By Dave Parmenter, C4 Board Designer/Shaper and Team Rider
Welcome to the exciting and fast-growing new sport of Stand-Up Paddle Surfing.
A lot has happened in this emerging sport over the past year, and whether you are interested in high-performance surfing, racing across the Molokai Channel, or just cruising along the coast or your local lake, you’ll probably want to learn as much as you can about all the different types of SUP paddle craft available on the market.
As the designer and shaper of the C4 Waterman Stand-Up Paddle surfboard line, I’d like to brief you on some of the features of the boards we offer.
One of the most common questions I am asked is, “What makes the C4 boards different from the all other SUP boards out there?”
Well, first and foremost, it would have to be the people behind the boards. Between Brian Keaulana, Todd Bradley, Mike Fox and myself, we bring over 160 years experience in surfing, canoe paddling, paddleboard racing, sailing, sea-kayaking and water safety disciplines to our SUP surfboard designs. Sure, there’s been a lot of arguing about rocker and templates and fin arrays, but in the end it sure has helped the design evolution zip along.
Over the past decade I’ve been fortunate to have worked closely with one of the surfing world’s preeminent watermen, Makaha’s Brian Keaulana. Makaha, on Oahu’s leeward coast, is the big board capital of the surfing universe, and the surfers there really demand a lot from their tandem boards and tankers. Brian was the originator of the modern high-performance SUP short board, and innovated most of the surfing techniques you see spreading around the globe right now.
Along with Brian, I’ve also spent a lot of time with Todd Bradley learning about canoe and racing hull design. A veteran outrigger canoe racer, Todd has crossed the Molokai Channel more times than I’ve had hot lunches. Five years ago, when we began designing our first SUP paddleboards, he envisioned a whole new class of racing——-a regatta-style division consisting of super-light, very fast paddle craft that would skate ‘downhill’ like flying fish. It wasn’t long before we were hip-deep in EPS and hotwires and carbon fiber, experimenting with all sorts of hull designs. Sure, there were a few duds in the mix, but with Todd behind us (well, out in front of us, actually——–he smokes the rest of us in the races) it wasn’t long before we came up with a 14-footer that really started shaving some minutes off our Hawaii Kai runs.
The chief feature I’ve tried to infuse into all the C4 Waterman boards is something pilots call ‘control harmony’——–when a maneuver feels seamless and crisp in a perfectly coordinated response of ailerons, elevators and rudder. Like aircraft, surfboards move and turn on three axes, and both pilots and surfers love it when their craft answers the helm sweetly.
Without the proper and carefully balanced combination of rocker, outline, vee, and flats and edges, a Stand-Up surfboard is little more than an unwieldy tub. And the added leverage and torque provided by the paddle brings a whole new set of considerations.
The fleet of C4 Waterman SUP surf and paddle boards are designed, shaped, and ridden by a bunch of guys who paddle and surf them every day. Over the past 5 years we’ve paddled thousands of miles on our SUP surf craft———in the surf, across the open ocean, on lakes and down rivers. We’ve tested and refined our boards in Hawaii, Australia, the Maldives, Europe, Japan, Tahiti, and all across the continental United States.
So let’s check out what we’ve come up with and see which boards best suit your needs and local conditions.
9′0″ C4 Bat-Wing Swallow Tail
- Wing-Bat Tail
- 26.75″ wide
- 3.5″ thick
- Fin array: 2 X 1
- Rider guidelines: Beginner, 75 to 125 pounds; intermediate up to 150 lbs; advanced up to 190 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
DESIGN NOTES: While this smaller and more manageable SUP was designed for lighter surfers like kids and girls, it features contemporary shortboard components that make it a front-line preference of the C4 surf team when they want a board for high performance surfing and/or competition. Under the command of advanced riders this thin, light, progressive-rocker ‘ SUP’ shortboard refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer.
9′6″ C4 Swallow
- Swallow-Fish Tail
- 27.0″ wide
- 3.75″ thick
- Fin array: 2 X 1
- Rider guidelines: Beginner, 75 to 135 lbs; intermediate up to 170 lbs; advanced up to 200 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage
DESIGN NOTES: This state-of-the-art ’short’ SUP fuses a neutral rocker to a Fish-like template. The crisp edges and fuller rails keeps the C4 ‘Swish’ lubricated at high speeds, allowing immediate response in hard turns——–yet this board is buoyant and stable enough for most intermediate and advanced surfers to paddle around comfortably for hours.
10′0″ C4 BK Pro
- Wing-Swallow Tail
- Width: 27.0″
- Thickness: 3.85″
- Fin Array: 5-fin cluster. Adaptable to any fin combination, i.e. single, twin, tri, quad, or 2 X 1.
- Rider guidelines: Beginner, 75 to 145 lbs; intermediate up to 185 lbs; advanced up to 215 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
DESIGN NOTES: The Brian Kealuana Model is the end result of a design evolution that commenced with the very first SUP ’short board’ back in 2003. This board combines a constant-curve Hawaii rocker which is calibrated to accelerate at nose and tail in sync with the pulled-in outline. The thickness distribution tapers toward the tail to allow harder turns at higher speeds, and the wing-swallow reduces tail area under the back foot, and grants greater adhesion and torque in carving turns. If you are keen on progressive, full-tilt SUP surfing and really want to push the edge of the performance envelope, this is the board for you.
