Avanti vs Kailua for Big Boy Beginner

[MountainMan]

Has anybody been able to compare the Starboard Avanti with the Naish Mana 10'5" Kailua.  I'm looking to buy one for my son who is 300+ lbs and a beginner to SUP.  The Starboard is longer and an inch wider, but the Naish has 20 more liters of volume.  I want to get the most stable board that I can for him.

[Canuck Kook]

Starboard has the Atlas 12' X 33" (236 litres) and the Big Daddy 11'2" X 39" (280 Litres) coming out for 2011. I think some of the dealers should be seeing them soon.

[mdsurf]

I think that the Naish stated volume in liters is over stated.  The Starboard Avanti is the better board for someone his size and has more volume.  The South County boards are another good board for someone his size and they surf great, and the standard 10 footer would be fine with plenty of volume.  www.southcountysurf.com

[JimK]

Hi,

I have ridden all these board extensively (well not the Big daddy) yet and I'm close to 300# myself

ranking them on STABILITY, Versitlity & construction

Naish Mana 10'5 (or Kialua) It gets the slight nod due to its ability to flatwater paddle, Surf and WINDSURF. Solid construction

South County 10Ft (Turtle) is MY favorite board in the surf (small Neww Jersey beach breaks) I ride it as a quad in the waves and get great tracking and glide as a 2+1 set (all stock fins)

Another board to consider

Pau Hana BIG EASY (11Ft X32X 5) Even at my (our) size this board is very stable in both flatwater & Surf . It is more of a nose ridder in the waves. Components are great and construction is top knotch.

Starting my 5th year doing/selling SUP's here is how I see it

Board legth is a personal preference
Muti Fins are key to versitility
Board Width

Boards under 30" wide are more work than fun. Conversely boards over 36" wide compromise performance and gain no added stability

I found the Avanti nice in flatwater but no better than the above models. in the surf it was very sluggish

Hope this helps
JimK
www.extremewindsurfing.com

[MountainMan]

Thanks for all of the great advice and personal experience.  The dimensions on the Big Daddy sound like it would be the ideal beginner board for my son, who is close to 350 lbs.  I just bought two Starboard Big Easy 12'0" X 32" boards for my wife and I and even those boards are too unstable for my son.  Unfortunately, I don't think any of the shops on Oahu will be getting any of the 2011 Starboards for at least another couple of months.  So I guess I'll try him out on the 10'5" Naish.  I believe the Naish Hawaii Shop in Kailua has that one available as a rental.  It's good to hear that this board seems to be highly regarded by people in the know.  Thanks Again.

[SUP Sports ®]

Hi MountainMan,
Boar volume is definitely your son's friend...
Starboard has the most extensive SUP lineup on the planet with the best build quality...no reason to not start there...

We've shipped dozens of boards to all of the Hawaiian islands...let us know if we can help...

http://surfingsports.com/starboard.asp

We have had great success putting 300 lb. (+) guys on the Starboard Avanti...they surf it pretty well...

The Starboard Avanti...11'2" x 36"...230 liters

http://blog.surfingsports.com/2010/02/starboard-2010-avanti.html

Big Dave is well over 300lbs and 6'7"...he has one in wood...

http://blog.surfingsports.com/tag/starboard-tac-wood-sup

http://www.surfingsports.com/images/avanti_bmw1.jpg
http://www.surfingsports.com/images/avanti_bmw2.jpg

http://blog.surfingsports.com/2010/06/new_surf_project.html

If your son is not surfing, we've also had success putting Clydesdale class guys on the Starboard Fisherman at 11'2" x 37"...
Great glide and stability...the bottom rocker is based off of a race board so it's amazingly fast...you are not goin to find a faster, more stable SUP...in stock now...

http://blog.surfingsports.com/2010/11/starboard-fisherman-adventure-sup.html

As Canuck Kook said, Starboard will have an 11'2" x 39" "Big Daddy" coming out for 2011...280 liters...basically, a Starboard Fisherman 11'2 x 37" (250 liters) on steroids...available in a couple of weeks...

http://surfingsports.com/starboard_2011_sup_guide/slides/Starboard_2011_page32.html

Starboard also has the 2011 Atlas at 12' x 33" and 236 liters...will be in our shop in a couple of weeks...

http://surfingsports.com/starboard_2011_sup_guide/slides/Starboard_2011_page35.html

The NSP 11'6" x 33" is GRANDE sized...235 liters...great bang for the buck at $995...in stock now...

Like mdsurf said, the Naish volumes are overstated...