Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards with Video Preview by Todd Bradley
I got the sneak peek at the new C4 Waterman stand up paddle surfboards for 2008. They are the 10′ x 28″ Brian Keaulana Wing Swallow Hawaii Performance Stand Up Paddle Surfboard, the 9′ x 27″ Bat Tail Hotdog Board and the 9′6″ x 27″ Swallow Hawaii Performance Fun Board.
Click here for the video of Todd Bradley from C4 Waterman explaining the new stand up paddle boards:
(click thumbnail to launch video)
Here they are:
The first board is the the 10′ x 28″ Brian Keaulana Wing Swallow Hawaii Performance Stand Up Paddle Surfboard. This is the stand up paddle board made especially for Brian Keaulana by Dave Parmenter. It’s 10′ by 28″ wide. The tail is kinda radical.
The second new C4 stand up board is the 9′ x 27″ Bat Tail Hotdog Board. Here’s a new 9′ x 27″ bat tail stand up paddle surfboard:
The third new stand up board is the 9′6″ x 27″ Swallow Hawaii Performance Fun Board. Here’s the C4 Waterman swallow tail 9′6″ x 27″ stand up paddle surfboard:
Transcript:
Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards with Video Preview by Todd Bradley
00:08
Evan Leong: So which one is the one on the left and which one is the one on the right?
Todd Bradley: Well this one right here – let’s start with the biggest ones.
Evan Leong: Ok.
Todd Bradley: This is the 11’6”. 11’6” C4 Waterman. We call this the “Standem” board. The reason we call it the standem board is, as you know, Bryan last year was the world champion tandem surfer. This year it’s Kalani Vierra and his partner Blanch. But this has been Brian’s dedicated tandem board and also is a great stand-up board. So then we decided to coin the phrase “the standem board”. So this is the Brian Keaulana model standem board. What’s neat about this board is that at the last Spain World Championships of Tandem, all three – first, second and third place of the world championships were all using this board right here; they were all using the C4 BK Standem. But great stand up board to learn; great stand up board to cruise; very loose for its style, that’s why the tandem guys like it, because it’s very loose fast board that works good with heavy loads. Of course, when your tandeming with somebody, you got two people on board, it’s really good that way. Dave Parmenter has been shaping these big boards in Makaha forever, taking care of the big Makaha boys. He’s able to put high-performance into big boards just because he has been doing it for so long. His repertoire and pedigree as a top short board and wave gun shaper, he combines that with the aspects of making big stuff for big guys and that’s why some of his boards are some of the loosest.
02:05
Evan Leong: So he’s pretty much making surfing boards for bigger dudes as opposed to cruising stuff, yeah?
Todd Bradley: Well, that’s where he started. That’s where he started, so it was an easy progression for him to go to a very big board that’s loose and that’s what you get out of his 11’6”. This 11’6” turns, nose rise, it’s a beautiful board.
02:27
Evan Leong: So the bottom is flat or is it concave?
Todd Bradley: No, there’s now concave in any of our boards – it’s all about the rocker. One thing that is important to remember about stand up boards, a lot of people get caught up into the fact that, “How wide is it?”, “How long is it?” – it’s not about width, and it’s not about length. It holds true for women too by the way. It’s about what the rocker is doing, what the rail is doing, what the side cut template is. That’s what makes the board stable. It’s really not as much to do with width and length as it is about what the shape is and what the design is. With all the years of experience that Dave has, he has been able to make shorter boards that are just as stable as some of the longer boards out there.
03:16
Evan Leong: So it’s more the rocker, what about the rail and stuff?
Todd Bradley: It’s about the rocker, it’s about the rail, it’s about template, it’s about everything. It’s a blend of all types of shapes, designs, curves that make a board; it’s not just width and length. That’s something we’ve been working on. Dave and Brian are masters at it so I leave that up to them. That’s what makes these boards so great paddling. We’re trying to have an osmosis here. We’re trying to have an osmosis of canoe paddling, which is all of our expertise, and surfing. So you’re trying to bring the two together and so you really have to understand the sport when you shape boards for this. You have to understand paddling, and you have to understand surfing.
04:04
Evan Leong: I think the cool thing on these bigger ones or even these other ones is they actually don’t do that crabbing where it goes left to right when you paddle a lot. It’s pretty good that way.
Todd Bradley: They call it in sailing the yaw. So when you pull on the right, the board doesn’t yaw, then left and vice versa. That’s another important feature that you have to design in to your board, and again that all comes with rail, rocker, template, everything. It’s all part of it. It’s not just grabbing a big ass board.
04:38
Evan Leong: So this one is what? 10 feet?
Todd Bradley: This is a 10-foot BK High-Performance. And this is in full production now, available through Board Works.
Evan Leong: How wide is it?
Todd Bradley: This is about a little over 27” wide. This is the same wing swallow that we’ve been riding now for about three years. Brian, it’s kind of based on Brian’s design, and what Brian is looking for. So one of the shots that you see of Big Makaha, to even surfing small waves in Noosa – if you see any of those – that’s this sport.
