Take Out the Amundson In (sort of) Good Conditions

Name:		Track 017
Date:		Apr 18, 2014 10:27 am
Map: (valid until Oct 15, 2014)		View on Map
Distance:		4.59 miles
Elapsed Time:		1:19:48
Avg Speed:		3.5 mph
Max Speed:		4.9 mph
Avg Pace:		17' 22" per mile
Min Altitude:		0 ft
Max Altitude:		0 ft
Start Time:		2014-04-18T14:27:27Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	41º 17' 06" N
	Longitude:	73º 55' 56" W

Okay, finally got the board out in pretty decent conditions with the Gladiator fin. I averaged about 3.5 mph over 4.59 miles. A few things working against me were that I've barely been paddling since early fall, I was covered in rubber, and there was a variable wind.

The board is really stable on the water. It just doesn't want to flip. Considering it's small size, that's pretty impressive. The Allison fin made a big improvement in going straight. I don't even know why I had that factory fin on. What a difference!

Being out in relatively calm conditions (if you discount the breeze plus the tide and current working against each other) I learned a few things about the board. It throws up a nice bow wave which acts kind of like a speedometer. The faster you go relative to the water, the bigger the wave. A paddled an NSP 12' last year that threw an even nicer wave, and I figure that comes from the sharp, vertical prow. Also, if the nose actually does dunk, there's no problem. The board doesn't want to pearl. It just cuts through the water and pushes it off either side of the deck.

Jim K said that a 12'6" would be about 10-12% slower than a 14 footer, and I think that's about right. Once I get back into shape, I figure I can do a relaxing 4 mph without too much trouble, in good conditions of course.

The board turns nicely, although the Gladiator fin probably takes a little away from that. I did a pivot turn pretty easily and didn't have to stomp on the tail to get the nose up. It also responds pretty well to a cross-bow turn, although that felt a little slow.


Things I don't like about this board:

Only four tie-downs.
Slower than a 14 footer (although that's to be expected).
A little less glide than I'm used to.


Things I like about this board:

Relatively lightweight and easy to carry.
The improved carry handle.
Definitely sturdier than other models I've paddled.
Bright yellow color makes you visible for miles.
Maneuverable.

Anyone else paddling a flat water Amundson around here?

Amundson 12'6" TR: Water Review

I finally got my new Amundson out on the water. It was one of those strange spring days we get this time of year in New York. The air was 78 degrees and the water was 44 F. I went back and forth about what wet suit to wear, and finally settled on my light 2.5 MM farmer john. Anything else would have been a portable sauna, and I figured if I fell, I'd be okay. I wore my PFD just to be sure, although I think PFDs are mandatory anyway until May.

My board bag hasn't arrived yet, so I loaded the board on top of my wife's VW Routan. Down to Peekskill waterfront I went. The conditions looked placid, but that was deceiving. This would also be my first time with my new KeNalu xTuf paddle.

As I got on the water, I got hot with about a 10 mph southerly in my face. Not the most fun conditions, but it was a good test for the board. The straight nose punched through the light chop pretty easily with little board slap. I went on my standard loop, which is anywhere from 3-4 miles. Around  my first turn and my back was to the waves. This was when the flat bottom of the board became very obvious. As the tiny waves came from behind, I felt the board try to run with them on the bottom. I buried the nose a bunch of times, but that didn't affect the ride much. I think the extra buoyancy in the front had something to do with that too.

My KeNalu has been cut longer than my older paddles, and wow was I feeling that. There was a lot more load on my upper shoulders near my collarbone. I also realized that I had been crouching a lot with my older paddle to get it buried in the water. Now I could stand more upright! That was very nice! Plus, the paddle itself was a feather. It was weird paddling something so light. A couple other things I noticed was the funny, grippy texture on the shaft. My fingers made a funny sound as I switched the paddle from side to side.

