Sunday, January 24, 2016

Wavesup with Angulo Surfa 10'4 and Exocet WindSUP 10'2

The other day I paddled in the waves with my windsurf buddy Alex. He has a cool new board- an Exocet WindSUP 10'2, which is pretty similar in dimensions and design intent to my modified Angulo Surfa 10'4. I.e., it's intended to be a maneuverable mid-sized SUP board that also functions as a full-planing windsurf board. I had never tried Alex's board before, but he let me try it that day. I liked it. It was a little more nimble and quick to accelerate than my reconfigured Angulo, but also a little less stable and less forgiving of sloppy takeoffs and such, perhaps due to the narrower nose and tail. I was relieved that my own jerry-rigged board compared pretty favorably to the latest and greatest WindSUP... at least in paddle mode. I'd still like to try Alex's board with a sail sometime.

Surf SUP 1-15-16 from James Douglass on Vimeo.

3 comments:

Bryn Kaufman said...

I hope you get to review it with a sail. I have the Exocet WindSUP 10 and love it. The only thing I don't like about it is the dagger board slot. I had that professionally sewn up to keep it shut, and that works good, but it is fraying a little bit.

I did not get the 10'2" because I was concerned that a smaller board in terms of liters might not plane as early as the 10. It is 156 vs. 175 liters, so not a huge difference, but there were so many rave reviews about the 10 and 11.8" that it made the decision easier.

I don't wavesup the Exocet 10 as I put a 50 cm racing fin and foot straps on it. I wavesup my BIC WindSUP 10.6 as it has 3 fins so less fin depth for shore break, plus no foot straps so nothing to remove or get in the way. It is also a really tough board in case I do get caught in the shore break. The BIC is a ton of fun with a WindSUP sail in the waves too.

The WindSUP 10'2" is definitely on my radar screen. I like that it has no dagger board slot!

James Douglass said...

Hi Bryn,

I'll see if Alex will let me take a turn on the 10'2 with a sail sometime so I can let you know how it feels in that mode.

I actually like my Exocet 11'8 quite a bit in the waves. For shallow water I put a True Ames Surfgrass fin it. I think it's about 23 cm. I used to use centered footstraps, but now I've realized I can just leave the footstraps in the outboard position and have only my front foot in the strap when riding a wave. That makes it so I don't have to move the footstraps when I use the board for light wind freeriding- I just put in my 50 cm fin. It might be worth trying your Exocet 10 in the waves with a <25 cm fin.

-James

EJ said...

This topic is completely something I've been dabbling in myself. I have three windsups now: a carbon and AST 10'2" Exocet Wavesup (AST), both with thrusters and no daggerboards, and the BIC 10'6" mentioned above. As wavesups, none of them are great planing boards; none have daggerboards either, but they all can plane with enough wind. The 10'2" Exocet wavesups are exceptional float and ride wave boards, and they can handle pretty big waves with both a sail and paddle. They have more tucked, curvy rails than the Exocet wave longboards, so they are supposed to be better at pure wave riding. The Bic is better for very light wind tiny surf and sail tricks, as it is built very tough, and 180L volume. The Bic's only fault is its weight and flex (which is not great feeling as the waves get bigger).