10′0″ C4
- Rounded Diamond Tail
- Width: 28.25″
- Thickness: 4.0″
- Fin Array: 2 X 1
- Rider guidelines: Beginner, 75 to 165lbs; intermediate up to 200 lbs; advanced up to 220 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
DESIGN NOTES: Probably the most versatile of all the C4 designs. The performance available from this stock 10-footer belies it’s bulk: At first glance it might resemble a garden-variety ‘long board’ shape, but the rails, rocker, deck line, and flat bottom are all stripped from the short board design tree. The C4 10′0″ paddles a foot longer but surfs a foot shorter. And while these nimble but stable boards are the workhorses of our demo fleet, don’t be surprised to see them in the finals of SUP competitions.
10′6″ C4
- Rounded Diamond Tail
- Width: 28.5″
- Thickness: 4.0″
- Fin Array: 2 X 1
- Rider guidelines: Beginner, 75 to 180 lbs; intermediate up to 220 lbs; advanced up to 250 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
DESIGN NOTES: The 10′6″ incorporates the same design components as the 10-footer——–progressive rocker, balanced outline, and flat deck and bottom——-to deliver the same friskiness to a longer and wider plan-shape. The extra length and width accommodates cruising and flat-water paddlers, while its hot rod components satisfy even the most advanced SUP surfer. Our most popular SUP board.
11′6″ C4 “Standem” Model
- Rounded Diamond Tail
- Width: 29.0″
- Thickness: 4.85″
- Fin Array: 2 X 1
- Rider guidelines: Beginner up to 250 lbs; intermediate and advanced up to 300+ lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
DESIGN NOTES: This model is the culmination of over a decade spent refining Brian Keaulana’s tandem surfboards. Brian asks for a lot from his tandem boards————-he snap turns his big boards and charges Point surf and does ‘helicopters’ on them——–he just won’t settle for a chunk of sidewalk that allows him to merely pose straight-off in the whitewater. The 11′6″ “Standem” model is the Cadillac of our fleet. Possessing the same design features that propel the 10′0″ and the 10′6″, this board provides the SUP surfer with stability and glide unmatched by much larger SUP boards on the market. Something of a cross-over design, this board also doubles as a tandem surfboard, rescue board, or even a super light and playful tanker for the Big Bruddah.
12′0″ C4 ‘Holoholo’
- Round Pintail
- Width: 28″
- Thickness: 4.75″
- Fin array: single fin box
- Rider guidelines: Beginner up to 185 lbs; intermediate and advanced up to 250 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
DESIGN NOTES: In Hawaii, “holoholo” means to head off for a walk, a ride or a sail strictly for pleasure. The C4 “Holoholo” was intended for just this purpose. This coastal cruiser or flat water Stand-Up paddleboard was designed to enable the paddler to head off and gaze at whatever catches his or her fancy. Pristine kelp beds, warm meandering rivers, tranquil smooth lakes——–whatever, just go ahead and effortlessly scoot along and ’smell the roses.’
With its streamlined shape and steep rails, the ‘Holoholo’ has the
planing efficiency of a racing paddleboard, while the additional
thickness and slight double-barrel bottom concaves provide stability
without having to resort to an overly wide plan shape——which often
prevents a proper vertical-shaft paddle stroke. Although intended as a
‘cruiser,’ the ‘Holoholo’ nonetheless is up to a romp in the surf for
those intermediate or advanced SUP surfers who crave the ultra-glide
thrills of the ancient Hawaiian ‘ olo‘ boards.
14′0″ C4 XP ‘Vortice’ Elite-Class Racer (Karel Tresnak)
- Round Pintail
- Width: 26.25″
- Fin array: Single box fin; rudder-type fins available for both standard and kelp conditions.
- Rider guidelines: Designed for advanced SUP paddleboard racing, distance or short-course sprint. Can support expert paddlers up to 200 lbs.
- Construction: This elite racer is constructed in a two-part mold designed and built by Karel Tresnak. Hollow structure is composed of carbon fiberglass, Kevlar and epoxy resin, and ribbed by three longitudinal ultra-light foam spars.
DESIGN NOTES: The XP “Vortice” is a molded version of the fastest SUP paddleboard we could come up with in 4 years of races in Hawaii, and is intended to be the foundation of a ’stock’ class in the increasing number of races held in the Islands. This ultralight composite racer sports twin concaves running throughout the bottom, which increases both hull speed and stability; up top, the scooped out deck lowers the paddler’s center of gravity while boosting the mechanical advantage of a shorter paddle shaft. The bottom rocker was honed in the gale-torn Molokai Channel, the gold standard of every paddlesport race on Earth. If you’re into racing and want to ‘railroad’ open-ocean swells one after another like you scarf M & Ms, then book a test flight on the XP “Vortice.”
14′0″ C4 ‘Vortice” (Boardworks)
- Round Pintail
- Width: 27.25″
- Fin array: Single box fin; with rudder-type fins available for both standard and kelp conditions.
- Rider guidelines: Beginner up to 180 lbs; intermediate and advanced up to 250 lbs.
- Construction: Epoxy lamination with a 1-lb EPS core sheathed with 1/8″ Divinycell high-density foam, compression and heat molded to form a monocoque-style fuselage.