Two things to say about the upwind paddling. The first is that the chop didn't bother the board that much. The second was that I could feel the smaller volume and smaller size of the board in decreased glide. I had to be more on my game than on a fourteen footer, especially since for about half a mile I was getting pushed up against a rocky embankment. Absolutely no relaxing or I'd get knocked up against the rocks. The nose also got knocked from side to side a bit, although I was impressed by the stability of the board when I had to paddle with the chop hitting me at ninety degrees. I figured the flat bottom would increase the chances of the board getting thrown, but it felt stable, even when getting rocked side to side.

I can definitely live with this board. It didn't knock my socks off with anything, but it behaved itself well in lousy conditions. On a rough 3.5 mile stretch I averaged 2.7 mph, getting up to 4.5 mph in the downwind section. I'm looking forwards to testing it out in flat water conditions, which happens rarely to never on the Hudson.

Next time I'm going to use that Gladiator fin. It seems stupid now to have gone out without it, although I wanted a feel of the stock fin.

Amundson 12'6": Land Review

So, I finally replaced my Exocet Eggshell with a recommendation from Jim Karabasz, an Amundson 12'6" TR. I'm going to give my first impressions of the board, then get it out on the water in the next few days. The water is still about 40ºF and the days have been pretty windy, so getting out is kind of dicey.

The construction — something I was very concerned about — looks solid. Jim has assured me that this is a very solid boar that can take a couple of knocks. The sales material calls it “Rhino-Lite” construction. What made me choose this one over the Bic Wing was the fact that he described this is much more repairable than the Bic. I'm still going to baby the hell out of it, but it's also good that it can be repaired. It feels relatively solid, although time and the Hudson River will tell. The bag hadn't arrived yet, so before transporting the board, I slid it inside the big board sock which was shipped with my Eggshell. (I still don't know it's purpose. It's too short for a fourteen-footer and doesn't fit well around anything.)

It's strange going from a 14 footer to a 12'6". This board is obviously smaller than that Marlin but it's also thinner. At 239 liters, this model is over 100 liters smaller than what I'm used to. I'm not terribly upset about this. A fourteen-footer can be a whale of a board, and it's nice to have something smaller to shlep around.

The board is relatively flat with a vertical nose. It seems kind of “surfboardy”. The rails are rounded hear the nose but get pretty sharp about halfway back. If I wasn't looking at the nose, from the bottom it looks a lot like a big wave board. The rear is square. My guess is this will be a very good flat water board with some ability in chop.

The top is a nice bright yellow. This is a good color for a place with a lot of board traffic. Yellow is a really easy color to spot, unlike red or blue, and I'm glad about that. The styling isn't too bad. Like most Amundsons I've seen (my wife has an old 11'3"), the styling is kind of modest but tasteful.

There's a ridge extending from the nose almost to the deck pad, which I assume is to put a little extra volume in the nose. The deck is slightly recessed with a plain grey pad. In front of the deck are four attachment points for bungies or a bag. I wish it had more, but four is probably enough for 95% of what I do. There's a threaded point for a windsurf mast or GoPro right in front of the handle and a vent plug behind it. There's a sight concave to the decks which goes back to the tail, letting water drain easily.

The handle is that new style which goes into the board an extends underneath the board a little. I like that a lot. What a difference that small thing makes with carrying a board! All SUPs need to have this.

This seems like a solid, medium-sized board. I'm looking forwards to taking it out.

Winter Choices

It's new board time and I'm going back and forth between the Bic Wing and the Amundson TR-X2. I did not want to like or want the Amundson, but Jim Karabasz from Extreme Windsurfing has been pushing me towards this model:

http://www.amundsonsup.com/wp-content/uploads/126trx2_techsheet.pdf

He says it's almost as tough as the Bic but doesn't have some of the leakage problems the Bic has. This model only has four tie-downs, so I might have to install more, perhaps on the rear.

If my Blog-Go software was working I'd post some pics, but it's not so I'm stuck with the Google blog software, which isn't so great.