Thinking About Pulling The Trigger On A New Board

[RinkyDink]

From what I'm reading, the perfect board for you would be the Ben Aipa Big Boy Stinger. They made ( well used to ) a 7'4" and 8'4" version. The 7'4" will be plenty. That board gets in early and carves soo nice, if you can set the rail.
Another board if you want to be a wave hog but not on a 9'0", is the Hobie Peter Pan Slug. The 8'6" has more float than most 9'0s. It's seriously cheating using that.

Thanks again for the suggestion. I'm going to be surfing my Aipa Big Boy Stinger tomorrow. I'm stoked. The board shape actually makes sense to me. I don't have a great understanding of the advantages of a swallow tail, but I'll probably develop a sense for it over time. I listened to Aipa talk about how he came up with the design in the 70's and he got it by looking at the fastest boats in the harbor (hydrofoils) and then he applied their shape to the surfboard.



I think the board shape will work for me. It's designed to go fast, especially if you move forward on the board, but what I like is the faster paddling. Anyway, I think it'll be a fun board to surf on.

[OlegLupusov]

How was it? Have you bought a new one?

[RinkyDink]

How was it? Have you bought a new one?

I got the Ben Aipa 7'4" Big Boy Stinger. I bought it new from a local shop that just happened to have one in stock. I was surprised to even find one in a shop. I made an offer on it and the shop owner accepted it (I was surprised again) so I bought a new board without really expecting it. Unfortunately, I bought it when my shoulder was preventing me from surfing so I've only had the chance to surf it once. I've had to sort of rehabilitate my shoulder and gain some upper body strength over the past month. This has helped immensely https://www.amazon.com/Weider-Power-Tower/dp/B00YQ80IHM (Yeah, too much information).

Anyway, I finally feel like I've got my strength returning and my shoulder is 85% there. So now that I'm back from landlocked holiday trips and have time off, I'm going to get a better feel for it. I'll give you my impression of the board once I actually have some good surf time with it. My first impression after I bought it in the beginning of December, was that it was very fast going down the line and an incredibly easy board to paddle. That was what I was looking for so I'm pretty stoked with it already. I want to get some solid turns and some more rides on it. Unfortunately during my first session my shoulder was in pain the whole time and the waves were too challenging for the condition of my shoulder, so I cut my session short that day. Tomorrow is the first day I've had this month to just go out and surf without any work stress or physical pain. I'm looking forward to it.

[Namu]

Let see some pics of the new board!

[RinkyDink]

I'm having a blast on this board so far. It's the perfect transition board for my ability. The extra volume really works for me. I'm having trouble uploading pics so I'll just post a link to my board.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%99%E3%8 ... B01915XWJ0

[RinkyDink]

The only thing my board needs now is a Bob's Big Boy decal.

[Tudeo]

I was looking at this last year, it's an 8'6". At that time I wasn't sure what I wanted, so I let it go. I'm very interested how you like it when you have had some more experience with it, especially in bigger (head high+) surf.
It seems like such a simple and perfect approach for easy paddling and good turning and being able to handle some size.

[Big H]

FWIW, those Aipa's including that one in the pic are still up at the shop. Nice offshore east coast board for sure.

[RinkyDink]

It seems like such a simple and perfect approach for easy paddling and good turning and being able to handle some size.

One of the reasons I was drawn to this board is that the design seems to have withstood the test of time. I'm kind of a sucker for classics. Lots of great surfers from the past rave about the board. They must have found something special about it. As far as the 8'6" goes, I'm unsure about whether I would want all that volume in a longboard. If I were a true Big Boy (240+ lbs.), it might be just right for performance longboarding, but if I were smaller the greater board volume might be too much. To be honest though, I only glanced at the 8'6". I really didn't give it much thought beyond thinking it would have made the perfect starting-out board for me. I'm not even sure about how much volume it has; it might be a great longboard. The one in your picture looks sweet.

http://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/stinger
http://www.boardcollector.com/2012/01/m ... an-of.html
http://markrichardssurfboards.com/blog/tag/stinger/

[OlegLupusov]

Many thanks. It sounds good! How much did you pay for it?

[RinkyDink]

Another cool stinger.

http://www.markrichardssurfboards.com/b ... asting.php

[RinkyDink]

Many thanks. It sounds good! How much did you pay for it?

In the shop it was $750 and I offered her $650 thinking she'd decline it. She accepted it though so I bought it. I think the board had been languishing in the shop so she wanted to blow it out. I wish I had offered less, but hindsight is 20/20. I'm happy with it.

[RinkyDink]

Many thanks. It sounds good! How much did you pay for it?

The real thanks should go to waikikikichan because his recommendation was right on.

[RinkyDink]

Just my luck . . .

[OlegLupusov]

Hi! Any new insight after a year of usage?

[RinkyDink]

Hi! Any new insight after a year of usage?

It's funny you ask. I took it out last weekend and had a crappy session, not because of the surfboard though. My heart was kind of not into that day (cold loaner wetsuit and my mind somewhere else). The lineup was packed. I wasn't surfing well because I've been longboarding, for the most part, over the past year and the transition from 9'6" to 7'4" threw me a bit. On a lot of my popups my back foot was not coming down on the back of my board, but was missing the board entirely--still getting used to the board. One thing I notice is that the board is really fast. I like the speed, but I honestly have trouble keeping the board under control.

Part of the problem on that day was just the crowd. I would say on average out of 10 waves only three would be unobstructed. The rest were wrecked by drop-ins, snowballs, surfers paddling back out and getting in the way so you can't get across the section . . . With the Aipa board I need to surf a little more inside and on crowded days, that's a pain in the a$$. One thing about longboarding is that it makes negotiating the lineup much easier because you can sit outside, out of the way, and begin your takeoff earlier--something to think about if you're a newbie. Anyway, I bought my longboard the same week I bought my Aipa and I've pretty much been surfing the longboard exclusively. I just have more fun with it. Still, I realized that I need to start taking the Aipa out regularly because when I get a good ride with it, it's way more fun than my longboard. The problem is that on a crowded day the lack of control I have on that board makes it a bit stressful to surf. If I could take it out on a 3-5 foot day with no crowds, I'd be in bliss. Basically, I need to improve my surfing a tad more to really get the most out of my Aipa.

[RinkyDink]

Hi! Any new insight after a year of usage?

One thing I don't like about the board is that the leash string goes through the fin box. Leash plugs are less hassle and they allow you to double up on your leash strings, in my opinion.