05:17
Evan Leong: So how much does Brian weigh?
Todd Bradley: Brian weighs about 190. I’ve seen this board rip in Noosa, at the Noosa fest, in two feet and I’ve seen Brian pull in the barrel at Makaha at 25-foot faces on this same board.
05:36
Evan Leong: So what’s the deal on this back stuff? What is this called?
Todd Bradley: We just call it a wing swallow.
Evan Leong: It makes the turn better or something?
Todd Bradley: It’s, again, all about design, all about rocker, it’s all about side cut. There’s a lot going on here that most people probably wouldn’t get. There’s a lot of different curves and design that are going on within this board itself that makes it a great all-around surfing board, paddling board, for big waves and small waves. It’s high-performance. This is a high-performance board. This is based on Brian’s design.
Evan Leong: So it’s not really for the amateurs, for the guys that got really good balance and stuff?
Todd Bradley: It’s pretty stable. When you get better you go to this one. Next, we go to – this board, this is the 9’6” Parmenter. This is a board that Dave made for me. Dave actually made a set for Brian, myself, himself, and both my sons to ride. This is a great all-around; a little bit shorter, little bit pulled in board for again for more high-performance riding.
07:01
Evan Leong: Is that the one that Brandon was on in the contest?
Todd Bradley: This is the one that Brandon rides in the contest, very similar. Actually no, this is not the one Brandon rides. This is the one Christian rides. Brandon rides a 9’0” version of this.
07:15
Evan Leong: So this one is how big? 9’6”?
Todd Bradley: This is 9’6”.
Evan Leong: And this kind of tail? Does it make it turn faster? What’s the deal on that?
Todd Bradley: It keeps the board really loose – hops and moves around.
Evan Leong: So these ones, you didn’t put the leash pod things in them.
Todd Bradley: These are hand-made custom boards that are basically a set of original prototypes that are now, again this one is also in full production at Board Works and is available next month.
Evan Leong: Is that October?
Todd Bradley: Yeah. We just got them showing at the ASR shows and everything else. This is the 9’6” high-performance.
07:56
Evan Leong: This is what they call bat wing, right?
Todd Bradley: This is the bat tail. This is another one that is in full production and is available starting in October. And this is the 9’0” bat tail. This is one of the three boards that were made by Dave for the three of us. We tried a bunch of different ones and came up with the best design. This board is really good for smaller people, kids. My young boy rides this board.
Evan Leong: Girls or something?
Todd Bradley: Chicks who rip. Chicks who rip will like this board. It’s a really fun board. This thing is a little pocket rocket. This would be a great board for a hot surfer who is surfing a big break or something like that, that really needs to fit in the pocket and just really wind it up. Like you’ll see in some of our how-to videos that are actually out now, these are some of the small boards.
09:01
Evan Leong: So this one is 9’2”?
Todd Bradley: This one is nine feet.
Evan Leong: Nine feet by?
Todd Bradley: By around 27”. Again, it’s not about width, it’s not about length. It’s about the way this thing is designed and shaped. Again, we strive for a design that is shorter and doesn’t paddle with a lot of yaw. This board and the 9’6” paddle surprisingly fast for their size. They are very fast paddling. And they don’t yaw and broach side to side when you paddle them as much as some other short boards. Again, it’s the way the rocker has been set up, it’s the way the template is, and the tail and everything else. This is a fun board. That’s a great board for the guy who just wants to sit in the pocket and rip it up.
Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards [9:53m]: Download
Sneak Peek at the 2008 C4 Waterman Stand Up Paddle Surfboards [9:53m]: Download
Interesting vids and cool boards. It seems like the expansion and evolution of SUP is exponential. That being said, Todd keeps saying that it’s not about length or width but I think that to some degree it has to be. If it wasn’t then we would all be paddling our longboards around…and we’re not because they/re not SUPs. Shrink the width and thickness and length (not as critical as the thickness and width) and you’ve got a lot to do in the balance and strength category. Great website…totally cutting edge. Thanks Evan.
Todd’s comments about the length and width are a continuation of my previous conversations w/ him regarding this. I was bugging him about the width and thickness so I could compare it to other stand up paddle boards with the same dimensions but the differences in shape, rocker, rail, bottom, etc are the most important factors in what makes the board work for SUP.
Thanks for your kind words on the site. We’ll keep working on it. Keep the comments coming…
Hey Evan…..
Interesting to see Todd talking about how the C4 range is working…. good to hear you asking the questions that help me understand how the boards work and why…. I got out on the C4 11′6 yesterday and listening to Todd talking about that board made perfect sense.
Your blog and site is rocking and great for folks looking for that bit of in-side info…. dude keep up the hard work
Andy
Andy – Every time I talk w/ Todd or anyone that’s been at the stand up paddle game since the beginning I learn a lot. It’s amazing that we don’t even know what we don’t know, until we realize we don’t know it. I’m working on more inside scoops from a wide range of expert stand up paddle guys in the future.