. The board was totally unstable and the winds battered me to shreds. I kept taking the board out until I finally found my very own board. It was a Dave Parmenter 10′ gray camo board shaped for Archie on Maui. This board was a beast. Heavy, stable, and a tank on water. The board had gone many through many hands and everytime I went out someone would yell.. hey that board was sitting at my house for months…

Continue reading ‘Stand Up Paddle Board Vent Plugs’

Sit Down Paddle Surf

I know the idea is to stand on the stand up paddle surfboard the whole session but when the wind is over 20 mph it is super hard. Hence, today was a sit down paddle surf session. When it’s really windy and there are a lot of people around I don’t like to stand while waiting for waves. Part of it is because it’s hard to balance. The other part is that I don’t want the board to fly and hit someone if I fall off.

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Stand Up Paddle Surfing Instructional Video Release

I think a lot of the questions being asked about SUP are going to be answered in the C4 Stand Up Paddle Surfing DVD which is being released in October 2007.

I went to their HQ to buy a handle grip and ended up getting a bunch of great tips which Todd said are in the video. He showed me why the paddle was designed how it is and the angles and everything. Continue reading ‘Stand Up Paddle Surfing Instructional Video Release’

Comparison between C4 Waterman Boardworks 10′ and 10′6″ stand up paddle surfboards with video

C4 Waterman 10′ and 10′6″ stand up paddle surfboards C4 Waterman 10′ and 10′6″ stand up paddle surfboards

C4 Waterman 10′ and 10′6″ stand up paddle surfboards C4 Waterman 10′ stand up paddle surfboardsC4 Waterman 10′ bottom side of stand up paddle surfboards

I’ve been riding the C4 Waterman 10′6″ stand up paddle surfboard for about 2 or 3 weeks now. I think I have about 15 hours on the 10′6″ for now and 6 hours on the 10′ stand up board. At 210 lbs on a good day, the 10′ board is a bit more challenging to balance on than the 10′6″ which I’m very comfortable on. The 10′ board surfs way better than anything I’ve tried so far so it’s been worth the extra effort to get the balance right. I paddled the 10′ today in 20+mph winds. Basically, paddling any size stand up paddle board is hard in winds over 15 mph. I was very pleased today in that I was able to balance on the 10′ C4 board and was fairly comfortable. I think with another 5 hours or so more of time on the 10′ board in the water I’ll be really comfortable and will have a much easier time surfing. We’ll see.

Continue reading ‘Comparison between C4 Waterman Boardworks 10′ and 10′6″ stand up paddle surfboards with video’

icon for podpress  Comparison between C4 Waterman Boardworks 10' and 10'6 [6:48m]: Download
icon for podpress  Comparison between C4 Waterman Boardworks 10' and 10'6 [6:48m]: Download

The beginning of the stand up paddle surfing explosion

I asked Todd Bradley over at C4 Waterman for some pictures from when Dave Parmenter, Brian Keaulana and Todd were building the first stand up paddle surf boards.

Todd Bradley, Mike Fox and Brian Keaulana - Founders of C4 Waterman

 (Picture from left: Todd Bradley, Mike Fox and Brian Keaulana)

Continue reading ‘The beginning of the stand up paddle surfing explosion’

Stealth C4 Waterman Carbon Fiber Stand Up Paddle Surfboard

Stealth C4 Waterman Carbon Fiber Stand Up Paddle Surfboard

I just got the sneak peek at what’s to come over at C4 Waterman HQ. Todd showed me some new products that blew my mind. One of them was a full carbon fiber distance racing SUP that I think was 14 ft long. The whole shape and design looked like it was one of those spy planes the U.S. Air Force has. He let me take a picture of it but it’s still in my camera. I also got a quick 5 to 10 sec video of Todd in front of a huge room full of boards, paddles, dirt bikes, tow in surf gear, etc. It’s like a candy store for guys. He said I can post it for everyone to see.

Continue reading ‘Stealth C4 Waterman Carbon Fiber Stand Up Paddle Surfboard’