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The 5 foot do it all board
- 7-1-08
First let's start off by saying this board isn't for everybody- it was
made for me----I'm 6' 4 1/2" and 223lbs--- I need something special.
I wanted a do it all board, and I didn't want to wear fins. I
wanted a board where I could show off and standup in certain
situations---face it- how many old guys do you see standing up on a
bodyboard? I also wanted a thick board where I could paddle it like a
surfboard and I really liked my recent super deep top groove innovation
on the
Kenu rescue bodyboard. I also wanted the option with this thick long
board to wear fins and take one of my kids out tandem riding with it.
It had to have a strong rear leash
plug and a front handle- I don't want to lose my board and I want to
be able to yank that board with the handle through some monster
shore break if I have to. It had to have deep channels and and a
kicked up nose- remember that a Kenu board is very stiff-it won't
flex hardly at all and won't bog down when a big guy gets on it. I
liked the white carbon fiber skin because as you can see it makes my
special graphics and logo hard to miss. The rails are diamond rail
angled for good rail holding in the water when standing up.
Here's what happened at 2-4 ft.
Makapuu shorebreak- ---remember, wearing no fins.
1.floatation for me- perfect,
super easy to catch waves and paddle- guys were looking with a
puzzled look on their faces, probably thinking "what the hell is
that thing?"
2. Handle and leash- love the
handle- many times I grabbed that handle in the nick of time and
yanked it through the shorebreak. I don't want my big board to get
loose and hit some big local or lose it on the rocks, so the leg
leash is mandatory and worked great, ---if anything I would get a
leash that is a little shorter than my surfboard leash I used so
there is less slack on the cord and less chance of hitting someone
when it stretches.
10/24/08 News flash--- the handle sucks! When
I put in this handle, I heated it up and bent it to make it protrude
up higher so I could grab it easier with my big hand. The handle is
fairly hard plastic and was protruding up in an arch. I had a few
close calls at Makapuu where my face was slammed pretty close to
that handle and I knew sooner or later my big nose is going to get
hit hard- so I took it off. I replaced it with my new custom made
rope handle that is really strong (proven on my even bigger tandem
riding board). Now if my face gets slammed into the board, I'll get
a face full of limp soft rope rather than a plastic nose or teeth
buster. On other boards when I install the regular handle, I never
heat it to make it stick up taller ----so it is much safer.
3. standup- you have to
standup at the peak of the wave at Makapuu because if you wait till
you reach the trough of the wave you will probably spin out- after a
couple of tries I got it down pretty good. If I missed the point to
standup, I just got on my knees or did the prone ride trip. Either
way there was no noticeable bending of the board. Prone riding I
could hold the edge real good and I was amazed at how easy it was to
do 360s because of the thickness. On your knees you can just do
spinners all day long- it is so easy. With a standup bodyboard
because you have no fins, you are not going to be able make turns as
deep and carving as a surfboard-(at least not me yet) --you have to
draw a more conservative line on the wave. See an example of me
doing a hard cutback on my surfboard back in the good 'ole days at
Off the Walls at the North Shore
here.
4. Overall - I love this board
and I'm waiting to take it out at "Walls" in Waikiki on a big swell.
Note in the side view of the board that the center part of the board
is thick and the rear is more tapered to make it easier to sink the
tail for a hard bottom turn. I don't have to carry fins, worry about
them falling off, or have the discomfort of fins on my petite size
13 feet. A board
this size would have to be shipped via UPS or FedX- expensive.
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