SUP Design and Reviews part 1

If you have read information on my site you will see I am hooked on sailing fast, shorthanded sailing, windsurfing, SUP, and the design/build of all watercraft. After my years designing in kayak industry it is fun watching the growth and development of the SUP industry and the similarities.

I really enjoyed the whole process of designing kayaks. The feedback you get with human powered craft is so sensitive to the slightest changes. The prototyping really helped me prove the whole process I set up for the design and build.. I was fortunate to be able to do 15 kayak designs.

While designing the kayaks I used Multisurf from AeroHydro, which is a 3D modeling program. I have been using Multisurf since I was in school for my degree in Naval Architecture in the 1980’s. The software was developed by Dr. Letcher one of our visiting professors. Back then Dr. John Letcher had developed FL2B, (Fairline 2B) which we ran on a Tandy 2000 computer. Remember those floppy disk computers?  Dr. Letcher was a wonderful teacher, and one of the smartest mathematicians I have ever met. At the same time he could explain anything, so you could understand the concept. I still use Multisurf.

I am enjoying paddling a range of SUP’s and seeing how the industry is developing. Most of the stands up paddleboards on the market are designed by surfboard shapers using three-section software to shape their boards. Some are just going at it shaping, and some are using modeling software.

Over the next few blog post I will review the six SUP’s I have owned, and the three my wife has owned. And show how the industry has changed from paddling long surfboards to specialized boards, very similar to how the kayak market changed when I was designing kayaks.

So stay tuned and get out on the water, spring has sprung.