Do it all Board Advice...

[brian_s]

I am in the market for a paddle board and am looking for something that can do it all (silly I know).  I live in Seattle and will be in flatter waters 90% of the time, but plan to get into some waves from time to time.  I would also like a board that can float me at 165# and my 40# dog, she loves to ride the nose!  Here are the boards I have found locally that I think would work, I am trying to stay on a budget:

• 11'6" Stewart winged pintail (a little narrow, no pad, but should surf well? and only $999 new)
• 11'3" Gerry Lopez at $1225
• 11' Ron House at $1125
• used Ron House 12' at $800 with board bag and a couple dings

Thanks for any tips, advice, thoughts, or new suggestions!  My goal is to get board and nice paddle under $1500?  

Or should I just get two SUPATX board/paddles and call it a day?

[Squiby]

For 90% flat water with a passenger, I would go with the 12 footer. I don't know how similar the 11' Ron House is to the one he designed for surftech with laird's name on it, but that one is only 27" wide and I found it pretty tippy. I'd assume that the Gerry Lopez board is pretty surf oriented and therefore less stable with the extra weight on board. I have no idea what the stewart board is but if you're already worried that it's narrow and surfy, then it doesn't sound suited for your purposes 90% of the time. As long as the 12' is water tight, it sounds like it's the right board. 

Corran had a great post somewhere on the Zone about people choosing boards based on where they hoped to use them occasionally (surf) but not where they would be for most of their time. That means you end up with too much of a compromise for most of your time on the board. Hope this helps.

[brian_s]

Thanks.  The size of the boards are:

Stewart: 11'6" x 28 5/8" x 5 1/16"
11' Ron:  11' x 29" x 4 5/8"

I guess I am not sure what will be stable enough for me and the dog?  I have been on an 11'6" Laird with my dog (30" wide) and it was plenty stable in flat water.  Thanks again for any tips, opinions, and thoughts.

[surf monkey]

Brian

I have a 10'10 x30 Ron House sounds like the board your looking at. He makes a great board i paddle my kids around on it, have paddled on some down winders, paddled it on a 10 mile paddle and surfed 1 foot to charging big waves this winter, it surfs good. It has been a good first board hand shaped not a pop out and solid construction. Down side kinda heavy, a shorter board surf's better, for flat water the bigger lighter boards work a lot better. Over all I was happy with the board but have not used it since I started surfing a 9'6 and now want a shorter board.

Good luck

Bob.

[JC50]

If you can compare the boards side-by-side, I'd give more weight to the board that has the least rocker (ie: relatively flat/straight from tip to tail). The more progressive the rocker (the more "banana" curve in the board), the more water you're pushing in the flats (boards with a lot of rocker turn easier on waves, however). Considering the majority of the time you'll be paddling the flats along with the dog, you likely want a board with very little rocker so it will paddle & glide easier. Also, even a very straight board will still perform on a wave when surfed from the tail.

I'd predict the GL has the most rocker. I've seen two of his shapes and they both had typical wave-surfing rocker.

The Stewart likely has some rocker too, since he has shaped surfboards for a long time and likely went for similar wave-riding characteristics on his shapes.

That leaves the 11' & 12' RH's and I'd probably opt for the 12' for the price and b/c it's a bigger board and roomier for you and the dog. But again if you can compare the rockers, that'll help with how fast or slow the board is on the flats. If the 11 is straighter and lighter than the 12, that may work better for you.  Good luck.

[brian_s]

Thanks, that is a big help.  I will go and compare.

[jd]

I think that 11'3" Lopez you are looking at was most likely shaped by Ron House.  If so, rocker and rails are probably not that different than the two Ron House boards.  The Lopez and the 11' and 12' Ron House's are probably your best bet.  I imagine the Lopez is a tri-fin versus the Ron House's that are probably both singles.  The Lopez is probably not significantly different than the two Ron House boards and all will be about the same for flat water paddling with the 12 footer obviously being the best choice.  You will get better glide and speed from it.  If the Lopez is a tri-fin then that may be the best compromise for something for the occasional surf depending on the type of surfing you like to do.