Today I was invited by Seattle surf shop owner Jeff Abandonato to watch him shape a 11′ stand up paddle board. These are a few of the images and video I shot of the process. I’ll join him again tomorrow for more shots.
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Today I was invited by Seattle surf shop owner Jeff Abandonato to watch him shape a 11′ stand up paddle board. These are a few of the images and video I shot of the process. I’ll join him again tomorrow for more shots.
looks like fun… kinda like shaping a mondo longboard. knew that jeff was doing shaping classes, but wasn't aware he was making sup boards.
btw. great blog you have going! just got my sup board shipped up from hawaii. excited to start paddling around here and discovering new spots. hope to see you around. aloha, jon (yellow psh board)
thanks jon, give me a holler if you need to know of cool spots to paddle, and catch surf in seattle. were you able to demo your psh board prior to purchase?
thanks. i tried the board in hawaii (my brother bought it for me) a few times. it's a bit shorter @ 10-6 but very wide 30.5"… supposed to ride waves well. went out for an hour at golden gardens yesterday morning. a bit windy but great exercise. i may take you up on cool spots to paddle when i get little better at this.
hey there,
golden gardens (gg) is a great spot. i paddle 4x a week to west point from over by ray's in both a sea kayak and sup. great exercise and practice. on low tides, freighter waves kick up 3-8' waves off gg's north end, west point, and in front of ray's. the waves are fickle, and it takes patience to get them, but i've had rides comparable to those on the coast there.
make sure to give boaters right of way, something i'm watching sup'ers not doing often in that area. last week, we saw two near collisions within a few hours. boat's don't have brakes. a lot of folks aren't wearing wetsuits or pfds either. each his own. I do as i paddle in the shipping lanes, it's cold out there! i did paddle in lake union today, about 75 degrees.
start out with light wind and build your skills going up and down wind. in time it'll be easier, and you'll be more comfortable in inclement weather, as nothing stays the same out there. i've kayaked in up to 41 knots there in the winter which is great fun if you understand the water in those conditions. but keep within your skills, i try to avoid getting on the news.
-3 tides this week, good stuff.
cheers..
good tips to remember. 2 questions for you: know of a super lightweight pfd w/o a lot of bulk in front or back? i've looked around & tried some on, but haven't found anything that feels (to me) totally unrestricted. cg-approved wake vests are ok, if not a bit heavy. also, know of any good (shareable) launch spots for lake union that are close to parking? thanks,jon
jon,
since i also sea kayak, i just use that pfd, mainly because i can carry extra safety gear and a food bar, etc. to me, it's unrestricted, doesn't get in my way. most kayak shops such as nwoc have good ones. It's an Extrasport, forget the model name.
a friend who races surfskis suggests the Stearns Paddlesports Inflatable which has a pocket. Fisherman's Supply on Northlake might have those.
Also check somewhat minimalist pfds on rei such as the Astral Buoyancy LDB, or Stohlquist Drifter. Kokatat has a great one that i use for kayak surf called the Orbit Tour, very simple, one pocket in front, total arm freedom. kokatat.com
on the north side of lake union, i use the public shore a few hundred yards east of Gas Works. the Dragon Boats launch there and there's a sign for Sea Scouts. you park across the street (safe parking). it's public, nice launch. just used it 2 days ago!
rob- thanks for the recommendations on pfds. i haven't been to fisherman's supply so i'll try there next. i think i know where that launch is north of gasworks, so hope to check it out this weekend. i really like paddling at richmond beach, mainly cause it's a steep drop off right at shore at mid-high tide, not too crowded early in the day, and the pooch can go swimming nearby. downside is a long walk from the lot to the beach (over train tracks). i don't know if there's a sandbar or anything at low tide for any kind of waves… hoping so!
jon,
one downside to kayak style pfds is their bulk, in case you want to paddle prone on your board. all those pockets could make it a bumpy ride.
growing up in north seattle, i know richmond beach well. paddle south to boeing point, a creek comes out there (boeing creek). i've seen waves there, it's a perfect beach for waves, sandy and gently sloped. and often empty! i hear there's waves by the dog park in edmonds. check with jeff at cheka looka as he's surfed it before. we'll be out in front of ray's today in ballard. low's around 1pm, a -2.
another point about finding gear is keep an open mind on where to go. just because we're doing sup, doesn't mean we should only go to surf shops for gear. sup is a mix of the kayaking and surfing discplines. so i hit commercial fishing stores (fisheries supply), sailing stores (west marine, fisherman's supply), rei, 2nd ascent, kayak stores (nwoc, kayak academy), and surf shops (cheka looka, urban surf, etc). in port angeles, Swain's is fun.
thanks for the places to look for vests. i'm going to go look for something this morning. have you ever been hassled by the cg for no pfd?
i've seen and have photos of tiny knee high waves at the edmonds dog park, just south of the pier. very clean but breaks in shallow water. another place i've seen nice freighter-generated waves is down in seola beach (burien). i've seen kayaks there occasionally, but not for the waves.
I or no one I know has been hassled by the cg for pfds, but i did hear of someone in shilshole a few months ago that did. i think it's a personal preference as most surfing westsuits float, the board floats and you should have a leash anyway. i'm used to wearing them, so no big deal for me. until i get my own board, carrying water is a problem, and i need more than what a hydration pack carries, so i strap on a fanny pack with 2 water bottles, but don't wear a pfd on those days to reduce top heavy weight and bulk.
in surfing in shallow water, pfds do offer extra body protection against landing on barnacles and the like. the floatation prevents me from sinking too far down as well. in winter, they add thermal protection. i know of surf kayakers who were saved my their pfds in collisions with other boats or boards thanks to the extral body protection.
I am wondering if any one knows who i can ship the SUP board through? it's an 11ft board. I am moving back to the mainland and love my boards to much to part with.
Thank you in advanced!